Test results show 32.7% of DeKalb County students passed the ELA portion of the Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) in the 2023-24 school year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.
The number of DeKalb County students who succeeded rose by 16% compared to the previous school year.
Woodford County had the highest success rate across the state, with 60.7% of its students passing the ELA portion of the IAR. Schools in Alexander County, on the other hand, performed the worst, with 87.3% of students failing to meet test requirements.
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.Â
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.
Illinois allocated $8.6 billion to K-12 education in its 2025 budget—a $350 million increase over FY 2024, meeting the minimum required under the state’s school funding formula.
DeKalb County Schools Students who Met or Exceeded Academic Standards in ELA Compared to Previous Years
| School | Students who met standards (%) | Students who exceed standards (%) | Total enrollment |
|---|---|---|---|
| W.W. Woodbury Elementary School | 69% | 2.4% | 161 |
| Somonauk Middle School | 58% | 13% | 238 |
| Prairie View Elementary School | 48.6% | 2.7% | 189 |
| North Elementary School | 47.9% | 2.1% | 291 |
| Genoa-Kingston Middle School | 43.7% | 9.1% | 348 |
| Sandwich Middle School | 43% | 6% | 423 |
| Sycamore Middle School | 42.6% | 5% | 828 |
| Herman E. Dummer School | 42.2% | 2.4% | 252 |
| Southeast Elementary School | 38.9% | 3.4% | 299 |
| Indian Creek Elementary School | 38.3% | 3.2% | 251 |
| Lynn G. Haskin Elementary School | 36.5% | 5.8% | 268 |
| Indian Creek Middle School | 34.6% | 1.8% | 222 |
| Hiawatha Elementary School Prek-5 | 34.1% | 3.3% | 215 |
| North Grove Elementary School | 32.7% | 3% | 426 |
| Hinckley-Big Rock Elementary School | 30.4% | 1.9% | 345 |
| Hiawatha Junior/Senior High School | 30% | 1.1% | 202 |
| Jefferson Elementary School | 28% | 1.4% | 319 |
| West Elementary School | 27.9% | 4.5% | 252 |
| James R. Wood Elementary School | 27.4% | 0.9% | 298 |
| Genoa Elementary School | 26.4% | 0.9% | 344 |
| South Prairie Elementary School | 22.1% | 0.6% | 349 |
| Huntley Middle School | 20.6% | 1.1% | 876 |
| Littlejohn Elementary School | 19.1% | 0% | 359 |
| Malta Elementary School | 18.7% | 0% | 285 |
| Cortland Elementary School | 13.8% | 0.4% | 504 |
| Clinton Rosette Middle School | 13.6% | 0.5% | 568 |
| Founders Elementary School | 13% | 0.4% | 542 |
| Tyler Elementary School | 10.9% | 0.7% | 283 |
| Gwendolyn Brooks Elementary School | 8% | 0.6% | 314 |
| Lincoln Elementary School | 7.5% | 2.5% | 266 |
Information in this story was obtained from the Illinois State Board of Education. The source data can be found here.
