Is Central Middle School a good school?

Central Middle School ranks 794 th of 1363 Illinois middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Central Middle School?

In the 2023-24 school year, 582 students attended Central Middle School.

What is the racial makeup of Central Middle School?

Students at Central Middle School are 38% Hispanic, 30% White, 27% African American, 4% Two or more races.

What high school do graduates of Central Middle School attend?

Students who attend Central Middle School usually go on to attend Evergreen Park High School

Central Middle School

Summary:

Central Middle School is a public middle school located in Evergreen Park, Illinois, serving grades 6-8 with a total enrollment of 619 students. The school is part of the Evergreen Park Education Service District 124, which is ranked 512 out of 813 districts in Illinois and has a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Central Middle School has seen fluctuations in its statewide ranking, ranging from 415 out of 1,241 Illinois middle schools in 2020-2021 to 794 out of 1,363 in 2023-2024. The school's SchoolDigger rating has also varied, ranging from 2 to 3 stars out of 5 over the past 10 years. While African American students at Central Middle School have consistently outperformed their peers in the state, Hispanic and English Language Learner (ELL) students have struggled, ranking in the bottom 369-302 out of 643-454 Illinois middle schools for the past 3 years. However, Special Education students have shown improvement, moving from the bottom 676 out of 802 Illinois middle schools in 2023-2024 to the top 198 out of 805 in 2022-2023.

Central Middle School's proficiency rates in English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics are below the state averages, with 35.5% and 16.1% of students proficient or better, respectively, in 2023-2024. However, the school's 8th-grade ELA proficiency rate is higher than the district and state averages, at 49.5% in 2023-2024. Interestingly, Hamlin Upper Grade Center, located 3.52 miles away, outperforms Central Middle School in both ELA and Mathematics proficiency, while Oak Lawn-Hometown Middle School, 2.68 miles away, has significantly higher proficiency rates in both subjects compared to Central Middle School.

Detail:

Public 6-8

9400 S Sawyer Ave
Evergreen Park, IL 60805-2328

(708) 424-0148

District: Evergreen Park Education Service District 124

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

Per Pupil Expenditures: $16,525

Students who attend Central Middle School usually attend:

High:

Evergreen Park High School

Feeder schools for Central Middle School:

Elementary:	Northeast Elementary School
	Northwest School
	Southeast Elementary School
	Southwest Elementary School

Student/teacher ratio: 13.5

Number of students: 582

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

37.8%

White:

30.1%

African American:

27.3%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 47.3%

See top rated Illinois middle schools

Compare Central Middle School to nearby middle schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Central Middle School ranks worse than 58.3% of middle schools in Illinois. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 36.94. (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 Student population at Central Middle School is diverse. Racial makeup is: Hispanic (37.8%), White (30.1%), African American (27.3%). (See more...)

Compare Details 47.3% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Central Middle School is 13.5. (See more...)

Compare Central Middle School employs 43 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Central Middle School is $16,525.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Central Middle School:

SchoolDigger ranks Central Middle School 794^th of 1363 Illinois public middle schools. (See Central Middle School in the ranking list.)

Middle School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

English Language Learner students:

Special Education students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Disabled students:

Male students:

African American students:

Hispanic students:

White students:

Evergreen Park Education Service District 124:

SchoolDigger ranks Evergreen Park Education Service District 124 512^th of 813 Illinois school districts. (See district ranking list.)

Average Rating:

Read all reviews and ratings detail for Central Middle School.

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Rank History for Central Middle School

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Rank History for all students at Central Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2003	61.43	511^th	1185	56.9%
2004	47.60	718^th	1204	40.4%
2005	59.00	590^th	1209	51.2%
2006	55.84	663^rd	1272	47.9%
2007	56.35	662^nd	1287	48.6%
2008	64.87	527^th	1293	59.2%
2009	68.06	464^th	1318	64.8%
2010	57.70	656^th	1327	50.6%
2011	63.10	561^st	1344	58.3%
2012	59.37	619^th	1365	54.7%
2013	54.45	635^th	1367	53.5%
2014	54.94	601^st	1322	54.5%
2015	49.69	551^st	1302	57.7%
2016	41.15	720^th	1294	44.4%
2017	52.90	545^th	1293	57.8%
2018	45.73	664^th	1293	48.6%
2019	51.25	607^th	1356	55.2%
2021	57.77	415^th	1241	66.6%
2022	44.11	682^nd	1369	50.2%
2023	48.45	618^th	1367	54.8%
2024	36.94	794^th	1363	41.7%

