Test Scores Continue Decline In District 219 High Schools: Report Card

SKOKIE, IL — Test scores continued to decline in Niles Township High School District 219 during the 2021-22 school year, newly released data from state education officials shows.

The Illinois State Board of Education on Thursday released its report card for for public school districts across the state, with information about academic performance, teachers, students, administrators and school environment.

The report cards include the last five years of SAT test results, with 2020 excluded due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Since 2017, the proportion of 11th grade students in Niles Township High School District 219 who meet state standards has declined by nearly a third in English and a quarter in math.

In English language arts, 37.8 percent of District 219 juniors met or exceeded state standard.

That marks a decline from 45 percent in 2021, 46.7 percent in 2019, 47.4 percent in 2018 and 55.7 percent in 2017.

In math, the same share of students met or exceeded proficiency standards, 39.5 percent, in each of the two years since the coronavirus-related interruption. But in 2019, 46.5 percent of District 219 juniors met or exceeded state standards, down from a five-year high of 52 percent in 2017.

This year, just 5.7 percent of District 219 students exceeded state math proficiency standards — falling below this year's state average of 6.2 percent.

Test scores at Niles North and Niles West high schools are still better than the state average. Last year, just 29.8 percent of students met or exceeded English standards and just 28.8 percent met math proficiency standards.

The two-school district has about 4,600 students, spending more than $29,000 per student per year, according to the state data.

Per student spending rose by 10.3 percent at Niles West and 8.3 percent at Niles North last year.

There is one District 219 administrator for every 90 students, compared to a state average of hiring over administrator for every 147 students.

The student-to-teacher ratio is 15:1, better than the state average of 18:1. But the district's certified staff-to-student ratio was 10:1, compared to a state average of 9:1.

Read more:
Niles Township High School District 219 2022 Illinois Report Card
Niles North High School 2022 Illinois Report Card
Niles West High School 2022 Illinois Report Card