Tony Sanders State Superintendent of Education | Official Website
Tony Sanders State Superintendent of Education | Official Website
The students' overall failure rate in the subject in Mercer County rose by 1% compared to the previous school year.
In comparison, schools in Alexander County fared the worst among all Illinois counties, with 97.1% of students failing to meet test requirements.
At the other end of the spectrum, Monroe County had the highest success rate across the state, with 50% of its students passing the mathematics portion of the IAR.
The Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) measures how well students in grades 3-8 are progressing toward state standards in English language arts and mathematics.
Recent IAR data shows that while Illinois students improved slightly in the test, math performance remains below pre-pandemic levels. In 2024, 28.4% of students met math benchmarks, compared to 31.8% in 2019. However, data also indicates a significant achievement gap based on race and ethnicity.
The disparities were even more pronounced in math. White students achieved a proficiency rate of 38.7%, while Black students achieved 9.1% and Hispanic students 15.6%. Asian students achieved the highest proficiency rates in both subjects, hitting 68.2% in ELA and 61.4% in math.
| School | Students who did not meet standards (%) | Total students tested |
|---|---|---|
| Mercer County Junior High School | 91.5% | 260 |
| Apollo Elementary School | 85.6% | 173 |
| Sherrard Elementary School | 82.7% | 98 |
| New Boston Elementary School | 80.6% | 83 |
| Matherville Intermediate School | 79.6% | 186 |
| Winola Elementary School | 69.6% | 79 |
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