Calhoun CUSD 40

The Calhoun CUSD 40 district in Illinois has two schools - Calhoun Elementary/Junior High School and Calhoun High School. The elementary/junior high school stands out with a 4-star rating and strong performance in 3rd-5th grade English Language Arts and Mathematics, as well as high science proficiency. In contrast, the high school's academic performance on standardized tests lags behind the state average, though it maintains a relatively high graduation rate.

Calhoun Elementary/Junior High School outperformed the state in several grade-level test scores, with 62.9% proficiency in the Illinois Science Assessment. However, Calhoun High School's SAT scores were below the state average. Both schools had relatively high chronic absenteeism rates, which could be an area of concern. The district as a whole was ranked 502 out of 813 districts in Illinois, indicating room for improvement across the schools.

While the elementary/junior high school demonstrated academic strengths, particularly in the lower grades, the high school struggled to match the state's performance on standardized tests. The higher spending per student at the high school did not translate to significantly better outcomes compared to the elementary/junior high school, which had a lower student-teacher ratio that may have contributed to its stronger performance in the lower grades. Addressing chronic absenteeism could be a key focus area for the district to improve overall student outcomes.