Sangamon Sun

Nearly 6 in 10 Menard 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 Sangamon Sun analysis of test score data compiled by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE).

ISBE reports that last year, 58.6% of Menard County's 649 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.

Porta High School (67.2%) had the highest failure rates in Menard County. Meanwhile, Greenview Elementary School (52.8%) had the lowest.

Countywide, English test failure rates rose from 49.8% in 2021 to 58.6% in 2023.

The failure rate rose in two Menard County high schools in 2023, with the most significant increase happening at Porta High School (67.2%).

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%).

No high schools in the county saw 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
Porta High School	143	45.9%	59.9%	67.2%
Greenview Junior/Senior High School	44	51.2%	66%	61.4%
Athens Junior High School	155	46.3%	61.9%	57.5%
Porta Central School	271	51.6%	56.5%	55%
Greenview Elementary School	36	63.2%	50%	52.8%