That's according to a Will County Gazette analysis of 2022 test score data compiled by the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE).
ISBE reports that last year, 68.5 percent of Will County's 7,963 public high school students failed the English language arts 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.
Crete-Monee High School (87.7 percent), Joliet Central High School (85.6 percent) and Wilmington High School (79 percent) had the highest failure rates in Will County. Lincoln Way West (49.7 percent) and Lincoln-Way East High School (47.1 percent) had the lowest.
Of 17 Will County high schools, only two -- Lincoln Way West, Lincoln-Way East High School had passing rates of more than 50 percent.
County-wide, English test failure rates rose from 60.9 percent in 2019 to 68.5 percent in 2022.
The failure rate increased at 13 Will County high schools in 2022, with the most significant increase happening at Beecher High School (72.6 percent).
Failure rates rose the most at Cook County (100 percent), Marion County (100 percent), Peoria County (100 percent), Scott County (100 percent), Tazewell County (100 percent).
Statewide, 69.1 percent of Illinois students failed the 2022 state English exam, up from 64 percent in 2019.
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 | # of Students | Failing % in 2019 | Failing % in 2021 | Failing % in 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crete-Monee High School | 334 | 79.2% | 85.6% | 87.7% |
| Joliet Central High School | 706 | 81.7% | 85.3% | 85.6% |
| Wilmington High School | 95 | 69.5% | 73.7% | 79% |
| Joliet West High School | 815 | 68.1% | 74.7% | 78.8% |
| Plainfield South High School | 543 | 67.1% | 74.2% | 75.9% |
| Bolingbrook High School | 716 | 66.2% | 69.4% | 74.4% |
| Romeoville High School | 425 | 64.2% | 71.3% | 72.7% |
| Beecher High School | 84 | 57.5% | 65% | 72.6% |
| Reed-Custer High School | 120 | 72.5% | 79.9% | 71.6% |
| Peotone High School | 108 | 65.9% | 68.6% | 70.4% |
| Plainfield High School | 490 | 61.8% | 70.7% | 70.4% |
| Lockport Township High School East | 946 | 58.3% | 61.7% | 66.6% |
| Plainfield East High School | 482 | 59.1% | 60% | 66.2% |
| Plainfield North High School | 575 | 49.2% | 58.2% | 55.5% |
| Lincoln-Way Central High School | 444 | 40.8% | 50.6% | 52.1% |
| Lincoln Way West | 435 | 45% | 55.9% | 49.7% |
| Lincoln-Way East High School | 645 | 42.3% | 45.9% | 47.1% |
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