Rockford Sun

Results are in and 73.2% of Winnebago County students failed the ELA portion of the Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) test in the 2022-23 school year, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

The number of students who failed their ELA assessment in Winnebago County rose by 2.4% compared to the previous school year.

In comparison, schools in Alexander County fared the worst among all Illinois counties, with 95.7% of students failing to meet test requirements.

At the other end of the spectrum, Woodford County had the highest success rate across the state, with 59.4% 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.

According to recent IAR data, the average ELA proficiency rate for Illinois students was 35.4% in 2023, while the math proficiency rate stood at 27.1%. However, data also indicates a significant achievement gap based on race and ethnicity.

White students demonstrated higher proficiency rates in both ELA and math compared to Black and Hispanic students. The ELA proficiency rate for white students was 45.6%, around twice higher than that of Black students (17%) and Hispanic students (23.3%).

The gap was even worse in math, with white students achieving a 37% proficiency rate, nearly five times higher than Black students (7.9%) and over twice higher than Hispanic students (14.4%).

School	Students who did not meet standards (%)	Total students tested
Lewis Lemon Elementary School	97.6%	125
Ellis Elementary School	97.1%	204
Julia Lathrop Elementary School	97.1%	138
Constance Lane Elementary School	96.5%	287
Kennedy Middle School	96.2%	339
McIntosh Elementary School	96%	152
Washington Elementary School	94.7%	240
Rockford Environmental Science Academy	94.7%	984
Abraham Lincoln Middle School	94.6%	657
Riverdahl Elementary School	94.4%	267
Conklin Elementary School	92.6%	176
Rolling Green Elementary School	90%	219
R.K. Welsh Elementary School	89.9%	210
Jackson Charter School	88.8%	107
Marquette Elementary School	88.1%	76
West Middle School	88%	803
Legacy Academy of Excellence Charter School	87.3%	141
Bernard W. Flinn Middle School	86.8%	788
Swan Hillman Elementary School	85.5%	261
Maple Elementary School	85.1%	175
Rock Cut Elementary School	85%	267
Whitehead Elementary School	84.7%	313
Barbour Two-Way Language Immersion	84.3%	427
West View Elementary School	84.1%	195
Clifford P. Carlson Elementary School	83.5%	163
C. Henry Bloom Elementary School	83.4%	192
Eisenhower Middle School	82.5%	948
Loves Park Elementary School	80.6%	190
Machesney Elementary School	80.4%	339
Spring Creek Elementary School	80%	236
Maud E. Johnson Elementary School	79.6%	186
Windsor Elementary School	79.4%	209
Galapagos Rockford Charter School	79.2%	231
Gregory Elementary School	78.9%	199
Riverview Elementary School	78.4%	134
Arthur Froberg Elementary School	77.1%	206
Jean McNair Elementary School	75.7%	267
Cherry Valley Elementary School	75.1%	322
Ralston Elementary School	73.8%	187
Black Hawk Elementary School	71.6%	123
Harlem Middle School	69.6%	906
Brookview Elementary School	67.8%	242
Haskell Elementary School	66.4%	125
Montessori Elementary School	62.3%	342
Pecatonica Elementary School	62.3%	122
Olson Park Elementary School	60.4%	248
South Beloit Junior High School	59.8%	137
Kinnikinnick School	59.4%	377
Durand Junior High School	58.5%	77
Durand Elementary School	54.9%	133
Winnebago Middle School	54.8%	297
Pecatonica Community Middle School	53.3%	272
Stone Creek School	52.6%	179
Whitman Post Elementary School	46.8%	505
Roscoe Middle School	37.6%	554
Shirland Community Consolidated School	36.5%	63
Stephen Mack Middle School	35.1%	524
Willowbrook Middle School	25.3%	300
Prairie Hill Elementary School	20.5%	166
Thurgood Marshall School	11.8%	464
Thurgood Marshall Elementary	10.7%	196