Carbondale Reporter

Nearly 10 in 10 Williamson County public high school students aren't at grade level in math.

That's according to a Carbondale Reporter analysis of 2023 test score data compiled by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE).

ISBE reports that last year, 96.7% of Williamson County's 30 public high school students — approximately 29 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.

Crab Orchard High School, the only Williamson County high school, registered its highest failure (96.7%) rate during 2023, and the lowest (73.3%) in 2022.

Countywide, math test failure rates rose from 84.7% in 2021 to 96.7% in 2023.

Crab Orchard High School was the only Williamson County high school to experience an increase in failure rates in 2023, reaching 96.7%.

Statewide, failure rates increased the most in Wayne County, Greene County, Sangamon County, Pike County, and Pulaski County, where the percentage of students who failed the math exam rose to 74.1%, 86.4%, 95.6%, 96.7%, and 100%, respectively.

Statewide, 75.6% of Illinois students failed the 2023 state math exam, up from 64% in 2021.

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
Crab Orchard High School	30	84.7%	73.3%	96.7%