North Egypt News

Nearly 5 in 10 Jefferson County public students aren't at grade level based on their performance in the English portion of the 2023 SAT.

That's according to a North Egypt News analysis of test score data compiled by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE).

ISBE reports that last year, 49.3% of Jefferson County's 2,284 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.

Spring Garden Middle School (64.1%), McClellan Elementary School (62.1%) and Bethel Grade School (59.1%) had the highest failure rates in Jefferson County. Meanwhile, Dr. Nick Osborne Primary Center (31.6%) and Opdyke-Belle Rive Grade School (29.8%) had the lowest.

Of 16 Jefferson County high schools, six, including Waltonville Grade School, J.L. Buford Intermediate Education Center, and Summersville Grade School had passing rates of more than 50%.

Countywide, English test failure rates fell from 52.4% in 2021 to 49.3% in 2023.

The failure rate rose in six Jefferson County high schools in 2023, with the most significant increase happening at Summersville Grade School (44.9%).

Data shows that the highest failure rates growths were seen in Christian County (72.5%), Hancock County (73.8%), Cook County (74.1%), White County (74.1%), and Morgan County (76.7%).

Bluford Grade School, Grand Prairie Elementary School, Waltonville Grade School, and Opdyke-Belle Rive Grade School were the Jefferson County high schools to see improvements between 2021 and 2023.

Statewide, 39.9% of Illinois students failed the 2023 state English exam, down from 64% in 2019.

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."

High School	# of Students	Failing % in 2021	Failing % in 2022	Failing % in 2023
Spring Garden Middle School	78	54.3%	58.5%	64.1%
McClellan Elementary School	29	57.7%	58%	62.1%
Bethel Grade School	88	64.2%	58.6%	59.1%
Field Elementary School	155	60.3%	61.9%	57.4%
Woodlawn Grade School	206	57.8%	57.9%	57.3%
Bluford Grade School	149	58.9%	58.6%	53%
Grand Prairie Elementary School	53	72.8%	65.9%	50.9%
Zadok Casey Middle School	408	49.5%	49%	50.5%
Rome Community Consolidated Elementary School	217	52.8%	57.9%	50.2%
Spring Garden Elementary School	54	50%	46.2%	50%
Waltonville Grade School	146	58.1%	56.8%	46.6%
J.L. Buford Intermediate Education Center	272	45.8%	50.8%	45.9%
Summersville Grade School	165	47.2%	33.4%	44.9%
Farrington Elementary School	31	45.7%	41.9%	41.9%
Dr. Nick Osborne Primary Center	139	33.4%	38%	31.6%
Opdyke-Belle Rive Grade School	94	50.5%	49.4%	29.8%