See the entire list of Illinois Middle School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Central Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2021	32.15	227^th	277	18.1%
2022	36.42	302^nd	454	33.5%
2023	33.69	344^th	480	28.3%
2024	27.23	425^th	486	12.6%

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

Rank History for Special Education students at Central Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	29.75	435^th	602	27.7%
2019	45.13	321^st	792	59.5%
2021	43.11	245^th	548	55.3%
2022	43.55	329^th	781	57.9%
2023	62.41	198^th	805	75.4%
2024	23.43	676^th	802	15.7%

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

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Central Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	37.67	728^th	1161	37.3%
2019	46.40	615^th	1217	49.5%
2021	54.66	353^rd	1019	65.4%
2022	40.58	664^th	1221	45.6%
2023	37.13	775^th	1234	37.2%
2024	36.46	760^th	1219	37.7%

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

Rank History for Female students at Central Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	49.33	600^th	1226	51.1%
2019	51.29	583^rd	1276	54.3%
2021	52.28	417^th	1017	59.0%
2022	42.06	680^th	1286	47.1%
2023	45.07	638^th	1275	50.0%
2024	36.03	759^th	1251	39.3%

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

Rank History for Disabled students at Central Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	46.55	280^th	674	58.5%
2024	33.82	406^th	639	36.5%

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

Rank History for Male students at Central Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	42.59	651^st	1223	46.8%
2019	50.66	567^th	1296	56.3%
2021	55.64	363^rd	1048	65.4%
2022	45.23	612^th	1286	52.4%
2023	50.81	549^th	1292	57.5%
2024	37.61	716^th	1264	43.4%

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

Rank History for African American students at Central Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	48.60	206^th	511	59.7%
2019	60.53	145^th	565	74.3%
2021	73.56	42^nd	385	89.1%
2022	56.72	163^rd	573	71.6%
2023	57.26	171^st	569	69.9%
2024	43.56	264^th	548	51.8%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at Central Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	47.30	281^st	590	52.4%
2019	43.25	336^th	639	47.4%
2021	56.36	168^th	517	67.5%
2022	39.17	388^th	662	41.4%
2023	37.75	392^nd	661	40.7%
2024	38.13	369^th	643	42.6%

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

Rank History for White students at Central Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	50.24	423^rd	889	52.4%
2019	57.54	354^th	905	60.9%
2021	67.06	230^th	813	71.7%
2022	49.98	416^th	898	53.7%
2023	59.04	315^th	895	64.8%
2024	38.13	546^th	875	37.6%

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 student
Saturday, April 15, 2017

This school is not a great choice for students. There are various issues in the school that are never resolved. The staff claim they resolve it, but they usually don't, or there "Solution" is actually worse then before. One example of this is I was getting bullied at my lunch table here, and the "solution" is to put me with the lunch detention kids (Where kids go if they are not acting right in lunch, or if they are not prepared for lunch.) which are worse then my lunch table bullies.

When staff are having a bad day, they take it out on the students, and most of them don't know how to teach outright. They claim they can deal with various types of student disabilities, but it just seems like they watched a 2 minute youtube video on how to deal with a temper tantrum (Because they try to talk to your child for about 2 minutes calmly, then if they don't respond, they start treating the student with a disability as a normal one, and they will call the office and put your child in detention.) and they are classified as a teacher that can teach students with disabilities. Some of them just treat students with disabilities as normal students, which is NOT the proper way to deal with them. The school bathrooms are also not safe for your child, because if you tap a stall door like you would with a smartphone's screen, the door unlocks wide open, and bullies will bully your child while they are going to the bathroom.

I am still trying to talk to higher authorities to resolve various problems with this school, but so far I am not having any luck.

Below is a 1 to 5 scale of the school's offerings. 5 is best, 1 is the worse.

