In the 2023-24 school year, 43% of the students in Prairie Central Community Unit School District 8 passed the ELA portion of the Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR), according to the Illinois State Board of Education.
Of the 677 students in Prairie Central Community Unit School District 8 who took the ELA portion of the test, approximately 291 (43%) passed.
The percentage of Prairie Central Community Unit School District 8 students who met or exceeded expectations on the IAR increased by 4.2% compared to the previous school year.
Prairie Central Community Unit School District 8 roughly covers six schools within Livingston County and has a main office in Fairbury.
The Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) measures how well students in grades 3-8 are progressing toward state standards in English language arts and mathematics.
Recent IAR data shows that while Illinois students improved slightly in the test, math performance remains below pre-pandemic levels. In 2024, 28.4% of students met math benchmarks, compared to 31.8% in 2019. However, data also indicates a significant achievement gap based on race and ethnicity.Â
The disparities were even more pronounced in math. White students achieved a proficiency rate of 38.7%, while Black students achieved 9.1% and Hispanic students 15.6%. Asian students achieved the highest proficiency rates in both subjects, hitting 68.2% in ELA and 61.4% in math.
| School | District | Students who met standards (%) | Students who exceed standards (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prairie Central Upper Elementary School | Prairie Central Community Unit School District 8 | 56% | 4.6% |
| Prairie Central Junior High School | Prairie Central Community Unit School District 8 | 37.2% | 2.2% |
| Prairie Central Elementary School | Prairie Central Community Unit School District 8 | 28.3% | 1.7% |
