Despite dismal student performance on annual exams covering math and reading, Champaign-Urbana metro area high school graduation rates remain high, according to a Chambana Sun analysis of 2016 data from the Illinois State Board of Education.
Of the 23 schools analyzed in Champaign, Ford, Piatt and Vermilion counties, Westville High School showed the greatest disparity. In a year when 82 percent of seniors graduated on time, just 8 percent of students actually passed annual tests that the state uses to determine who is "ready for the next level."
The end-of-year tests known as the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, or PARCC, are administered to third- through eighth-graders in Illinois, testing them based on Common Core standards. High schoolers also took the tests through 2016.
A composite score combines the results of the subject tests. Students whose scores either meet or exceed expectations are considered "ready for the next level."
Schools' graduation fraud index shows the difference between the composite passing rate and the graduation rate.
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Champaign-Urbana metro schools graduation fraud index
| Metro area high schools | School district | County | Annual exam pass rate (%) | Graduation rate (%) | Graduation fraud index |
| Westville High School | Westville Cusd 2 | Vermilion | 7.5 | 82.4 | -74.9 |
| Salt Fork High School | Salt Fork Community Unit District 512 | Vermilion | 23.1 | 97.4 | -74.3 |
| Heritage High School | Heritage Cusd 8 | Champaign | 22 | 91.4 | -69.4 |
| Georgetown-Ridge Farm High School | Georgetown-Ridge Farm Cud 4 | Vermilion | 22 | 89.4 | -67.4 |
| Urbana High School | Urbana Sd 116 | Champaign | 17.4 | 84.4 | -67 |
| Central High School | Champaign Cusd 4 | Champaign | 19.3 | 85.5 | -66.2 |
| Monticello High School | Monticello Cusd 25 | Piatt | 34.3 | 97.9 | -63.6 |
| Bismarck-Henning High School | Bismarck Henning Cusd | Vermilion | 28.5 | 91.7 | -63.2 |
| Rantoul Township High School | Rantoul Township Hsd 193 | Champaign | 25.5 | 88.4 | -62.9 |
| Centennial High School | Champaign Cusd 4 | Champaign | 22 | 84.4 | -62.4 |
| Deland-Weldon High School | Deland-Weldon Cusd 57 | Piatt | 32.3 | 93.8 | -61.5 |
| Danville High School | Danville Ccsd 118 | Vermilion | 9 | 69.7 | -60.7 |
| Unity High School | Tolono Cusd 7 | Champaign | 33.8 | 94 | -60.2 |
| Cerro Gordo Jr/Sr High School | Cerro Gordo Cusd 100 | Piatt | 29.4 | 89.6 | -60.2 |
| Armstrong High School | Armstrong Twp Hsd 225 | Vermilion | 22.4 | 80.8 | -58.4 |
| Oakwood High School | Oakwood Cusd 76 | Vermilion | 32.3 | 88.4 | -56.1 |
| Hoopeston Area High School | Hoopeston Area Cusd 11 | Vermilion | 14.8 | 70.9 | -56.1 |
| St Joseph-Ogden High School | St Joseph Ogden Chsd 305 | Champaign | 49.2 | 98.3 | -49.1 |
| GCMS High School | Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley Cusd 5 | Ford | 38.1 | 85.3 | -47.2 |
| Fisher Jr/Sr High School | Fisher Cusd 1 | Champaign | 37.1 | 82.8 | -45.7 |
| Mahomet-Seymour High School | Mahomet-Seymour Cusd 3 | Champaign | 51.4 | 94.5 | -43.1 |
| Paxton-Buckley-Loda High School | Paxton-Buckley-Loda Cud 10 | Ford | 38.5 | 79.1 | -40.6 |
| Bement High School | Bement Cusd 5 | Piatt | 51.8 | 81.5 | -29.7 |
Source: Illinois State Board of Education
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