Is Washington Junior High a good school?

Washington Junior High ranks in the bottom 12.8% of Illinois middle schools.

How many students attend Washington Junior High?

In the 2023-24 school year, 124 students attended Washington Junior High.

What is the racial makeup of Washington Junior High?

Students at Washington Junior High are 96% African American, 2% Hispanic, 2% Two or more races.

What high school do graduates of Washington Junior High attend?

Students who attend Washington Junior High usually go on to attend Thornton Township High School

Washington Junior High

Summary:

Washington Junior High is a public middle school located in Riverdale, Illinois, serving grades 7-8 with a total enrollment of 131 students. The school is part of the Dolton School District 148, which is ranked 763 out of 813 districts in Illinois and has a 0-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Washington Junior High faces significant challenges, including consistently high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 37.0% in 2023-2024 to 47.4% in 2021-2022, which is significantly higher than the state average and the rates of nearby schools like Roosevelt Junior High School and Everett F Kerr Middle School. The school's academic performance, as measured by the percentage of students proficient or better in English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics, is also consistently lower than the state and district averages, with only 17.7% of students proficient or better in ELA in 2023-2024, compared to 41.2% statewide.

The wide gaps in performance between different student subgroups at Washington Junior High, particularly for special education and low socioeconomic status students, suggest that the school may need to implement more targeted interventions and support to address these inequities. Despite the relatively high spending per student at Washington Junior High, ranging from $17,181 in 2019-2020 to $24,481 in 2022-2023, the school's academic performance remains poor, raising questions about the effective use of resources and the need to ensure that funding is being directed towards evidence-based strategies and interventions that can improve student outcomes.

Detail:

Public 7-8

13900 S School St
Riverdale, IL 60827-1925

(708) 201-2078

District: Dolton School District 148

SchoolDigger Rank:
1189^th of 1,363 Illinois Middle Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $27,759

Students who attend Washington Junior High usually attend:

High:

Thornton Township High School

Feeder schools for Washington Junior High:

Elementary:	Riverdale School
	Washington Elementary School

Student/teacher ratio: 12.6

Number of students: 124

Racial breakdown:

African American:

96.0%

Hispanic:

1.6%

Two or more races:

1.6%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 99.2%

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Performance Trends

Compare Details Washington Junior High ranks worse than 87.2% of middle schools in Illinois. It also ranks 2^nd among 3 ranked middle schools in the Dolton School District 148. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 16.36. (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

Compare Details Washington Junior High has the smallest middle school student body size in the Dolton School District 148. Racial makeup is: African American (96%), Hispanic (1.6%), two or more races (1.6%). (See more...)

Compare Details 99.2% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. This is the lowest percentage in the Dolton School District 148. (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Washington Junior High is 12.6, which is the highest among 3 middle schools in the Dolton School District 148! (See more...)

Compare Washington Junior High employs 9.8 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Washington Junior High is $27,759. 1 middle schools in the Dolton School District 148 spend more per student.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Washington Junior High:

SchoolDigger ranks Washington Junior High 1189^th of 1363 Illinois public middle schools. (See Washington Junior High in the ranking list.)

Middle School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Male students:

African American students:

Dolton School District 148:

SchoolDigger ranks Dolton School District 148 763^rd of 813 Illinois school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Washington Junior High

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Rank History for all students at Washington Junior High

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2009	3.98	1275^th	1318	3.3%
2010	3.87	1288^th	1327	2.9%
2011	13.16	1220^th	1344	9.2%
2012	2.45	1348^th	1365	1.2%
2013	5.15	1328^th	1367	2.9%
2014	9.97	1228^th	1322	7.1%
2015	10.35	1251^st	1302	3.9%
2016	18.25	1127^th	1294	12.9%
2017	12.13	1217^th	1293	5.9%
2018	13.64	1176^th	1293	9.0%
2019	12.13	1265^th	1356	6.7%
2022	13.17	1297^th	1369	5.3%
2023	15.46	1220^th	1367	10.8%
2024	16.36	1189^th	1363	12.8%

See the entire list of Illinois Middle School Rankings!

Rank History for Special Education students at Washington Junior High

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2019	30.87	550^th	792	30.6%
2022	26.83	734^th	781	6.0%

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

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Washington Junior High

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	21.79	977^th	1161	15.8%
2019	16.78	1121^st	1217	7.9%
2022	18.28	1125^th	1221	7.9%
2023	22.66	1031^st	1234	16.5%
2024	23.66	988^th	1219	18.9%

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

Rank History for Female students at Washington Junior High

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	17.67	1038^th	1226	15.3%
2019	15.38	1126^th	1276	11.8%
2022	10.03	1269^th	1286	1.3%
2023	14.89	1148^th	1275	10.0%
2024	19.58	1027^th	1251	17.9%

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

Rank History for Male students at Washington Junior High

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	11.06	1185^th	1223	3.1%
2019	11.20	1252^nd	1296	3.4%
2022	18.42	1092^nd	1286	15.1%
2023	17.30	1125^th	1292	12.9%
2024	14.23	1172^nd	1264	7.3%

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

Rank History for African American students at Washington Junior High

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	35.66	328^th	511	35.8%
2019	32.02	406^th	565	28.1%
2022	28.61	462^nd	573	19.4%
2023	32.57	382^nd	569	32.9%
2024	34.97	357^th	548	34.9%

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 Washington Junior High

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Total
2008	0	217	0	2	0	n/a	n/a	219
2009	0	203	1	3	0	n/a	n/a	207
2010	0	187	1	1	0	n/a	n/a	189
2011	0	166	0	1	0	0	0	167
2012	0	149	0	2	0	0	1	152
2013	0	146	0	1	0	0	3	150
2014	0	137	0	0	0	0	1	138
2015	1	141	0	0	0	0	1	143
2016	1	115	0	0	0	0	0	116
2017	0	94	0	0	0	0	1	95
2018	0	102	0	0	0	0	0	102
2019	0	106	1	1	0	0	0	108
2020	0	126	0	1	1	0	0	128
2021	1	134	0	2	1	0	0	138
2022	1	118	0	4	0	1	0	124
2023	0	126	0	4	0	0	1	131
2024	0	119	0	2	1	0	2	124

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 Washington Junior High

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
2008	219	16.0	13.7	n/a
2009	207	19.8	10.5	n/a
2010	189	16.6	11.3	95.8
2011	167	16.0	10.4	98.2
2012	152	16.0	9.5	78.9
2013	150	24.2	6.1	90
2014	138	20.0	6.9	83.3
2015	143	17.0	8.4	90.9
2016	116	14.0	8.2	100
2017	95	12.5	7.6	90.5
2018	102	10.4	9.8	93.1
2019	108	13.0	8.3	98.1
2020	128	13.0	9.8	100
2021	138	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	124	10.3	11.9	99.2
2023	131	11.3	11.5	95.4
2024	124	9.8	12.6	99.2

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 Washington Junior High

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
2008	219	16.0	13.7	n/a
2009	207	19.8	10.5	n/a
2010	189	16.6	11.3	95.8
2011	167	16.0	10.4	98.2
2012	152	16.0	9.5	78.9
2013	150	24.2	6.1	90
2014	138	20.0	6.9	83.3
2015	143	17.0	8.4	90.9
2016	116	14.0	8.2	100
2017	95	12.5	7.6	90.5
2018	102	10.4	9.8	93.1
2019	108	13.0	8.3	98.1
2020	128	13.0	9.8	100
2021	138	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	124	10.3	11.9	99.2
2023	131	11.3	11.5	95.4
2024	124	9.8	12.6	99.2

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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