Is Neal Math Science Academy a good school?

Neal Math Science Academy ranks in the bottom 12.3% of Illinois middle schools.

How many students attend Neal Math Science Academy?

In the 2022-23 school year, 529 students attended Neal Math Science Academy.

What is the racial makeup of Neal Math Science Academy?

Students at Neal Math Science Academy are 37% Hispanic, 34% African American, 22% White, 4% Two or more races, 2% American Indian.

What high school do graduates of Neal Math Science Academy attend?

Students who attend Neal Math Science Academy usually go on to attend North Chicago Community High School

Neal Math Science Academy

Summary:

Neal Math Science Academy is a public middle school located in North Chicago, Illinois, serving grades 6-8 with a total enrollment of 529 students. The school is part of the North Chicago School District 187, which is ranked 676 out of 813 districts in Illinois and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger. Over the past several years, Neal Math Science Academy has consistently ranked in the bottom quartile of Illinois middle schools, with a ranking between 1100-1295 out of around 1300 schools.

The school faces significant challenges, including high chronic absenteeism rates ranging from 33.5% to 48.7%, well below average academic performance, and significant disparities in outcomes for different student subgroups. For example, in 2023-2024, only 18.4% of students were proficient or better in ELA, compared to 41.2% statewide, and only 5.8% were proficient or better in Math, compared to 28.4% statewide. The school's African American and Hispanic students, as well as its English Language Learners and Special Education students, performed particularly poorly compared to their peers across Illinois. Despite relatively high spending per student, ranging from $13,585 to $19,952, the school has struggled to translate this investment into improved academic outcomes.

When comparing Neal Math Science Academy to nearby middle schools, the differences in performance are stark. For instance, Highland Middle School in Libertyville has significantly higher proficiency rates in ELA (82.3%) and Math (48.7%), while schools like Lake Bluff Middle School and Deer Path Middle School East and West also consistently outperform Neal Math Science Academy across multiple academic measures. These comparisons highlight the significant challenges facing the school and the need for a concerted effort to address the root causes of its underperformance.

Detail:

Public 6-8

1905 Argonne Dr
North Chicago, IL 60064-2500

(847) 689-6313

District: North Chicago School District 187

SchoolDigger Rank:
1196^th of 1,363 Illinois Middle Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $20,679

Students who attend Neal Math Science Academy usually attend:

High:

North Chicago Community High School

Feeder schools for Neal Math Science Academy:

Elementary:	A J Katzenmaier Academy
	Evelyn Alexander School
	Forrestal Elementary School
	LEARN Charter School 6 N Chicago Campus

Student/teacher ratio: 13.5

Number of students: 529

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

37.4%

African American:

34.4%

White:

22.5%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 98.5%

See top rated Illinois middle schools

Compare Neal Math Science Academy to nearby middle schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Neal Math Science Academy ranks worse than 87.7% of middle schools in Illinois. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 16.13. (See more...)

Chronic absenteeism in a school refers to a situation where students repeatedly miss school, with the threshold often defined as missing 10% or more of school days for any reason, excused or unexcused.

Student Body

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Teachers

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Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Neal Math Science Academy is $20,679.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Neal Math Science Academy:

SchoolDigger ranks Neal Math Science Academy 1196^th of 1363 Illinois public middle schools. (See Neal Math Science Academy in the ranking list.)

Middle School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

English Language Learner students:

Special Education students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Homeless students:

Female students:

Disabled students:

Military Connected students:

Male students:

African American students:

Hispanic students:

North Chicago School District 187:

SchoolDigger ranks North Chicago School District 187 676^th of 813 Illinois school districts. (See district ranking list.)

