Although student performance in some Evanston schools has improved slightly, progress is slowing, according to a recent report on Evanston/Skokie School District 65.
Although student performance in some Evanston schools has improved slightly, progress is slowing, according to a recent report on Evanston/Skokie School District 65.
“While we went up in all categories, our gains were modest,” Chief Information Officer Paul Brinson said.
This year, more students met state standards in both reading and math than students did last year, according to combined data from the Illinois Standards Achievement Test and an alternate test for mentally disabled students.
In reading, the percentage of students meeting standards rose about 1 percent, to 85 percent, according to the report.
In math, it rose half a percentage point, to 91 percent.
All racial groups saw performance improvements for both subjects, although Asian students slipped in math by a little more than 1 percent.
Students with limited proficiency in the English language, however, experienced a relatively sharp trip in performance, with about six fewer percentage points meeting standards in both subjects than last year.
The newest percentage increases were the mildest in at least seven years.
Neverthless, Evanston students surpass more students on a national level than they did last year. Last school year added an additional 1 percent point to the four-fifths of the district’s students who outperform half of the nation’s students.
The report also showed that students perform better as they age.
When last year’s 8th grade class began 3rd grade, 71 percent of its students met or exceeded standards as gauged by the test.
Like the two classes before it, students of that class excelled every year and eventually finished 8th grade with 90 percent meeting or exceeding.
Three of the district’s schools have fallen short of an Illinois program meant to improve schools statewide year-by-year by regularly increasing standards, according to the report.
- At Dewey Elementary School, low-income students did not meet the state target for reading.
- At Washington Elementary School, students lacking proficiency in English did not meet the state target for reading.
- At Chute Middle School, students with disabilities did not meet the target for mathematics.