How many Wayne County students failed their Math exams in 2022?

By SE Illinois News

Mar 22, 2023

Nearly 9 in 10 Wayne County public high school students aren't at grade level in Math.

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, 87.7 percent of Wayne County's 154 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.

Out of the three Wayne County schools, Cisne High School (96.7 percent) had the highest failure rate in the county. Fairfield Community High School (83.6 percent) had the lowest.

No Wayne County high schools had a passing rate of more than 50 percent of students.

County-wide, Math test failure rates in 2022 remained the same from 2019 with 87.7 percent.

The failure rate increased at two Wayne County high schools in 2022, with the most significant increase happening at Wayne City High School (90.9 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).

Fairfield Community High School were the only Wayne County high schools to see Math scores improve between 2019 and 2022.

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.”

Math Failure Rates in Wayne County High Schools in 2022