Metro East Sun

More than 5 in 10 Madison 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 Metro East Sun analysis of test score data compiled by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE).

ISBE reports that last year, 50.5% of Madison County's 16,095 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.

Lewis-Clark Junior High School (64.6%), Hartford Elementary School (61.3%) and Madison Junior High School (60.8%) had the highest failure rates in Madison County. Meanwhile, C.A. Henning School (39.6%) and Maryville Elementary School (27.8%) had the lowest.

Of 43 Madison County high schools, 23, including Coolidge Junior High School, Wilbur Trimpe Middle School, and Collinsville Middle School had passing rates of more than 50%.

Countywide, English test failure rates fell from 51.6% in 2021 to 50.5% in 2023.

The failure rate rose in 24 Madison County high schools in 2023, with the most significant increase happening at Hartford Elementary School (61.3%).

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%).

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
Lewis-Clark Junior High School	189	54.8%	59.2%	64.6%
Hartford Elementary School	49	50%	45.1%	61.3%
Madison Junior High School	125	48.5%	53%	60.8%
Roxana Junior High School	360	59.6%	62.8%	58.3%
Grigsby Intermediate School	803	58.6%	57.7%	57.4%
Jefferson Elementary School	39	55.9%	43.6%	56.4%
Worden Elementary School	280	51.2%	55%	55.7%
Central Intermediate School	349	57.4%	53.1%	55.6%
Alton Middle School	1210	49.8%	49.2%	55%
Mitchell Elementary School	367	51.1%	53%	54.3%
Lincoln Middle School	796	57.3%	50.8%	54%
North Elementary School	455	51.4%	47.6%	53.8%
Liberty Middle School	879	56.1%	56.1%	53.6%
Albert Cassens Elementary	462	55.4%	52%	53.2%
Webster Elementary School	98	42.5%	36.9%	53%
Silver Creek Elementary School	369	52.9%	55.4%	52.3%
Lewis-Clark Elementary School	111	59.8%	58.7%	52.2%
Eastwood Elementary School	193	48.9%	49.8%	51.3%
Dorris Intermediate School	862	56.4%	52.1%	51.1%
Meadowbrook Intermediate School	341	49.4%	49.1%	51%
Coolidge Junior High School	830	53.8%	51.3%	49.9%
Wilbur Trimpe Middle School	527	49.8%	52.9%	49.9%
Collinsville Middle School	903	54.5%	50.5%	49.4%
East Elementary School	424	47.7%	47.5%	49.3%
John A. Renfro Elementary School	192	43.2%	46.8%	48.9%
West Elementary School	305	48.7%	42.7%	48.5%
Highland Elementary School	505	46.9%	45%	48.3%
Frohardt Elementary School	403	44.1%	41.2%	47.4%
Columbus Elementary School	370	44.5%	46.1%	47.3%
East Alton Middle School	188	56%	58.9%	47.3%
Alhambra Primary School	30	41.3%	45.5%	46.6%
Highland Middle School	584	47.4%	46.8%	46.5%
Woodland Elementary School	429	54.2%	53.6%	46.4%
Bernard Long Elementary School	132	43.4%	38%	44.7%
Summit Elementary School	42	56.4%	50%	42.9%
Parkside Primary School	167	42.9%	45.5%	42.6%
Marine Elementary School	67	50.7%	45.5%	41.8%
Kreitner Elementary School	120	49.7%	50.4%	41.6%
St. Jacob Elementary School	111	33.6%	35%	41.4%
Triad Middle School	879	45.4%	48.8%	40.7%
Grantfork Upper Elementary School	65	43.9%	36%	40%
C.A. Henning School	359	46.2%	44.3%	39.6%
Maryville Elementary School	126	52.4%	42.5%	27.8%