IAR results are in and 63% of Bureau County students failed the ELA portion of the test in the 2023-24 school year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.
The students’ overall failure rate in the subject in Bureau County rose by 10% compared to the previous school year.
In comparison, schools in Alexander County fared the worst among all Illinois counties, with 87.3% 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 60.7% of its students passing the ELA 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.Â
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Allen Grade School | 82.6% | 46 |
| La Moille Junior/Senior High School | 80% | 20 |
| DePue Elementary School | 79.2% | 111 |
| John F. Kennedy Elementary School | 77.6% | 349 |
| Malden Grade School | 68.8% | 48 |
| Logan Junior High School | 65.3% | 406 |
| Lincoln Elementary School | 62.3% | 218 |
| Ladd Community Consolidated School | 60% | 105 |
| Dalzell Grade School | 57.6% | 33 |
| Ohio Community Consolidated Grade School | 54.5% | 44 |
| Bureau Valley North School | 53.8% | 65 |
| Bureau Valley Elementary and Junior High School | 44.8% | 310 |
| Neponset Grade School | 40.1% | 90 |
