Hinsdale D-86 Scores Fare Better Than Neighbors

HINSDALE, IL – Standardized scores dropped at high schools around the state during the pandemic.

But the declines weren't as steep in Hinsdale High School District 86, compared with two similar area districts.

In one instance, Hinsdale South High improved its performance, which was unusual during the pandemic.

For the SAT's English language arts section, 75.3 percent of Hinsdale Central High students met state standards in 2019, the last year before the pandemic, according to the Illinois Report Card website. In 2021, that rate dropped to 72.6 percent.

Hinsdale South saw its percentage of students meeting standards rise to 48.3 percent in 2021, from 44.3 percent.

At the state level, the rate dropped to 33 percent, from 36.7 percent.

York and Lyons Township high schools saw more dramatic drops than Hinsdale Central. At York, 65 percent met standards before the pandemic, compared with 56.6 percent in 2021. At Lyons Township, 59.9 percent met standards in 2021, dropping to 54.2 percent two years later.

For the SAT's math section, 79.3 percent of Central students met standards in 2019, compared with 71.5 percent two years later. At South, 46.8 percent made the mark in 2019, dropping to 43 percent in 2021.

Statewide, the rate dropped to 29.3 percent, from 34.8 percent.

Lyons Township took a steep dive in math to 51.2 percent, from 64.4 percent. York went down to 57.3 percent, from 63 percent.

Chris Covino, District 86's assistant superintendent for academics, credited the relatively small drops compared to nearby districts, in large part, to an "extremely flexible" teaching staff.

"We were in person earlier and more often than many of our peer districts," Covino said in an interview last week at the district's central office. "When we had conversations with other districts, they were surprised about how early and how often we were back."

He also said the staff did a good job in attending to the needs of those struggling with the decline in in-person learning.

In the years before the pandemic, the percentage of students meeting standards on the SAT started ticking down statewide, including District 86, York and Lyons Township.

Covino attributed the decrease to the trend in which far fewer colleges require applicants to provide standardized test scores. Students don't treat the SAT as important as they used to.

But Covino said they should take it seriously. Financial aid and scholarship awards, he said, are often tied directly to SAT scores.

Many critics in District 86 and elsewhere accuse administrators of diverting students from the basics to things such as equity and social-emotional learning.

Covino said that is not the case.

"The last few years have forced us to focus more on what some may call the basics," he said.

Hinsdale Central High School

Here are the percentages of juniors meeting standards on the English language arts portion of the SAT:

Here are the percentages of juniors meeting standards on the math portion of the SAT:

Hinsdale South High School

Here are the percentages of juniors meeting standards on the English language arts portion of the SAT:

Here are the percentages of juniors meeting standards on the math portion of the SAT:

York High School

Here are the percentages of juniors meeting standards on the English language arts portion of the SAT:

Here are the percentages of juniors meeting standards on the math portion of the SAT:

Lyons Township High School

Here are the percentages of juniors meeting standards on the English language arts portion of the SAT:

Here are the percentages of juniors meeting standards on the math portion of the SAT:

Source: Illinois Report Card