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Wednesday, July 23, 2025

In 2023-24 school year, 59.2% of Ridgeland School District 122 students failed ELA portion of IAR

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Jason Helfer Chief Education Officer - Instruction | Twitter

Jason Helfer Chief Education Officer - Instruction | Twitter

In the 2023-24 school year, 59.2% of Ridgeland School District 122 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 40.8% who did.

The total number Ridgeland School District 122 students who failed their ELA assessments fell by 5.9% from the previous school year.

Ridgeland School District 122 roughly covers schools within Cook County and has a main office in Oak Lawn.

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.

Cook's Students Failure Rates in ELA Over 4 Years

20212022202320240%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%77%70%74%70%65%65%59%59%Ridgeland School District 122Illinois
Students who Didn't Meet Academic Standards in ELA During 2023-24 school year
SchoolDistrictStudents who did not meet met standards (%)
Ernest F. Kolb Elementary SchoolRidgeland School District 12268.3%
George W. Lieb Elementary SchoolRidgeland School District 12262.2%
Harnew Elementary SchoolRidgeland School District 12261%
Simmons Middle SchoolRidgeland School District 12259.1%
Columbus Manor Elementary SchoolRidgeland School District 12244.6%

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