DeKalb County schools follow state trend as math, English levels slip amid pandemic learning

DeKalb County public school students’ math and English proficiency levels dipped along with the rest of the state during the COVID-19 pandemic, newly released state data shows.

Just 12% of students in DeKalb District 428 are proficient in English Language Arts and 9% are proficient in math, according to 2021 Illinois Report Card data. That’s compared to proficiency levels of 18% in both subjects in 2019.

“Any decline in proficiency is a concern for us, as we want all students to reach their full potential,” DeKalb Superintendent Minerva Garcia-Sanchez said Friday. The district has 12 schools with an average class size of 25, data shows.

Superintendents with DeKalb and Sycamore school districts say it’s important to view the state’s new data through the context of the pandemic. Data collection has been muddled as well, they said.

With state numbers not yet published, according the report card data, there’s no way to compare how new proficiencies rank with the state averages, they said.

The data is based on Illinois Assessment of Readiness standardized testing, much of which didn’t occur in 2020 because many students were still learning remotely. For the majority of 2020, public schools across the state conducted full remote learning. The state data shows the impact the learning environment had on students and teacher retention across the county.

Garcia-Sanchez said only 54% of DeKalb students in third through eighth grades took the English test in the spring, and a smaller percentage took the math test since many were still learning remotely and weren’t tested.

To address proficiency levels, Garcia-Sanchez said DeKalb schools continue to provide professional development for staff, and several programs (RISE) for students to address reading comprehension, word study and guided writing.

“Learning remotely was challenging for many students, which is one of the reasons we remain strongly committed to keeping schools open in person if at all possible,” she said.

In Sycamore District 427, the report shows 29% of Sycamore students are proficient in English Language Arts, compared to 38% in 2019; and 23% are proficient in math, compared to 32% in 2019. In Genoa-Kingston District 424, 33% of students are proficient in English Language Arts and 21% are proficient in math, a decrease of 2% from 2019.

“The decrease itself is directly related to the pandemic,” Sycamore Superintendent Steve Wilder said. “A quick review of some area districts shows a similar proportionate drop, so that may be an indicator that although our scores were down that the drop was consistent with other districts.”

Genoa-Kingston Superintendent Brent O’Daniell did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Sycamore, a district with seven schools and an average class size of 22, ranks at 10.6% well below the state average of 28.8% for 8th grade algebra learning. It’s a trend that can be traced back to 2017, according to report card data. Wilder said that continues to be a priority to address in Sycamore schools.

“This is an area where we’ve been below the state average looking at the 5-year trend. The dip was more pronounced this year, which is consistent with other scores,” Wilder said. “This is an area of focus as are all of our other scores.”

The new data also ranks chronic absenteeism in an age where classrooms constantly moved around throughout the past two years to kitchen tables, digital screens or restricted in-person models.

In DeKalb, new data shows a 19% rate, lower than the 21% state average. In Genoa-Kingston, it’s 16%. In Sycamore, it’s 36%, nearly twice the rate of DeKalb.

Garcia-Sanchez said context, again, is key, since a student can be marked absent, whether excused for illness or unexcused, under state guidance.

“Our attendance during remote learning also caused our absenteeism rates to appear to improve since attendance was taken based on student completion of any work,” she said, whether students were logged in to a remote device with no camera or not.

Wilder said absent students were noted mostly at Sycamore middle and high schools, and speculated whether it’s because older students may have had more independence during remote learning.

For freshmen on track, a data point the state uses to assess readiness for graduating high school, Sycamore reports close to the state average: 78.2% compared to 82.2% statewide.

“It speaks to the work that our staff does across the district from elementary to middle to high school to prepare students to stay on track,” Wilder said. “I also credit our counselors for their work with students to identify the course schedule that fits their needs.”

In DeKalb, 75.1% of freshmen are on track. In Genoa-Kingston, Garcia-Sanchez said the district partners with institutions such as Kishwaukee College and the Kishwaukee Education Consortium to offer students additional courses for early college credit.

Despite the stressors of the COVID-19 pandemic on educators, all three districts report teacher retention rates higher than the state average of 87.1%. DeKalb has an 87.4% teacher retention rate. In Sycamore, it’s 91.9% and in Genoa-Kingston 89%.

“The continued commitment of our teachers is absolutely a strength of our district, and we sincerely appreciate their partnership and focus on serving families and students throughout the pandemic,” Garcia-Sanchez said. “We are proud to call so many of our teachers neighbors, as well; many of our teachers live in DeKalb, contributing to the sense of community in our schools.”