Evanston Township High School’s enrollment this year has hit its highest level in 30 years — at 3,393 students.
At this week’s school board meeting board members were also told that first-time freshman enrollment of 837 this fall is the highest in 13 years.
Enrollment in the special education and bilingual programs also increased with the number of students in the bilingual program more than doubling in the past five years to 67 students.
The school’s Research, Evaluation & Assessment Office says the percentage of black students has remained relatively steady over the past five years — currently at 28.8 percent. The percentage of white students was up slightly from last year, to 44.1 percent.
The percentage of Hispanic students has increased over the past five years from 15.4 to 17.7 percent. And Asian student increased from 3.8 to 5.5 percent of the student body.
Students identifying as being of two or more races declined from 5.2 to 2.4 percent.
Some academic achievement indicators, including ACT benchmarks and advanced placement course enrollments, were down slightly last year, but officials say they are still among the highest in the school’s history.
Fifty-nine percent of graduating seniors met the ACT College Readiness Benchmark in mathematics with a score of 22 or higher in 2016 at ETHS, compared to 61 percent in 2015 and 57 percent in 2014. By comparison, 41 percent of graduating seniors in Illinois and 41 percent of graduating seniors nationwide in 2016 met the ACT College Readiness Benchmark.
The five-year graduation rate has shown a steady increase from 89.9 percent in 2014 to 92.1 percent in 2016. According to National Student Clearinghouse data, about 84 percent of 2014 graduates continued in a post-secondary institution within two semesters of graduating from ETHS.