Despite dismal student performance on annual exams covering math and reading, DeKalb County high school graduation rates remain high, according to a DeKalb Times analysis of 2016 data from the Illinois State Board of Education.
Of the eight schools analyzed within the county, Genoa-Kingston High School showed the greatest disparity. In a year when 92 percent of seniors graduated on time, just 16 percent of students actually passed annual tests that the state uses to determine who is "ready for the next level."
The end-of-year tests known as the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, or PARCC, are administered to third- through eighth-graders in Illinois, testing them based on Common Core standards. High schoolers also took the tests through 2016.
A composite score combines the results of the subject tests. Students whose scores either meet or exceed expectations are considered "ready for the next level."
Schools' graduation fraud index shows the difference between the composite passing rate and the graduation rate.
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DeKalb County schools graduation fraud index
| DeKalb County high school | School district | City | Annual exam pass rate (%) | Graduation rate (%) | Graduation fraud index |
| Genoa-Kingston High School | Genoa Kingston Cusd 424 | Genoa | 16.2 | 91.7 | -75.5 |
| DeKalb High School | Dekalb Cusd 428 | Dekalb | 25.8 | 84.2 | -58.4 |
| Hiawatha High School | Hiawatha Cusd 426 | Kirkland | 26.9 | 84.6 | -57.7 |
| Indian Creek High School | Indian Creek Cusd 425 | Shabbona | 37.8 | 95 | -57.2 |
| Sandwich Community High School | Sandwich Cusd 430 | Sandwich | 35.3 | 92 | -56.7 |
| Sycamore High School | Sycamore Cusd 427 | Sycamore | 38.2 | 93.4 | -55.2 |
| Hinckley-Big Rock High School | Hinckley Big Rock Cusd 429 | Hinckley | 49.1 | 82.5 | -33.4 |
| Somonauk High School | Somonauk Cusd 432 | Somonauk | 60.3 | 86.3 | -26 |
Source: Illinois State Board of Education
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