That's according to a McHenry Times analysis of 2022 test score data compiled by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE).
ISBE reports that last year, 71.5 percent of Kane County's 8,608 public high school 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.
Larkin High School (93.1 percent), East High School (92.3 percent), and Elgin High School (86.8 percent) had the highest failure rates in Kane County. Geneva Community High School (45.6 percent) and Saint Charles North High School (42.6 percent) had the lowest.
Of 16 Kane County high schools, only four schools -- Saint Charles East High School, Central High School, Geneva Community High School, and Saint Charles North High School had passing rates of more than 50 percent.
County-wide, Math test failure rates rose from 64.8 percent in 2019 to 71.5 percent in 2022.
The failure rate increased at 14 Kane County high schools in 2022, with the most significant increase happening at Hampshire High School (67.2 percent).
Failure rates rose the most in Coles County (82.7 percent), Mercer County (83.5 percent), Pope County (89.8 percent), Union County (91.3 percent), and Henderson County (92.2 percent).
Saint Charles East High School and Central High School were the only Kane County high schools to see Math scores improve between 2019 and 2022.
Statewide, 70 percent of Illinois students failed the 2022 state Math exam, up from 64 percent 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 2019 | Failing % in 2021 | Failing % in 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Larkin High School | 477 | 86.1% | 91.1% | 93.1% |
| East High School | 974 | 86% | 91.8% | 92.3% |
| Elgin High School | 591 | 82.6% | 85% | 86.8% |
| Dundee-Crown High School | 624 | 75.7% | 80% | 83.8% |
| West Aurora High School | 864 | 80.6% | 79.9% | 82.8% |
| Streamwood High School | 450 | 76.8% | 81.6% | 81.7% |
| Bartlett High School | 527 | 68.4% | 68.2% | 74% |
| South Elgin High School | 662 | 64.9% | 67.1% | 70.1% |
| Hampshire High School | 487 | 50.8% | 69% | 67.2% |
| Harry D. Jacobs High School | 493 | 52.6% | 67.9% | 64.5% |
| Kaneland Senior High School | 305 | 57.1% | 65.5% | 61.6% |
| Batavia Senior High School | 467 | 42.1% | 50.7% | 50.1% |
| Saint Charles East High School | 513 | 49.5% | 47.6% | 48% |
| Central High School | 304 | 49.8% | 52.7% | 47.4% |
| Geneva Community High School | 399 | 35.5% | 44.7% | 45.6% |
| Saint Charles North High School | 471 | 33.3% | 45.5% | 42.6% |
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