ELMHURST, IL – Elmhurst School District 205 aimed to increase the number of juniors meeting state SAT standards by 2.5 percent.
Instead, the number dropped, according to data released last month.
As Patch has reported, 51 percent of juniors met standards in the English language arts section of the SAT last school year, down from 55 percent a year earlier.
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In math, 49 percent made the mark last school year, down from 53 percent.
In comments to the school board Tuesday, resident Tom Chavez noted the drop in light of the 2.5 percent goal.
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“That’s a huge miss,” said Chavez, who is running for the board a second time.
At the same time, Chavez, who has criticized the district for the last few years, acknowledged rising standardized test scores among local elementary and middle school students. The district has touted that improvement, while giving little attention to the bad news.
“It’s not all doom and gloom,” Chavez told the board. “There are areas that have seen some improvement and that’s a good thing, but outcomes – or as the district’s strategic plan calls it ‘college and career readiness’ – are what matters the most. SAT scores are what get your kids into college and earn them scholarships, not fifth grade (test) scores.”
He referred to last year’s battle over whether to make the novel, “American Street,” required reading for York High’s freshmen. He said it was far below grade level. During the 2023 debate, he and others made that argument as well as pointed to the book’s obscenities.
“Adding a third-grade book like ‘American Street’ to the core freshman (English language arts) curriculum wasn’t the best way to help an already struggling cohort of students to catch up,” Chavez said.
The district later decided to include passages from “American Street,” not the whole book, in the freshman curriculum.
Another resident, John Sullivan, also pointed out York’s declining SAT results. He questioned how the district was handling its money and referred to statements from board member Jim Collins, who has criticized increases in staff with flat enrollment.
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“I have no problem spending money if we’re going to get achievement, but it doesn’t sound like we’re on the right path,” Sullivan said.
He said he wondered where all the money was going from property tax levy increases over the last few years. He also said he was bothered by bonuses given to administrators last year.
Later in the meeting, board member Kara Caforio noted the question about where the money was going.
She said the district is now spending $3 million to $4 million a year to keep buildings maintained, up from the $1 million annually before 2017.
It’s important to spend more money on buildings, Caforio said, so the district can avoid major debt. In 2018, voters approved borrowing $168 million to pay for district-wide building projects.
“I don’t think any of us want to fall behind on our maintenance,” she said.
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