Is Cottage Grove Upper Grade Center a good school?

Cottage Grove Upper Grade Center ranks in the bottom 12.6% of Illinois middle schools.

How many students attend Cottage Grove Upper Grade Center?

In the 2022-23 school year, 153 students attended Cottage Grove Upper Grade Center.

What is the racial makeup of Cottage Grove Upper Grade Center?

Students at Cottage Grove Upper Grade Center are 92% African American, 8% Hispanic.

Cottage Grove Upper Grade Center

Summary:

Cottage Grove Upper Grade Center is a public middle school located in Ford Heights, Illinois, serving grades 5-8 with a total enrollment of 153 students. The school is part of the Ford Heights School District 169, which is ranked 794 out of 813 districts in Illinois and has a 0-star rating from SchoolDigger. Cottage Grove Upper Grade Center has consistently ranked in the bottom 10-15% of Illinois middle schools over the past decade, with a current ranking of 1191 out of 1363 middle schools in the state.

Cottage Grove Upper Grade Center significantly underperforms the state averages in academic proficiency across all grade levels and subject areas. In the 2023-2024 school year, only 14.4% of students were proficient or better in English Language Arts, compared to the state average of 41.2%. In mathematics, the school's proficiency rate was even lower, with 0% of 5th graders, 5.9% of 6th graders, 8.6% of 7th graders, and 5.7% of 8th graders meeting or exceeding standards, compared to the state averages ranging from 24.8% to 28.7%. The school also struggles with high chronic absenteeism rates, reaching as high as 20.7% in the 2019-2020 school year. Interestingly, the school has performed relatively well in supporting its homeless student population, ranking in the top 30% of Illinois middle schools in this category for the 2023-2024 school year.

When comparing Cottage Grove Upper Grade Center to nearby middle schools, it becomes clear that the school is an outlier in terms of academic performance. For example, Memorial Junior High School in Lansing, which is 4.61 miles away, has significantly higher proficiency rates in English Language Arts (31% vs. 14.4%) and Mathematics (8.9% vs. 0-8.6%) across all grade levels. The school's relatively high spending per student, at $26,353 in the 2022-2023 school year, suggests that resources are available, but the academic outcomes indicate that these resources may not be effectively targeted or utilized.

Detail:

Public 5-8

800 E 14th St
Ford Heights, IL 60411-2085

(708) 758-1400

District: Ford Heights School District 169

SchoolDigger Rank:
1191^st of 1,363 Illinois Middle Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $27,916

Feeder schools for Cottage Grove Upper Grade Center:

Elementary:

Medgar Evers Primary Acadmc Center

Student/teacher ratio: 12.7

Number of students: 153

Racial breakdown:

African American:

92.2%

Hispanic:

7.8%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 91.5%

See top rated Illinois middle schools

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Performance Trends

Compare Details Cottage Grove Upper Grade Center ranks worse than 87.4% of middle schools in Illinois. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 16.34. (See more...)

Chronic absenteeism in a high 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 Cottage Grove Upper Grade Center is $27,916.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Cottage Grove Upper Grade Center:

SchoolDigger ranks Cottage Grove Upper Grade Center 1191^st of 1363 Illinois public middle schools. (See Cottage Grove Upper Grade Center in the ranking list.)

Middle School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Homeless students:

Female students:

Male students:

African American students:

Ford Heights School District 169:

SchoolDigger ranks Ford Heights School District 169 794^th of 813 Illinois school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Cottage Grove Upper Grade Center

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Rank History for all students at Cottage Grove Upper Grade Center

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2003	2.39	1178^th	1185	0.6%
2004	2.96	1184^th	1204	1.7%
2005	4.48	1139^th	1209	5.8%
2006	8.71	1157^th	1272	9.0%
2007	7.90	1192^nd	1287	7.4%
2008	9.17	1181^st	1293	8.7%
2009	17.06	1128^th	1318	14.4%
2010	20.16	1117^th	1327	15.8%
2011	28.30	1072^nd	1344	20.2%
2012	30.00	1048^th	1365	23.2%
2013	21.71	1125^th	1367	17.7%
2014	23.14	1070^th	1322	19.1%
2015	12.76	1203^rd	1302	7.6%
2016	17.88	1130^th	1294	12.7%
2017	27.26	944^th	1293	27.0%
2018	35.06	811^th	1293	37.3%
2019	28.67	960^th	1356	29.2%
2021	10.68	1221^st	1241	1.6%
2022	12.29	1316^th	1369	3.9%
2023	12.79	1287^th	1367	5.9%
2024	16.34	1191^st	1363	12.6%

See the entire list of Illinois Middle School Rankings!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Cottage Grove Upper Grade Center

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	53.18	462^nd	1161	60.2%
2019	46.58	612^th	1217	49.7%
2021	14.64	993^rd	1019	2.6%
2022	16.96	1150^th	1221	5.8%
2023	19.24	1102^nd	1234	10.7%
2024	25.56	956^th	1219	21.6%

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

Rank History for Homeless students at Cottage Grove Upper Grade Center

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2019	66.29	6^th	36	83.3%
2024	56.96	19^th	70	72.9%

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

Rank History for Female students at Cottage Grove Upper Grade Center

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	42.67	687^th	1226	44.0%
2019	37.22	791^st	1276	38.0%
2021	9.39	1002^nd	1017	1.5%
2022	12.11	1228^th	1286	4.5%
2023	12.70	1198^th	1275	6.0%
2024	17.67	1066^th	1251	14.8%

