Despite dismal student performance on annual exams covering math and reading, Springfield-area high school graduation rates remain high, according to a Sangamon Sun analysis of 2016 data from the Illinois State Board of Education.
Of the 20 schools analyzed in Logan, Menard and Sangamon counties, Greenview Jr./Sr. High School showed the greatest disparity. In a year when 89 percent of seniors graduated on time, just 8 percent of students actually passed annual tests that the state uses to determine who is "ready for the next level."
The end-of-year tests known as the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, or PARCC, are administered to third- through eighth-graders in Illinois, testing them based on Common Core standards. High schoolers also took the tests through 2016.
A composite score combines the results of the subject tests. Students whose scores either meet or exceed expectations are considered "ready for the next level."
Schools' graduation fraud index shows the difference between the composite passing rate and the graduation rate.
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Graduation fraud index
| Springfield metro area high school | School district | City | Annual exam pass rate (%) | Graduation rate (%) | Graduation fraud index |
| Greenview Jr/Sr High School | Greenview Cusd 200 | Greenview | 7.7 | 88.9 | -81.2 |
| Tri-City High School | Tri City Cusd 1 | Buffalo | 16.1 | 91.7 | -75.6 |
| Glenwood High School | Ball Chatham Cusd 5 | Chatham | 17.3 | 90.9 | -73.6 |
| Williamsville High School | Williamsville Cusd 15 | Williamsville | 24.9 | 98.2 | -73.3 |
| Rochester High School | Rochester Cusd 3A | Rochester | 20.8 | 93.7 | -72.9 |
| Pleasant Plains High School | Pleasant Plains Cusd 8 | Pleasant Plains | 21.4 | 91.7 | -70.3 |
| Springfield Southeast High School | Springfield Sd 186 | Springfield | 12.7 | 80 | -67.3 |
| Pawnee Junior High School | Pawnee Cusd 11 | Pawnee | 18.5 | 84.4 | -65.9 |
| Lanphier High School | Springfield Sd 186 | Springfield | 7.7 | 73.5 | -65.8 |
| Auburn High School | Auburn Cusd 10 | Auburn | 26.4 | 90.4 | -64 |
| Porta High School | Porta Cusd 202 | Petersburg | 21.7 | 84.8 | -63.1 |
| New Berlin High School | New Berlin Cusd 16 | New Berlin | 32.1 | 94.3 | -62.2 |
| Riverton High School | Riverton Cusd 14 | Riverton | 22.8 | 83.6 | -60.8 |
| Athens Sr High School | Athens Cusd 213 | Athens | 30.6 | 88.7 | -58.1 |
| Springfield High School | Springfield Sd 186 | Springfield | 34.2 | 88 | -53.8 |
| Hartsburg-Emden Jr-Sr High School | Hartsburg Emden Cusd 21 | Hartsburg | 33.3 | 85 | -51.7 |
| Springfield Learning Academy | Springfield Sd 186 | Springfield | 0 | 27.8 | -27.8 |
| Lincoln Community High School | Lincoln Chsd 404 | Lincoln | 51.8 | 77.2 | -25.4 |
| Mount Pulaski High School | Mt Pulaski Cusd 23 | Mount Pulaski | 77.2 | 86.8 | -9.6 |
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