Madison County Public School Students Can’t Read

Last month we covered the bleak picture painted by the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP), known as the nation’s report card when it comes to student achievement nationally. But now, we’re drilling down to the NAEP’s school district level data in critical subjects such as reading and math. Illinois’ education failures have been well documented and publicized, particularly in the Chicago area, but the problems exist statewide. An example is the lack of student competency in reading and math at several Madison County, Illinois school districts, located just northeast of St. Louis. 

In the Alton Community Unit School District 11, only 24 percent of students are proficient in reading, and just 16 percent are proficient in math. Despite these dismal numbers, 73 percent of students manage to graduate in the district, and 100 percent of teachers are rated “excellent or proficient.”   Students in Highland, IL, fare somewhat better, with an overall proficiency rating of 47 percent in reading and in the Roxana District, only 30 percent of all students test proficient in reading. 

It’s somewhat ironic that Madison County student performance is so low, particularly in reading, given that it was home for many years to our tireless champion of phonics instruction, prominent author, Republican political leader, and pro-family advocate, Phyllis Schlafly. Phyllis often warned about the folly of abandoning phonics instruction for fads such as “whole language” or the “look-say” method. If you’re left to wonder about your child’s ability to read, we have just the solution! 

Email us today if you would like a free copy of Phyllis Schlafly’s phonics reading test! Send a message to info@phyllisschlafly.com. It’s a quick and easy to administer from printed pages or even straight from the screen. See if your child is reading up to their full potential. Request a copy of this free First Reading Test by sending a message either on our website at Phyllis Schlafly dot com or via email to info@phyllisschlafly.com. 

This post originally appeared at https://phyllisschlafly.com/family/madison-county-public-school-students-cant-read/