Galesburg Reporter

Results are in and 75.1% of Knox County students failed the ELA portion of the Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) test in the 2021-22 school year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

The number of students who failed their ELA assessment in Knox County rose by 9.5% compared to the previous school year.

In comparison, schools in Pulaski County fared the worst among all Illinois counties, with 92.7% of students failing to meet test requirements.

At the other end of the spectrum, Piatt County had the highest success rate across the state, with 49.4% of its students passing the ELA portion of the IAR.

The IAR measures how well students in grades 3-8 are progressing in meeting the English Language Arts and Mathematics standards set by the state.

Based on their reading scores on the NAEP, public school students from Illinois managed to stay relatively on par with the national level, according to the National Center for Education and Statistics.

Assessment participation rates in 2023 are at or above the 95% testing threshold, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

School	Students who did not meet standards (%)	Total students tested
Knoxville Junior High School	89.2%	250
King Elementary School	83.8%	204
Lombard Middle School	83.7%	529
Hedding Grade School	78.2%	179
Churchill Junior High School	77.2%	535
Silas Willard Elementary School	73.2%	153
Steele School	71.2%	160
Abingdon-Avon Middle School	65.1%	195
Williamsfield Elementary School	60.6%	33
ROWVA Elementary School	58.5%	159
Mable Woolsey Elementary School	57%	114
Williamsfield Middle School	54.3%	81
ROWVA Junior/Senior High School	51.4%	74