Average Parent Rating:

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Rank History for Neal Math Science Academy

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Rank History for all students at Neal Math Science Academy

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2003	11.34	1032^nd	1185	12.9%
2004	10.20	1062^nd	1204	11.8%
2005	10.12	1064^th	1209	12.0%
2006	9.76	1148^th	1272	9.7%
2007	7.67	1195^th	1287	7.1%
2008	4.19	1245^th	1293	3.7%
2009	1.99	1299^th	1318	1.4%
2010	2.43	1307^th	1327	1.5%
2011	1.33	1333^rd	1344	0.8%
2012	2.69	1347^th	1365	1.3%
2013	2.31	1355^th	1367	0.9%
2014	4.48	1295^th	1322	2.0%
2015	12.12	1220^th	1302	6.3%
2016	11.49	1238^th	1294	4.3%
2017	13.22	1191^st	1293	7.9%
2018	13.59	1177^th	1293	9.0%
2019	13.66	1225^th	1356	9.7%
2021	12.97	1170^th	1241	5.7%
2022	20.07	1100^th	1369	19.6%
2023	13.26	1274^th	1367	6.8%
2024	16.13	1196^th	1363	12.3%

See the entire list of Illinois Middle School Rankings!

Rank History for Multi-racial students at Neal Math Science Academy

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2022	14.52	179^th	195	8.2%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Middle Schools for Multi-racial Students!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Neal Math Science Academy

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	32.23	252^nd	285	11.6%
2019	30.42	298^th	339	12.1%
2021	34.93	210^th	277	24.2%
2022	47.65	167^th	454	63.2%
2023	25.93	438^th	480	8.8%
2024	33.65	339^th	486	30.2%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Middle Schools for English Language Learner Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at Neal Math Science Academy

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	26.87	471^st	602	21.8%
2019	26.03	672^nd	792	15.2%
2021	29.20	428^th	548	21.9%
2022	29.16	620^th	781	20.6%
2023	20.18	753^rd	805	6.5%
2024	19.20	751^st	802	6.4%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Middle Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Neal Math Science Academy

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	19.89	1013^th	1161	12.7%
2019	19.35	1070^th	1217	12.1%
2021	19.21	929^th	1019	8.8%
2022	28.80	910^th	1221	25.5%
2023	18.54	1121^st	1234	9.2%
2024	23.40	991^st	1219	18.7%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Middle Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Homeless students at Neal Math Science Academy

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2024	41.73	42^nd	70	40.0%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Middle Schools for Homeless Students!

Rank History for Female students at Neal Math Science Academy

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	12.89	1128^th	1226	8.0%
2019	15.32	1127^th	1276	11.7%
2021	11.35	977^th	1017	3.9%
2022	21.86	1018^th	1286	20.8%
2023	14.42	1159^th	1275	9.1%
2024	16.22	1096^th	1251	12.4%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Middle Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Disabled students at Neal Math Science Academy

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	24.54	568^th	674	15.7%
2024	26.10	534^th	639	16.4%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Middle Schools for Disabled Students!

Rank History for Military Connected students at Neal Math Science Academy

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2024	32.70	10^th	12	16.7%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Middle Schools for Military Connected Students!

Rank History for Male students at Neal Math Science Academy

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	15.27	1092^nd	1223	10.7%
2019	14.23	1183^rd	1296	8.7%
2021	13.09	999^th	1048	4.7%
2022	18.83	1075^th	1286	16.4%
2023	12.66	1224^th	1292	5.3%
2024	16.63	1114^th	1264	11.9%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Middle Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for African American students at Neal Math Science Academy

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	21.85	466^th	511	8.8%
2019	17.74	550^th	565	2.7%
2021	31.73	280^th	385	27.3%
2022	35.89	359^th	573	37.3%
2023	20.39	536^th	569	5.8%
2024	26.69	430^th	548	21.5%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Middle Schools for African American Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Neal Math Science Academy

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	15.93	559^th	590	5.3%
2019	15.05	612^th	639	4.2%
2021	12.99	508^th	517	1.7%
2022	23.75	553^rd	662	16.5%
2023	17.06	611^th	661	7.6%
2024	20.07	555^th	643	13.7%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Middle Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for White students at Neal Math Science Academy

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2021	8.40	800^th	813	1.6%
2022	9.98	860^th	898	4.2%
2023	6.75	882^nd	895	1.5%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Middle Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: Illinois State Board of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Data source: Illinois State Board of Education

Review counts

All ratings (Avg rating: 1)

