In the 2023-24 school year, 46.5% of Evanston Community Consolidated School District 65 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 53.5% who did.
The total number Evanston Community Consolidated School District 65 students who failed their ELA assessments fell by 8.6% from the previous school year.
Evanston Community Consolidated School District 65 roughly covers schools within Cook County and has a main office in Evanston.
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.
| School | District | Students who did not meet met standards (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Dr. Bessie Rhodes School of Global Studies | Evanston Community Consolidated School District 65 | 67.1% |
| Oakton Elementary School | Evanston Community Consolidated School District 65 | 64.2% |
| Washington Elementary School | Evanston Community Consolidated School District 65 | 53.5% |
| Walker Elementary School | Evanston Community Consolidated School District 65 | 52.6% |
| Willard Elementary School | Evanston Community Consolidated School District 65 | 51.6% |
| Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Literary and Fine Arts School | Evanston Community Consolidated School District 65 | 49.4% |
| Kingsley Elementary School | Evanston Community Consolidated School District 65 | 48.4% |
| Dewey Elementary School | Evanston Community Consolidated School District 65 | 47.6% |
| Lincolnwood Elementary School | Evanston Community Consolidated School District 65 | 46.4% |
| Lincoln Elementary School | Evanston Community Consolidated School District 65 | 46.3% |
| Dawes Elementary School | Evanston Community Consolidated School District 65 | 45.9% |
| Chute Middle School | Evanston Community Consolidated School District 65 | 41.5% |
| Nichols Middle School | Evanston Community Consolidated School District 65 | 41.4% |
| Orrington Elementary School | Evanston Community Consolidated School District 65 | 41.4% |
| Haven Middle School | Evanston Community Consolidated School District 65 | 40% |



