Elmhurst Students See Gains In Test Scores: Official

ELMHURST, IL – Elmhurst School District 205 on Tuesday reported gains in students' test scores over the last few years.

At a school board meeting, Chris Whelton, assistant superintendent of finance, said the significant increases in test scores are because of high-quality instructional materials and strong professional learning.

The district is now seeing the greatest percentage of third through eighth graders meeting standards in math and English language arts since the state adopted the Illinois Assessment of Readiness in 2018, Whelton said.

Scores for English language arts and math have increased by 13.5 percent and 8.6 percent, respectively, since 2021-22, he said.

"All elementary, middle and high schools achieved expected growth or better than projected on the IAR and SAT in math and (English language arts)," Whelton said.

Whelton spoke about student scores to make the case that the district has seen results from the money it is spending. It was part of a budget presentation.

The latest data from school districts across the state are usually compiled on the Illinois Report Card site in October.

This allows people to compare scores from district to district. The information is provided in detail, down to demographic groups. Last year, the statistics showed that Elmhurst's low-income students lost ground.