That's according to a Carbondale Reporter analysis of 2022 test score data compiled by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE).
ISBE reports that last year, 72.4 percent of Jackson County's 413 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.
Trico Senior High School (82.2 percent) had the highest failure rates in Jackson County. Carbondale Community High School (68.4 percent) had the lowest.
No Jackson 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 72.4 percent.
The failure rate increased at three Jackson County high schools in 2022, with the most significant increase happening at Elverado High School (82.1 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).
Murphysboro High School were the only Jackson 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.”
| High School | # of Students | Failing % in 2019 | Failing % in 2021 | Failing % in 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trico Senior High School | 45 | 81.3% | 83.6% | 82.2% |
| Elverado High School | 28 | 77% | 87.5% | 82.1% |
| Murphysboro High School | 131 | 79.3% | 84.7% | 73.3% |
| Carbondale Community High School | 209 | 64.9% | 73.1% | 68.4% |
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