McHenry Times

In the 2023-24 school year, 19.8% of the students in Harvard Community Unit School District 50 passed the ELA portion of the Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR), according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

Of the 1,011 students in Harvard Community Unit School District 50 who took the ELA portion of the test, approximately 200 (19.8%) passed.

The percentage of Harvard Community Unit School District 50 students who met or exceeded expectations on the IAR increased by 5.4% compared to the previous school year.

Harvard Community Unit School District 50 roughly covers three schools within McHenry County and has a main office in Harvard.

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. 

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 (%)
Harvard Junior High School	Harvard Community Unit School District 50	25.1%	0.9%
Jefferson Elementary School	Harvard Community Unit School District 50	14.7%	0.6%
Crosby Elementary School	Harvard Community Unit School District 50	6%	0%