When presenting reports on student achievement in the past, ETHS administrators have emphasized that gaps in performance between different racial groups ultimately illustrate the effect of structural racism on a community. That’s the highest rate of chronic absenteeism at ETHS since the 2018-2019 year. Plus, 23% of students were chronically absent last school year, meaning they missed at least 10% of class days either with or without an excuse. The bad news: The opportunity gap in student performance between white students and students from underrepresented minorities continues to persist, and is widening in some cases amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Nearly every demographic group of students has also increased its four-year graduation rate over the last several years as well.

The good news: The ETHS four-year graduation rate continues to increase, reaching 94.2% in the 2021-2022 school year, vs. The state rated Evanston Township High School as a “commendable school,” defined as “a school that has no underperforming student groups, a graduation rate greater than 67%, and whose performance is not in the top 10% of schools statewide.” A rating of “exemplary school” is reserved for those schools in the top 10%. Illinois released its annual school report card last Thursday, which highlights data on student performance, engagement, well-being and more. Editor’s note: This is one of two analysis pieces from the RoundTable on how Evanston’s school districts fared in the recently released Illinois Report Card, which provides statistical information on school districts throughout the state.

Evanston township high school illinois