DeKalb Times

Results are in and 72.2% of DeKalb County students failed the ELA portion of the Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) test in the 2022-23 school year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

The number of students who failed their ELA assessment in DeKalb County rose by 3.7% compared to the previous school year.

In comparison, schools in Alexander County fared the worst among all Illinois counties, with 95.7% of students failing to meet test requirements.

At the other end of the spectrum, Woodford County had the highest success rate across the state, with 59.4% of its students passing the ELA portion of the IAR.

The IAR measures how well students in grades 3-8 are progressing in meeting the English Language Arts and Mathematics standards set by the state.

According to recent IAR data, the average ELA proficiency rate for Illinois students was 35.4% in 2023, while the math proficiency rate stood at 27.1%. However, data also indicates a significant achievement gap based on race and ethnicity.

White students demonstrated higher proficiency rates in both ELA and math compared to Black and Hispanic students. The ELA proficiency rate for white students was 45.6%, around twice higher than that of Black students (17%) and Hispanic students (23.3%).

The gap was even worse in math, with white students achieving a 37% proficiency rate, nearly five times higher than Black students (7.9%) and over twice higher than Hispanic students (14.4%).

School	Students who did not meet standards (%)	Total students tested
Gwendolyn Brooks Elementary School	94.4%	162
Founders Elementary School	90%	262
Clinton Rosette Middle School	86.5%	605
Cortland Elementary School	86.3%	249
Lincoln Elementary School	86.3%	124
Malta Elementary School	83.6%	146
Huntley Middle School	83.3%	888
Littlejohn Elementary School	82.4%	187
Tyler Elementary School	81.7%	120
Hiawatha Junior/Senior High School	77.4%	93
Jefferson Elementary School	77%	148
South Prairie Elementary School	75.4%	138
Genoa Elementary School	75.4%	337
Indian Creek Middle School	73.2%	205
Hiawatha Elementary School Prek-5	72.2%	90
Southeast Elementary School	71.8%	159
Hinckley-Big Rock Elementary School	70.6%	153
James R. Wood Elementary School	69.4%	108
Sycamore Middle School	64%	798
West Elementary School	62.7%	131
Lynn G. Haskin Elementary School	60%	45
Herman E. Dummer School	59.6%	250
Sandwich Middle School	59.5%	432
Prairie View Elementary School	59.5%	42
North Elementary School	58.7%	138
Indian Creek Elementary School	57%	100
Genoa-Kingston Middle School	54.8%	341
North Grove Elementary School	54.4%	215
W.W. Woodbury Elementary School	51.1%	45
Somonauk Middle School	40%	232