Tens of thousands more K-12 students in Will County are now testing below grade level in English and math, suffering the aftereffects of Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker's school lockdowns, according to an analysis of Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) test data by the Will County Gazette.
All but one of the 27 school districts reviewed showed significant student declines in scores for tests taken in 2021, versus 2019, before Pritzker barred students from attending classes.
Districts seeing the greatest declines included:
--Manhattan School District 114, which saw test failure rates of 25% in math (from 50% to 67%) and 34% in English (from 41% to 62%).
--Will County School District 92, which saw test failure rates of 25% in math (from 53% to 71%) and 31% in English (from 43% to 62%).
--Troy Community Consolidated School District 30C, which saw test failure rates of 23% in math (from 56% to 73%) and 26% in English (from 49% to 66%).
--Homer Community Consolidated School District 33C, which saw test failure rates of 18% in math (from 49% to 59%) and 28% in English (from 42% to 58%).
The COVID-19 pandemic had “devastating” impacts on student learning, according to a report from the Brookings Institute.
“These numbers are alarming and potentially demoralizing, especially given the heroic efforts of students to learn and educators to teach in incredibly trying times,” the report said. “There is much work to be done, and the challenges for students, educators, and parents are considerable.”
A report from Illinois Policy found while all students were affected by the pandemic, low-income and minority students saw the biggest losses in their proficiency scores.
“Among low-income high school juniors in 2021, under 16% scored at proficiency level in reading and fewer than 13% were proficient in math," the report said. "This represents a nearly 15% and 25% overall proficiency decline since 2019 in each subject. Comparatively, proficiency scores in reading and math for higher-income juniors dropped around 11% and 16%, respectively.
“By the end of the 2021 school year, higher-income juniors were almost three times more likely to be proficient than low-income students.”
There are many lingering effects of students learning less due to disruptions caused by COVID-19. A McKinsey report found K-12 students were “on average five months behind in mathematics and four months behind in reading by the end of school year.”
The switch to remote learning, where students would attend classes virtually using their laptops instead of being in the classroom, was often pinpointed in reports as the biggest reason for diminishing student proficiency.
Classrooms across the U.S. moved to remote learning when the pandemic began in early 2020. However, an Inside Higher Ed investigation found it was never designed to be the long-term solution it became.
“Students talked a lot about really missing being in person with their classmates … and having those spontaneous, organic conversations and relationships,” Rayane Alamuddin of Ithaka S+R consulting said. “They miss the relationships they make in school because not only does it make them excited about learning and motivate them to stay engaged in school, but they also actually learn a lot more.”
Many school districts have returned to in-class learning, though still with some COVID-19 precautions in place.
| District | 2019 Math Failing Rates | 2021 Math Failing Rates | 2019 English Failing Rates | 2021 English Failing Rates |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beecher Community Unit School District 200U | 72.7% | 85.8% | 55.9% | 64.6% |
| Chaney-Monge School District 88 | 91.4% | 94.7% | 81.5% | 87.7% |
| Channahon School District 17 | 55.7% | 63.5% | 49.6% | 52.9% |
| Crete-Monee Community Unit School District 201-U | 83.6% | 93% | 70.6% | 87.1% |
| Elwood Community Consolidated School District 203 | 62.7% | 61.5% | 38.2% | 44.9% |
| Fairmont School District 89 | 93.2% | 93.6% | 78.2% | 87.2% |
| Frankfort Community Consolidated School District 157C | 25.3% | 32.8% | 22.8% | 23.6% |
| Homer Community Consolidated School District 33C | 48.7% | 59.3% | 42% | 58% |
| Joliet Public School District 86 | 84.8% | 92.4% | 80.5% | 88% |
| Laraway Community Consolidated School District 70C | 85.8% | 97.5% | 71.5% | 92.7% |
| Lockport School District 91 | 67.6% | 81.7% | 53.1% | 64.7% |
| Manhattan School District 114 | 50.3% | 67% | 40.8% | 61.9% |
| Mokena School District 159 | 53.2% | 58.8% | 50.2% | 58.6% |
| New Lenox School District 122 | 52.1% | 58.8% | 51.6% | 59.2% |
| Peotone Community Unit School District 207U | 72.5% | 75.9% | 56.9% | 77.3% |
| Plainfield School District 202 | 59.4% | 75.6% | 52.4% | 67.8% |
| Reed Custer Community Unit School District 255U | 61.3% | 69.2% | 47.2% | 60.4% |
| Richland Grade School District 88A | 73.5% | 84.7% | 62.1% | 68.4% |
| Rockdale School District 84 | 80.3% | 91.4% | 64.2% | 78.2% |
| Steger School District 194 | 85.8% | 94.8% | 76.9% | 86.6% |
| Summit Hill School District 161 | 61.5% | 62.3% | 52.7% | 58.4% |
| Taft School District 90 | 70.2% | 81.8% | 79.5% | 79.2% |
| Troy Community Consolidated School District 30C | 56.3% | 73.4% | 48.7% | 65.8% |
| Union School District 81 | 65.1% | 51.9% | 43.8% | 32.7% |
| Valley View Community Unit School District 365U | 63.2% | 79.4% | 61.4% | 71.8% |
| Will County School District 92 | 52.9% | 70.5% | 42.7% | 61.7% |
| Wilmington Community Unit School District 209U | 59.7% | 62.7% | 43.1% | 49.1% |
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