South West Illinois News

In the two years after 94 percent of Waterloo High School's class of 2018 graduated on time, 23 percent of those who attended Illinois community colleges had to enroll in remedial courses because they were not prepared for college-level classes, according to data from the Illinois State Board of Education.

Data from the class that graduated in 2018 shows 81 percent of Waterloo students enrolled in two- or four-year programs at a college or university within 12 months of graduating high school, compared to 75 percent across the state.

Of the Waterloo graduates attending Illinois community colleges, 3 percent took remedial courses in reading, while 19 percent took them in math and 3 percent took them in communications.

Statewide, 43 percent of students enrolled in community colleges across the state had to take remedial classes.

School District	City	School	Four-year graduation rate	Remediation rate
Chester CUSD 139	Chester	Chester High School	83%	42%
Waterloo CUSD 5	Waterloo	Waterloo High School	94%	23%
Du Quoin CUSD 300	Du Quoin	Du Quoin High School	91%	16%
Pinckneyville CHSD 101	Pinckneyville	Pinckneyville Community High School	92%	11%