Dupage Policy Journal

In the 2023-24 school year, 52.1% of Darien School District 61 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 47.9% who did.

The total number Darien School District 61 students who failed their ELA assessments fell by 7.3% from the previous school year.

Darien School District 61 roughly covers schools within DuPage County and has a main office in Darien.

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.

K-12 enrollment has been declining in Illinois for many years, reflecting the state's demographic changes. Between the 2019–20 and 2022–23 school years, Illinois public school enrollment declined from approximately 1.98 million to 1.85 million students, a decrease of about 127,000 students or 6.4%. This decline is significantly higher than the typical annual decreases of 0.5% to 1.5% observed in the preceding years, reflecting broader demographic shifts within the state.

School	District	Students who did not meet met standards (%)
Eisenhower Junior High School	Darien School District 61	53.1%
Lace Elementary School	Darien School District 61	51%