That's according to a SE Illinois News analysis of 2022 test score data compiled by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE).
ISBE reports that last year, 89.6 percent of Hamilton County's 67 public high school students failed the Math 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.
Hamilton County Junior/Senior High School, the only Hamilton County high school, registered its highest failure (89.6 percent) rate during 2022, and the lowest (82 percent) in 2019.
County-wide, Math test failure rates rose from 81.9 percent in 2019 to 89.6 percent in 2022.
The failure rate increased at Hamilton County Junior/Senior High School in 2022, from 82 percent to 89.6 percent.
Failure rates rose the most in Coles County (82.7 percent), Mercer County (83.5 percent), Pope County (89.8 percent), Union County (91.3 percent), and Henderson County (92.2 percent).
Statewide, 70 percent of Illinois students failed the 2022 state Math exam, up from 64 percent 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 2019 | Failing % in 2021 | Failing % in 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hamilton County Junior/Senior High School | 67 | 82% | 87.5% | 89.6% |
Alerts Sign-up