Sangamon Sun

More than 4 in 10 Logan 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, 43.2% of Logan County's 1,400 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.

New Holland-Middletown Elementary School (57.8%), Hartsburg-Emden Junior-Senior High School (54.2%) and Olympia South Elementary School (54%) had the highest failure rates in Logan County. Meanwhile, Central Elementary School (34.6%) and Lincoln Junior High School (31.6%) had the lowest.

Of 11 Logan County high schools, six, including Chester-East Lincoln Elementary School, Washington-Monroe Elementary School, and Emden Elementary School had passing rates of more than 50%.

Countywide, English test failure rates fell from 50.4% in 2021 to 43.2% in 2023.

The failure rate rose in four Logan County high schools in 2023, with the most significant increase happening at West Lincoln-Broadwell Elementary School (53.9%).

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%).

Mount Pulaski Elementary School, Chester-East Lincoln Elementary School, Washington-Monroe Elementary School, Central Elementary School, and Lincoln Junior High School were the Logan County high schools to see 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
New Holland-Middletown Elementary School	45	53.1%	51%	57.8%
Hartsburg-Emden Junior-Senior High School	35	38.2%	52.7%	54.2%
Olympia South Elementary School	126	50%	45%	54%
West Lincoln-Broadwell Elementary School	115	62.5%	43.2%	53.9%
Mount Pulaski Elementary School	209	64%	61.3%	53.1%
Chester-East Lincoln Elementary School	184	49.2%	46.4%	41.8%
Washington-Monroe Elementary School	93	57.2%	43.6%	40.9%
Emden Elementary School	40	43.3%	45.9%	40%
Northwest Elementary School	123	38%	47.7%	39.9%
Central Elementary School	104	35.8%	35%	34.6%
Lincoln Junior High School	326	42.6%	36.3%	31.6%