Batavia Senior High School Principal Dr. Joanne Smith (2023) | Batavia Senior High School
Batavia Senior High School Principal Dr. Joanne Smith (2023) | Batavia Senior High School
That's according to an analysis from McHenry Times of test scores compiled by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE).
ISBE reports that in the 2023-24 school year, 68% of Kane County's 5,987 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.
East High School (89.8%), Dundee-Crown High School (80.8%) and West Aurora High School (80.3%) had the highest failure rates in Kane County in the 2023-24 school year. Meanwhile, Saint Charles North High School (46%) and Geneva Community High School had the lowest (45.1%).
Countywide, English test failure rates rose from 67.6% in the 2022-23 school year to 68.0% in the 2023-24 school year.
The failure rate rose in seven Kane County high schools in the 2023-24 school year, with the most significant increase happening at Kaneland Senior High School, where the failure rate rose by 7%, reaching 65.7% overall.
Data shows that the largest growth in failure rates occurred in Vermilion County, which increased by 20.8% to 89.7%; Clark County, which grew by 22% to 89.3%; Kendall County, which increased by 24.1% to 89.4%; Fayette County, which grew by 24.6% to 91.2%; and Shelby County, which increased by 27.3% to 92.3%.
East High School, Saint Charles East High School, Batavia Senior High School, and Saint Charles North High School were the Kane County high schools to see improvements between the 2022-23 and 2023-24 school years.
Statewide, 67.7% of Illinois students failed the 2023-24 school year state English exam, down from 68.4% in the 2022-23 school year.
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 | Student Count | Failure Rate in 2022-23 School Year | Failure Rate in 2023-24 School Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| East High School | 936 | 92.3% | 89.8% |
| Dundee-Crown High School | 639 | 78.9% | 80.8% |
| West Aurora High School | 871 | 80.1% | 80.3% |
| South Elgin High School | 685 | 70.7% | 71.1% |
| Kaneland Senior High School | 300 | 58.7% | 65.7% |
| Hampshire High School | 459 | 62.4% | 65.6% |
| Central High School | 346 | 53.7% | 57.8% |
| Saint Charles East High School | 479 | 55.1% | 51.3% |
| Batavia Senior High School | 403 | 52.4% | 46.9% |
| Saint Charles North High School | 463 | 49.9% | 46% |
| Geneva Community High School | 406 | 40.1% | 45.1% |
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