Proviso Township High Schools worst in Illinois in multiple categories

In the most recent school year Proviso Township High Schools (District 209) had the lowest percent of students that meet or exceed standards on standardized tests in the state of Illinois. Results were obtained from the Illinois Interactive Report Card sponsored by Northern Illinois University.

Proviso scores went down absolutely (less students meet or exceed standards) and relative to other districts. Last year Proviso could at least claim to have more students meeting standards than Bloom.

District 209 has the lowest graduation rate in the state. [Orion corrected in comments.]

District 209's dropout rate is tied with Odin (Marion, IL) for #1 in Illinois.

District 209 has the second highest rate of chronic truancy.

District 209 has more low income students than most districts. However, many districts have more low income students. And even in these poorer districts, more students meet or exceed standards.

And District 209 spends more per pupil than most districts.

Who is to blame?

• The District 209 board of education, especially, board president Emanuel "Chris" Welch
  
• The unions
  
• The mayors
  
• Karen Yarbrough, the Democratic Committeeman
  
• Charles Flowers, the former Regional Superintendent of Education
  
• Illinois State Board of Education
  
• Cook County States Attorney
  
• Superintendent Nettie Collins-Hart and her predecessors, especially Robert Libka
  
• U.S. Attorney Northern Illinois District
  
• board members of Proviso's elementary school districts
  
• Gov. Pat Quinn
  
• The voters
  
  In different ways, all these people could have made a difference and improved D209 and the education received by D209 students. And all of these people did too little.
  
  Flowers might be able to plead that he was simply a fuck-up and didn't really have the ability to make a difference. But let's be honest. When he got elected Regional Superintendent he was more focused on taking care of his people than making a difference in the quality of education received by students.
  
  Quinn's influence is weak and extends through the Illinois State Board of Education. But I suspect if he lit a fire under the ass of the state superintendent of education, things could be made better.
  
  Proviso property owners pay taxes for services. They don't like getting ripped-off, but they aren't mad enough about it to take effective action.

1	New Trier	90
2	Northfield	81
3	Elmwood Park	78
4	Lyons	75
5	Riverside-Brookfield	72
6	Township HSD 214	70
7	Lemont	69
8	Oak Park & River Forest	68
9	Con HSD 230	67
10	Maine	66
11	Township HSD 211	66
12	Homewood Flossmoor	63
13	Evanston	62
14	Niles	61
15	Reavis	59
16	Ridgewood	58
17	Evergreen Park	57
18	Oak Lawn	54
19	Bremen	53
20	Leyden	46
21	Argo	44
22	CHSD 218	39
23	Rich	37
24	Thornton Fractional	35
25	Thornton	30
26	Bloom	28
27	Proviso	25