Prairie State scores continue to flag

To say that there is a crisis in the Illinois educational system would be an understatement. In Illinois, all high school juniors take the Prairie State Achievement Exam, which tests reading, math and science. The release of the 2011 scores confirms that the academic achievement level of Illinois high school juniors statewide is abysmal.

Statewide, 49 percent of all high school juniors failed to meet minimum standards in reading comprehension. It’s a disgrace that almost 50 percent of high school juniors failed to meet minimum reading standards. The 2011 PSAE scores are not an aberration, because from 2005 through 2010, the average rate of students failing to meet minimum standards in reading was 46.6 percent, in math 50 percent and in science 49.7 percent. Which means in that seven years there has only been slight improvement in math and science, with almost no improvement in reading proficiency.

In District 300, there was good and bad news. There was slight improvement in the test scores over 2010, but the scores remain terrible. In reading, 46.7 percent of student failed to meet minimum standards, while scores in math and science were surprisingly better.

What the scores reveal is that about half of all graduating seniors are unprepared to take college level courses. There is plenty of blame to go around, beginning with the Illinois Board of Education, local school boards, administrators, teachers, the curriculum and parental involvement. Teacher incompetency and a lack of parental involvement would seem to be the factors most responsible for the scores. And what is most troubling about the unacceptable level of academic achievement of high school juniors is that no one seems to care.

Victor Darst

West Dundee