Will County Gazette

In the 2023-24 school year, 42.3% of Wilmington Community Unit School District 209U students failed the ELA portion of the Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) test, according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

These students did not meet the required standards of the ELA portion of the IAR compared to the 57.6% who did.

The total number Wilmington Community Unit School District 209U students who failed their ELA assessments was unchanged from the previous school year.

Wilmington Community Unit School District 209U roughly covers schools within Will County and has a main office in Wilmington.

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 did not meet met standards (%)
L.J. Stevens Intermediate School	Wilmington Community Unit School District 209U	55%
Wilmington Middle School	Wilmington Community Unit School District 209U	30.1%