Did Dolton School District 149 students succeed or flounder in their 2023-24 school year ELA tests?

In the 2023-24 school year, 14.5% of the students in Dolton School District 149 passed the ELA portion of the Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR), according to the Illinois State Board of Education.

Of the 1,444 students in Dolton School District 149 who took the ELA portion of the test, approximately 209 (14.5%) passed.

The percentage of Dolton School District 149 students who met or exceeded expectations on the IAR increased by 4.6% compared to the previous school year.

Dolton School District 149 roughly covers eight schools within Cook County and has a main office in Calumet City.

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.