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

Rank History for Male students at Cottage Grove Upper Grade Center

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	29.18	849^th	1223	30.6%
2019	23.02	1008^th	1296	22.2%
2021	10.46	1038^th	1048	1.0%
2022	13.63	1212^th	1286	5.8%
2023	13.93	1192^nd	1292	7.7%
2024	15.37	1142^nd	1264	9.7%

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

Rank History for African American students at Cottage Grove Upper Grade Center

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	70.89	97^th	511	81.0%
2019	59.23	154^th	565	72.7%
2021	23.74	358^th	385	7.0%
2022	24.30	520^th	573	9.2%
2023	23.48	505^th	569	11.2%
2024	29.37	396^th	548	27.7%

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

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Enrollment information for Cottage Grove Upper Grade Center

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1990	n/a	331	n/a	1	n/a	n/a	n/a	0	332
1991	0	306	0	2	0	n/a	n/a	0	308
1992	0	298	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	298
1993	0	294	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	294
1994	0	291	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	291
1995	0	240	0	6	0	n/a	n/a	0	246
1996	0	240	0	6	0	n/a	n/a	0	246
1997	0	267	0	4	0	n/a	n/a	0	271
1998	0	234	0	2	0	n/a	n/a	0	236
1999	0	231	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	231
2000	0	211	0	1	0	n/a	n/a	0	212
2001	0	174	0	4	0	n/a	n/a	0	178
2002	0	240	0	1	0	n/a	n/a	0	241
2003	0	240	0	1	0	n/a	n/a	0	241
2004	0	256	0	4	0	n/a	n/a	0	260
2005	1	234	0	3	0	n/a	n/a	0	238
2006	0	270	0	3	0	n/a	n/a	1	274
2007	0	282	0	1	0	n/a	n/a	0	283
2008	0	259	0	3	0	n/a	n/a	0	262
2009	0	241	0	4	0	n/a	n/a	0	245
2010	0	228	0	4	0	n/a	n/a	0	232
2011	1	210	0	3	0	0	0	0	214
2012	0	171	0	7	0	0	0	0	178
2013	0	179	0	7	0	0	0	0	186
2014	1	156	0	7	0	0	0	0	164
2015	0	153	0	8	0	0	0	0	161
2016	1	149	0	6	0	0	0	0	156
2017	1	150	0	11	0	0	0	0	162
2018	0	160	0	9	0	0	0	0	169
2019	0	154	0	11	0	0	0	0	165
2020	0	141	0	11	0	0	0	0	152
2021	0	156	0	7	0	0	0	0	163
2022	0	131	0	3	0	0	0	0	134
2023	0	141	0	12	0	0	0	0	153

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 Cottage Grove Upper Grade Center

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1990	332	24.0	13.8	n/a
1991	308	26.0	11.8	n/a
1992	298	25.2	11.8	n/a
1993	294	26.0	11.3	n/a
1994	291	22.0	13.2	n/a
1995	246	21.0	11.7	n/a
1996	246	21.0	11.7	n/a
1997	271	22.1	12.3	n/a
1998	236	22.0	10.7	n/a
1999	231	20.0	11.6	n/a
2000	212	18.0	11.8	n/a
2001	178	19.0	9.4	n/a
2002	241	20.0	12.1	98.8
2003	241	20.0	12.1	98.8
2004	260	20.0	13.0	98.8
2005	238	21.0	11.3	98.7
2006	274	26.0	10.5	99.3
2007	283	25.0	11.3	98.2
2008	262	20.0	13.1	98.9
2009	245	25.0	9.8	95.9
2010	232	22.0	10.5	98.3
2011	214	19.0	11.2	98.6
2012	178	17.0	10.4	98.3
2013	186	16.0	11.6	96.2
2014	164	16.0	10.2	97.6
2015	161	17.0	9.4	97.5
2016	156	17.0	9.1	98.1
2017	162	17.0	9.5	98.1
2018	169	14.9	11.3	95.3
2019	165	15.5	10.6	90.3
2020	152	10.0	15.2	90.8
2021	163	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	134	13.0	10.3	94
2023	153	12.0	12.7	91.5

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 Cottage Grove Upper Grade Center

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1990	332	24.0	13.8	n/a
1991	308	26.0	11.8	n/a
1992	298	25.2	11.8	n/a
1993	294	26.0	11.3	n/a
1994	291	22.0	13.2	n/a
1995	246	21.0	11.7	n/a
1996	246	21.0	11.7	n/a
1997	271	22.1	12.3	n/a
1998	236	22.0	10.7	n/a
1999	231	20.0	11.6	n/a
2000	212	18.0	11.8	n/a
2001	178	19.0	9.4	n/a
2002	241	20.0	12.1	98.8
2003	241	20.0	12.1	98.8
2004	260	20.0	13.0	98.8
2005	238	21.0	11.3	98.7
2006	274	26.0	10.5	99.3
2007	283	25.0	11.3	98.2
2008	262	20.0	13.1	98.9
2009	245	25.0	9.8	95.9
2010	232	22.0	10.5	98.3
2011	214	19.0	11.2	98.6
2012	178	17.0	10.4	98.3
2013	186	16.0	11.6	96.2
2014	164	16.0	10.2	97.6
2015	161	17.0	9.4	97.5
2016	156	17.0	9.1	98.1
2017	162	17.0	9.5	98.1
2018	169	14.9	11.3	95.3
2019	165	15.5	10.6	90.3
2020	152	10.0	15.2	90.8
2021	163	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	134	13.0	10.3	94
2023	153	12.0	12.7	91.5

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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