Staff: (Includes Teachers, Aids, ETC)
2/5

Bullies:
1/5

Lunch Choices:
2/5

Helping Normal Students with Obstacles:
4/5

Helping Students with Disabilities with Obstacles:
1/5

Nice Students:
4/5

Mean Students:
1/5 Close Quote

Enrollment information for Central Middle School

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1989	250	1	5	1	n/a	n/a	n/a	0	257
1990	252	1	1	6	2	n/a	n/a	0	262
1991	266	0	6	7	3	n/a	n/a	0	282
1992	302	0	2	10	0	n/a	n/a	0	314
1993	330	0	5	10	1	n/a	n/a	0	346
1994	313	0	2	11	0	n/a	n/a	0	326
1995	358	6	9	8	0	n/a	n/a	0	381
1996	358	6	9	8	0	n/a	n/a	0	381
1997	354	9	5	6	0	n/a	n/a	0	374
1998	360	16	6	18	0	n/a	n/a	0	400
1999	398	14	8	24	0	n/a	n/a	0	444
2000	427	30	6	37	0	n/a	n/a	0	500
2001	399	50	17	42	1	n/a	n/a	0	509
2002	403	81	13	46	0	n/a	n/a	0	543
2003	403	81	13	46	0	n/a	n/a	0	543
2004	374	85	6	49	1	n/a	n/a	0	515
2005	427	61	3	30	1	n/a	n/a	0	522
2006	354	110	15	25	5	n/a	n/a	9	518
2007	315	110	9	62	1	n/a	n/a	8	505
2008	291	100	7	63	0	n/a	n/a	6	467
2009	288	110	5	63	0	n/a	n/a	12	478
2010	239	100	5	52	1	n/a	n/a	6	403
2011	248	119	4	59	1	0	15	0	446
2012	225	118	1	67	1	0	10	0	422
2013	209	132	6	86	2	0	9	0	444
2014	186	126	5	94	1	0	8	0	420
2015	173	111	3	85	0	0	11	0	383
2016	251	163	3	114	1	0	15	0	547
2017	237	179	5	137	1	0	15	0	574
2018	255	188	4	159	1	0	16	0	623
2019	248	187	3	174	1	0	18	0	631
2020	256	176	4	186	2	0	23	0	647
2021	243	192	5	196	1	2	27	0	666
2022	221	168	3	221	1	0	28	0	642
2023	193	174	3	223	0	0	26	0	619
2024	175	159	3	220	0	0	25	0	582

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 Central Middle School

Compare

Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1989	257	19.0	13.5	n/a
1990	262	19.0	13.7	n/a
1991	282	18.0	15.6	n/a
1992	314	19.0	16.5	n/a
1993	346	22.5	15.4	n/a
1994	326	23.8	13.7	n/a
1995	381	23.0	16.6	n/a
1996	381	23.0	16.6	n/a
1997	374	22.0	17.0	n/a
1998	400	28.5	14.0	n/a
1999	444	30.5	14.6	n/a
2000	500	33.7	14.8	n/a
2001	509	35.7	14.3	n/a
2002	543	34.3	15.8	18
2003	543	34.3	15.8	18
2004	515	35.7	14.4	19.6
2005	522	34.5	15.1	23.9
2006	518	38.0	13.6	26.5
2007	505	32.0	15.8	28.6
2008	467	31.0	15.1	29.7
2009	478	40.5	11.8	29.2
2010	403	40.5	9.9	42.3
2011	446	36.6	12.1	36.3
2012	422	35.6	11.8	38.2
2013	444	54.3	8.1	41.9
2014	420	33.0	12.7	43.6
2015	383	33.0	11.6	48.8
2016	547	47.0	11.6	46.1
2017	574	47.5	12.0	46.5
2018	623	48.5	12.8	47
2019	631	49.4	12.7	43.7
2020	647	52.2	12.3	41.1
2021	666	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	642	41.8	15.3	38.3
2023	619	41.6	14.8	46
2024	582	43.0	13.5	47.3

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 Central Middle School

Compare

Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1989	257	19.0	13.5	n/a
1990	262	19.0	13.7	n/a
1991	282	18.0	15.6	n/a
1992	314	19.0	16.5	n/a
1993	346	22.5	15.4	n/a
1994	326	23.8	13.7	n/a
1995	381	23.0	16.6	n/a
1996	381	23.0	16.6	n/a
1997	374	22.0	17.0	n/a
1998	400	28.5	14.0	n/a
1999	444	30.5	14.6	n/a
2000	500	33.7	14.8	n/a
2001	509	35.7	14.3	n/a
2002	543	34.3	15.8	18
2003	543	34.3	15.8	18
2004	515	35.7	14.4	19.6
2005	522	34.5	15.1	23.9
2006	518	38.0	13.6	26.5
2007	505	32.0	15.8	28.6
2008	467	31.0	15.1	29.7
2009	478	40.5	11.8	29.2
2010	403	40.5	9.9	42.3
2011	446	36.6	12.1	36.3
2012	422	35.6	11.8	38.2
2013	444	54.3	8.1	41.9
2014	420	33.0	12.7	43.6
2015	383	33.0	11.6	48.8
2016	547	47.0	11.6	46.1
2017	574	47.5	12.0	46.5
2018	623	48.5	12.8	47
2019	631	49.4	12.7	43.7
2020	647	52.2	12.3	41.1
2021	666	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	642	41.8	15.3	38.3
2023	619	41.6	14.8	46
2024	582	43.0	13.5	47.3

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.

Immunization Rates