McLean County Times

Nearly 6 in 10 Livingston 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 McLean County Times analysis of test score data compiled by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE).

ISBE reports that last year, 55.1% of Livingston County's 2,159 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.

Cornell Elementary School (67.2%), Dwight Common School (61.6%) and Flanagan Elementary School (61.3%) had the highest failure rates in Livingston County. Meanwhile, Graymont Elementary School (47.2%) and Prairie Central Junior High School (40.5%) had the lowest.

Countywide, English test failure rates fell from 55.9% in 2021 to 55.1% in 2023.

The failure rate rose in eight Livingston County high schools in 2023, with the most significant increase happening at Lincoln Elementary School (61%).

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%).

Prairie Central Elementary School and Graymont Elementary School were the Livingston 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
Cornell Elementary School	61	61.9%	63.6%	67.2%
Dwight Common School	310	62.3%	59.9%	61.6%
Flanagan Elementary School	106	60.7%	62.6%	61.3%
Lincoln Elementary School	113	48.1%	51%	61%
Pontiac Junior High School	330	56.7%	57.4%	58.8%
Woodland Elementary/Junior High School	182	57.2%	57.6%	57.7%
Odell Grade School	86	60.5%	48.3%	55.8%
Washington Elementary School	198	51%	47.2%	55.6%
Prairie Central Elementary School	213	63.6%	55.3%	50.7%
Saunemin Elementary School	70	53.8%	44.6%	50%
Prairie Central Upper Elementary School	237	47.7%	55.5%	49.8%
Graymont Elementary School	36	56.6%	51.4%	47.2%
Prairie Central Junior High School	217	50.8%	52.2%	40.5%