Test expectations: How many Cook County School District 130 students failed to meet ELA IAR expectations in 2023-24 school year?

Dr. Donna Leak Vice-Chair - Flossmoor | solutiontree.com

By South Cook News

Jul 3, 2025

In the 2023-24 school year, 72.1% of Cook County School District 130 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 28% who did.

The total number Cook County School District 130 students who failed their ELA assessments fell by 7.2% from the previous school year.

Cook County School District 130 roughly covers schools within Cook County and has a main office in Blue Island.

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

Students who Didn't Meet Academic Standards in ELA During 2023-24 school year

School	District	Students who did not meet met standards (%)
George Washington Elementary School	Cook County School District 130	84.3%
Paul Revere Primary School	Cook County School District 130	76.7%
Whittier Elementary School	Cook County School District 130	76.7%
Nathan Hale Intermediate School	Cook County School District 130	76.6%
Veterans Memorial Middle School	Cook County School District 130	74.9%
Lincoln Elementary School	Cook County School District 130	72.2%
Paul Revere Intermediate School	Cook County School District 130	71.8%
Nathan Hale Primary School	Cook County School District 130	70.9%
Nathan Hale Middle School	Cook County School District 130	67.5%
Everett F. Kerr Middle School	Cook County School District 130	62.5%