Middle Schools in McLean County Unified School District 5

The McLean County Unified School District 5 in Illinois is home to 4 middle schools serving grades 6-8: Kingsley Junior High School, Evans Junior High School, Parkside Junior High School, and Chiddix Junior High School. These schools exhibit a range of academic performance, with Evans Junior High School emerging as the standout, earning a 4-star rating from SchoolDigger and ranking 356th out of 1,363 Illinois middle schools.

Evans Junior High School boasts the highest proficiency rates in both English Language Arts (54.5%) and Mathematics (32.6%), outperforming the district and state averages. It also has the lowest chronic absenteeism rate at 19.5%, compared to the other schools which range from 15.9% to 26.7%. However, the other middle schools in the McLean County Unified School District 5 show significant room for improvement, with proficiency rates as low as 36.4% in English Language Arts and 18.8% in Mathematics.

The data also reveals notable differences in student demographics and per-student spending across the middle schools. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch varies from 30.3% at Chiddix Junior High School to 43.06% at Parkside Junior High School. Per-student spending ranges from $12,213 at Kingsley Junior High School to $13,503 at Parkside Junior High School. These factors may contribute to the observed performance differences, suggesting opportunities for the district to address equity and resource allocation across its middle schools.