Joliet school districts show some improvement in writing, reading skills

Joliet — Will County and Joliet schools saw mixed results in their state report cards released by the Illinois State Board of Education on Oct. 30.

While students across the board in Illinois saw improvements in English language arts scores, math scores have been slow to recover since the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic.

This year marked the highest proficiency rate for Illinois students in English language arts so far with this new test, at 40.9%.

Similarly, Joliet Public Schools District 86 and Joliet Township High School District 204 students saw better scores in ELA – which evaluates reading, writing, comprehension and critical thinking skills – than in math.

Overall, District 86 students scored 10.9% proficiency in math and 23% proficiency in ELA as well as 32.2% proficiency in science, while District 204′s two high schools had an average 17% proficiency in ELA and 12.7% proficiency in math, with a 40.7% proficiency score in science.

“We are proud of our students’ growth in both English language arts and math, which closely aligns with state averages,” District 86 Superintendent Theresa Rouse said. “Additionally, we’re encouraged by the upward trend in science proficiency. We commend our students, teachers and staff for their commitment and hard work in making these achievements possible.”

Although science proficiency is reported on the Illinois school report cards, most of the state data focuses on math and ELA.

Within District 204, Joliet West performed better in both math and ELA with 22.9% proficiency in ELA and 17.1% proficiency in math, compared with Central High School’s 11.8 % proficiency in ELA and 7.9% proficiency in math.

Taking test scores as well as factors such as graduation rate, absenteeism, growth and school climate and demographics, each school is given one of four rank levels ranging from “comprehensive” on the low-performing end to “exemplary” at the highest end.

Joliet West received the rank of “commendable,” which is the second-highest ranking, indicating “a school in which no subgroup is performing at or below the level of the ‘all students’ group in the lowest-performing 5% of Title I-eligible schools, a graduation rate above 67%, and whose performance is not in the top 10% of schools statewide,” according to the ISBE. This ranking has not changed from 2023.

“Chronic absenteeism remains a challenge for our district and for districts nationwide, an issue that has been magnified since the pandemic.”

—  Karla Guseman, superintendent Joliet Township School District 204

Joliet Central also did not experience a ranking change, but it was ranked lower at “targeted,” which the ISBE defines as “a school in which one or more subgroup(s) is/are performing at or below the level of the ‘all students’ group in the lowest-performing 5% of Title I-eligible schools.”

Addressing the rankings, District 204 Superintendent Karla Guseman issued a statement, saying: “One of the report card metrics includes absenteeism. Chronic absenteeism remains a challenge for our district and for districts nationwide, an issue that has been magnified since the pandemic. We ask our families to speak with their students about the importance of attending school and that our community reinforces this message, so that our students can take advantage of the wealth of programs that we offer.”

Guseman also noted that Joliet Central saw improvements for English language learner students on its report card, but not for students with disabilities, both of which are “areas of focus.”

“We continue to implement the objectives and strategies within our strategic plan to improve all aspects of student achievement,” she said in the statement.

District 86

In District 86, four schools saw their rankings increase since 2023. Dirksen Junior High School rose to the rank of “commendable” from “targeted,” Forest Park Individual Ed. School rose to “exemplary” from “commendable,” Marshall Elementary School increased to “commendable” from “targeted,” and Pershing Elementary School rose from “commendable” from “targeted.”

Conversely, Gompers Junior High School decreased to “comprehensive” from “targeted,” Washington Junior High School and Academy Program decreased to “targeted” from “commendable,” Eisenhower Academy was lowered from “exemplary to commendable,” Edna Keith Elementary School was lowered from “targeted” to “comprehensive,” and Thigpen Elementary School decreased to “comprehensive” from “targeted.”

Despite being lowered in its ranking, Gompers had the highest ELA and math scores of the district’s four junior high schools with 31.8% proficiency and 9.8% proficiency, respectively.

Washington performed the lowest of the junior high scores with 20.8% proficiency in ELA and 9% proficiency in math.

Across the district, Forest Park was the only school to receive an “exemplary” designation, with ELA scores at 41.6% proficiency and math scores at 23.4% proficiency, significantly higher than the district’s average.

Dirksen and Hufford junior high schools both received “commendable” rankings, along with Culbertson, Cunningham, Jefferson, Marshall, Sandburg, Pershing, Taft, Woodland and Singleton elementary schools and Eisenhower Academy.

Washington Junior High as well as Farrogut and Sanchez Elementary schools were ranked as “targeted,” while Gompers Junior High and Keith and Thigpen elementary schools were designated as “comprehensive.”

The lowest scores of the District 86 elementary schools were at Edna Keith and Sator Sanchez. Keith’s ELA scores were the lowest in the district with 7% proficiency, while Sanchez had the lowest math scores at 4.1% proficiency. Keith’s math proficiency was 5.4% while Sanchez’s ELA proficiency was 7.9%.

The highest-scoring elementary school in the district in both subject areas was Eisenhower Academy with 80% proficiency in ELA and 77% proficiency in math.