Peoria Standard

Nearly 5 in 10 Tazewell 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, 45.2% of Tazewell County's 7,999 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.

Delavan Junior High School (67.1%), Delavan Elementary School (67%) and P.L. Bolin Elementary School (60.8%) had the highest failure rates in Tazewell County. Meanwhile, Morton Junior High School (25.6%) and Central Intermediate School (23%) had the lowest.

Of 39 Tazewell County high schools, 22, including Lincoln Grade School, Central Primary School, and Dee-Mack Primary/Junior High had passing rates of more than 50%.

Countywide, English test failure rates fell from 45.2% in 2021 to 45.2% in 2023.

The failure rate rose in 14 Tazewell County high schools in 2023, with the most significant increase happening at Robein Elementary School (46.3%).

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%).

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
Delavan Junior High School	67	60.3%	66.7%	67.1%
Delavan Elementary School	115	58.9%	67.6%	67%
P.L. Bolin Elementary School	138	49.6%	53.1%	60.8%
L.E. Starke Elementary School	38	56.5%	53.8%	60.6%
Beverly Manor Elementary School	329	57.6%	55.5%	60.4%
Lasalle Elementary School	80	57.2%	55.3%	60%
Central Junior High School	431	51.7%	56.2%	58.5%
Parkview Junior High School	210	57.2%	53.4%	58.1%
Wilson Intermediate School	557	52.5%	59%	57.5%
Washington Intermediate School	389	52.5%	50.1%	56.3%
Broadmoor Junior High School	350	46.8%	59.4%	55.2%
J.L. Hensey Elementary School	66	52.1%	60.3%	54.5%
Lincoln Elementary School	141	54.3%	55.6%	53.9%
Glendale Elementary School	149	60%	45.4%	53.7%
Dirksen Primary School	43	41.6%	45.3%	53.5%
Olympia West Elementary School	109	52.8%	42.1%	53.2%
Midwest Central Middle School	175	58.3%	59.8%	51.4%
Lincoln Grade School	192	47.3%	44.5%	47.9%
Central Primary School	153	34.3%	48.1%	47.1%
Dee-Mack Primary/Junior High	244	53.2%	47.7%	47.1%
Edison Junior High School	302	53.6%	57.6%	47%
Robein Elementary School	108	40.8%	34.4%	46.3%
Spring Lake Elementary School	42	44.7%	36%	45.3%
Washington Middle School	364	41.2%	51.7%	44.5%
C.B. Smith Elementary School	77	31.7%	56.8%	44.2%
South Pekin Elementary School	96	49.1%	47.3%	43.7%
Willow Elementary School	56	54%	51.9%	42.9%
Jefferson Elementary School	197	45.9%	43.4%	42.6%
Jefferson Elementary School	89	41.8%	45.9%	40.4%
Dee-Mack Intermediate School	204	57.2%	56.7%	39.7%
Tremont Elementary School	122	42.6%	44.9%	37.7%
Rankin Elementary School	142	48%	47.1%	36.6%
Scott Altman Primary School	39	48.8%	56.2%	35.9%
Tremont Middle School	299	35.6%	36.1%	33.7%
Lettie Brown Elementary School	203	37.4%	38.1%	33%
Lincoln Elementary School	283	32.9%	35.3%	32.5%
Grundy Elementary School	218	31.8%	29.8%	28%
Morton Junior High School	465	24.2%	26.1%	25.6%
Central Intermediate School	717	31.4%	29%	23%