Peoria Standard

Nearly 4 in 10 Stark County public students aren't at grade level based on their performance in the English portion of the 2023 SAT.

That's according to a Peoria Standard analysis of test score data compiled by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE).

ISBE reports that last year, 38.2% of Stark County's 364 public high school students failed the ELA portion of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and have "minimal (or) incomplete… understanding of the knowledge and skills relative to Illinois Learning Standards."

Students can achieve four proficiencies in their subjects (partially met, approaching, meets, and exceeds standards). This report concludes students who partially met or approached the standards have failed in the subject.

Stark County Elementary School (44.2%) had the highest failure rates in Stark County. Meanwhile, Bradford Junior High School (13.3%) had the lowest.

All Stark County high schools had passing rates of more than 50%.

Countywide, English test failure rates fell from 50.1% in 2021 to 38.2% in 2023.

Data shows that the highest failure rates growths were seen in Christian County (72.5%), Hancock County (73.8%), Cook County (74.1%), White County (74.1%), and Morgan County (76.7%).

Stark County Junior High School and Bradford Junior High School were the Stark County high schools to see improvements between 2021 and 2023.

Statewide, 39.9% of Illinois students failed the 2023 state English exam, down from 64% in 2019.

The SAT test is administered to Illinois high school sophomores "to fulfill the requirement that students take an assessment for college and career readiness in order to receive a regular high school diploma."

High School	# of Students	Failing % in 2021	Failing % in 2022	Failing % in 2023
Stark County Elementary School	129	44.2%	50.3%	44.2%
Stark County Junior High School	142	63.3%	59.4%	40.8%
Bradford Grade School	48	24.3%	50%	37.5%
Bradford Junior High School	45	46%	41.3%	13.3%