Editor’s note: This is the third in a multi-part series.

Last spring, students in third, fifth, sixth and eighth grades took the Illinois Standards Achievement Test in reading and mathematics, while students in fourth and seventh grades were tested in reading, mathematics and science.

Of the 11 districts with elementary schools in Bureau County, six schools improved their scores, while the scores at the other five dropped. Seven of the school districts — Bureau Valley, Princeton, Malden, Spring Valley, Ohio, LaMoille and DePue — failed to make adequate yearly progress (AYP) as defined by No Child Left Behind.