78.9% of Mason County students not ready for college based on English performance in on 2023-24 SAT

Midwest Central High School Principal Brad Welch (2023) | Midwest Central High School

By Peoria Standard

Dec 18, 2024

Nearly 8 in 10 Mason County public students aren't at grade level based on their performance in the English portion of the 2023-24 SAT.

That's according to an analysis from Peoria Standard of test scores compiled by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE).

ISBE reports that in the 2023-24 school year, 78.9% of Mason County's 147 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.

Of three Mason County schools, Illini Central High School (83.7%) had the highest failure rate in the county. Meanwhile, Havana High School (71.7%) had the lowest.

Countywide, English test failure rates rose from 78.2% in the 2022-23 school year to 78.9% in the 2023-24 school year.

The failure rate increased at two Mason County high schools in the 2023-24 school year, with the most significant increase happening at Illini Central High School, where the failure rate increased by 11.4%, reaching 83.7% overall.

Data shows that the largest growth in failure rates occurred in Vermilion County, which increased by 20.8% to 89.7%; Clark County, which grew by 22% to 89.3%; Kendall County, which increased by 24.1% to 89.4%; Fayette County, which grew by 24.6% to 91.2%; and Shelby County, which increased by 27.3% to 92.3%.

Havana High School was the only high school in the county improvements between the 2022-23 and 2023-24 school years.

Statewide, 67.7% of Illinois students failed the 2023-24 school year state English exam, down from 68.4% in the 2022-23 school year.

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."

ELA Failure Rates in Mason County High Schools in the 2023-24 School Year