McHenry Times

The 2015 standardized test scores for Woodstock CUSD’s Northwood Middle School were second to last in passage rate in McHenry County while the school spent the second most of any middle school countywide, according to a report recently released by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE).

The ISBE said only 23.6 percent of Northwood Middle School students taking the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) exam in 2015 passed in comparison to a 39.7 percent passage rate countywide. Woodstock CUSD posted a spending average of $12,548 per student — far exceeding the average of $10,954 for the county.

Of the 17 middle schools operating in McHenry County, only Harvard CUSD 50’s Harvard Junior High School posted a lower passage rate on the PARCC test with a passage rate of only 15.8 percent. Harvard CUSD 50’s spending was slightly below average at $10,885 per pupil.

Meanwhile, the only middle school to exceed Harvard CUSD 50’s spending of $12,948 per pupil, Prairie Grove Junior High School, which is part of Prairie Grove CSD 46, had the highest passage rate of all schools in the county at 53 percent.

In addition to Northwood Middle School, Woodstock CUSD operates Creekside Middle School, which also posted a below average passage rate of 29.3 while similarly spending an above average of $12,548 per student.

Similar to Woodstock CUSD, a few other schools exceeded average spending while posting below average PARCC passage rates. This schools include McHenry CCSD 15’s McHenry Middle School (37.6 percent) and Parkland School (29.1 percent), which spent $12,007 per pupil; and Johnsburg CUSD 12’s Johnsburg Junior High School (32.6), which paid out $12,005 per pupil.

In contrast, Consolidated SD 158’s Heineman Middle School and Marlowe Middle School averaged the lowest per pupil spending of $8,844 while posting above-average passage rates of 48.5 percent and 43 percent, respectively.

Other schools posting above-average passage rates with below average spending include Crystal Lake CCSD 47-operated Bernotas Middle School (52.3 percent), Lundahl Middle School (48.5 percent) and Beardsley Middle School (45.3 percent), all of which averaged $10,267 in per pupil spending. Nippersink SD 2’s Nippersink Middle School recorded a passage rate of 48.2 percent while spending a below average $10,486.

Fox River Grove Consolidated SD 3’s Fox River Grove Middle School spent an above average $11,723 per pupil while posting a passage rate of 52.3 percent.

Schools scoring below the average passage rate but not exceeding the per pupil spending average were Alden Hebron SD 19’s Alden-Hebron Middle School (38 percent; $10,508 in per pupil spending) and Marengo-Union 165’s Marengo Community Middle School (37.6 percent; $9,117 in per pupil spending).

The PARCC test is a state-mandated exam used to assess the school and student performance in several states nationwide. The 2015 school year marks the first year PARCC tests were used to assess Illinois academic achievement.