100%

Reviews:

by a parent
Monday, September 24, 2018

The leadership has no control over the school. The students behave terribly usually without the knowledge of the faculty or the "Security" team.
My son was assaulted and no one knew until I went in to the school and raised hell. What is the point of having a security team on campus if students
get assaulted in the hallways and dont have the confidence in the school leadership to speak up for themselves

My son was assaulted several times in the hallways of this school. Not by a bigger kid hoping to get lunch money. It was a female student just for the sake of bullying.
When notified the student was not punished accordingly, a light slap on the wrist. If this was a school that was not in such a bad area the consequences for those kind ofactions are much more severe. There is no one to teach these students right from wrong.

This school is a shame. It is very close to a navy base so military members that cannot get their children into the charter school have almost no choice but to
try to deal with this place. My son only attended for two months before bullying made me withdraw him. Don't try to tell the staff of their issues. It is clear
that no one at or around this school cares. Not the faculty, not the students, and definitely not the parents Close Quote

Enrollment information for Neal Math Science Academy

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
2002	79	342	15	155	16	n/a	n/a	0	607
2003	79	342	15	155	16	n/a	n/a	0	607
2004	51	364	19	187	13	n/a	n/a	0	634
2005	46	362	10	199	0	n/a	n/a	19	636
2006	27	326	4	218	0	n/a	n/a	2	577
2007	25	307	2	255	4	n/a	n/a	8	601
2008	29	289	8	237	0	n/a	n/a	12	575
2009	20	273	8	245	0	n/a	n/a	8	554
2010	37	226	0	235	0	n/a	n/a	13	511
2011	22	256	5	266	0	3	12	0	564
2012	19	215	5	263	2	0	10	0	514
2013	18	198	2	262	2	2	8	0	492
2014	11	247	0	374	1	1	13	0	647
2015	13	223	1	370	0	2	16	0	625
2016	17	213	5	346	0	2	15	0	598
2017	15	207	0	376	0	1	12	0	611
2018	13	191	1	361	0	1	9	0	576
2019	10	181	5	389	1	1	12	0	599
2020	23	174	1	351	0	1	29	0	579
2021	22	185	2	349	4	0	29	0	591
2022	66	191	1	269	9	3	28	0	567
2023	119	182	1	198	8	2	19	0	529

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Neal Math Science Academy

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
2002	607	43.0	14.1	40.2
2003	607	43.0	14.1	40.2
2004	634	40.0	15.9	69.9
2005	636	37.0	17.2	78.8
2006	577	30.4	19.0	99.8
2007	601	42.0	14.3	88
2008	575	38.0	15.1	101.1
2009	554	38.0	14.6	75.1
2010	511	35.0	14.6	63.1
2011	564	35.0	16.1	70.2
2012	514	40.0	12.8	81.5
2013	492	47.8	10.2	89
2014	647	46.0	14.0	87
2015	625	45.0	13.8	89.9
2016	598	46.0	13.0	89.5
2017	611	44.0	13.8	99.5
2018	576	43.0	13.3	99.8
2019	599	37.0	16.1	99
2020	579	37.6	15.3	99
2021	591	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	567	41.7	13.5	99.1
2023	529	39.0	13.5	98.5

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Neal Math Science Academy

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
2002	607	43.0	14.1	40.2
2003	607	43.0	14.1	40.2
2004	634	40.0	15.9	69.9
2005	636	37.0	17.2	78.8
2006	577	30.4	19.0	99.8
2007	601	42.0	14.3	88
2008	575	38.0	15.1	101.1
2009	554	38.0	14.6	75.1
2010	511	35.0	14.6	63.1
2011	564	35.0	16.1	70.2
2012	514	40.0	12.8	81.5
2013	492	47.8	10.2	89
2014	647	46.0	14.0	87
2015	625	45.0	13.8	89.9
2016	598	46.0	13.0	89.5
2017	611	44.0	13.8	99.5
2018	576	43.0	13.3	99.8
2019	599	37.0	16.1	99
2020	579	37.6	15.3	99
2021	591	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	567	41.7	13.5	99.1
2023	529	39.0	13.5	98.5

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.

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