Is Harlem Middle School a good school?

Harlem Middle School ranks 801 st of 1363 Illinois middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Harlem Middle School?

In the 2023-24 school year, 951 students attended Harlem Middle School.

What is the racial makeup of Harlem Middle School?

Students at Harlem Middle School are 67% White, 16% Hispanic, 8% Two or more races, 7% African American, 1% Asian.

What high school do graduates of Harlem Middle School attend?

Students who attend Harlem Middle School usually go on to attend Harlem High School

Harlem Middle School

Summary:

Harlem Middle School is a public middle school located in Loves Park, Illinois, serving grades 7-8 with a total enrollment of 957 students. The school is part of the Harlem UD 122 school district, which is ranked 627 out of 813 districts in Illinois and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Harlem Middle School has consistently ranked in the bottom half of Illinois middle schools, maintaining a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger for most of the past decade, indicating below-average performance compared to other Illinois middle schools. The school's performance is particularly low for White students, who rank in the bottom 20% of Illinois middle schools, while it performs better for African American, Hispanic, and Multi-racial students. English Language Learners and Military Connected students are the school's strongest-performing subgroups, ranking in the top half of Illinois middle schools. Proficiency rates in English Language Arts and Mathematics are well below the state averages, with only 30.9% and 20.7% of students meeting or exceeding standards, respectively, in the 2023-2024 school year. The school has also seen a significant increase in chronic absenteeism, rising from 14.4% in 2019-2020 to 36.9% in 2023-2024.

Harlem Middle School's performance is generally lower than the nearby schools analyzed, with the exception of the Rockford School District 205 schools, which have even lower academic achievement and higher chronic absenteeism rates. Roscoe Middle School and Stephen Mack Middle School, both part of higher-performing districts, significantly outperform Harlem Middle School across all academic measures. Despite spending more per student ($17,290 in 2022-2023) compared to the state average, Harlem Middle School's performance has not improved, and the school's consistent 2-star rating and bottom-half ranking over the past decade indicate persistent challenges in improving academic achievement and student outcomes.

Detail:

Public 7-8

735 Windsor Rd
Loves Park, IL 61111-4152

(815) 654-4510

District: Harlem UD 122

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

Per Pupil Expenditures: $17,988

Students who attend Harlem Middle School usually attend:

High:

Harlem High School

Feeder schools for Harlem Middle School:

Elementary:	Donald C Parker Early Educ Center
	Loves Park Elementary School
	Machesney Elementary School
	Maple Elementary School
	More...
	Marquette Elementary School
	Olson Park Elementary School
	Ralston Elementary School
	Rock Cut Elementary School
	Windsor Elementary School

Student/teacher ratio: 11.8

Number of students: 951

Racial breakdown:

White:

66.7%

Hispanic:

16.2%

Two or more races:

8.3%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 61%

See top rated Illinois middle schools

Compare Harlem Middle School to nearby middle schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Harlem Middle School ranks worse than 58.8% of middle schools in Illinois. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 36.45. (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 Racial makeup is: White (66.7%), Hispanic (16.2%), two or more races (8.3%). (See more...)

Compare Details 61% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Harlem Middle School is 11.8. (See more...)

Compare Harlem Middle School employs 79.9 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Harlem Middle School is $17,988.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Harlem Middle School:

SchoolDigger ranks Harlem Middle School 801^st of 1363 Illinois public middle schools. (See Harlem Middle School in the ranking list.)

Middle School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Multi-racial students:

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:

Harlem UD 122:

SchoolDigger ranks Harlem UD 122 627^th of 813 Illinois school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Harlem Middle School

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Rank History for all students at Harlem Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2003	42.07	753^rd	1185	36.5%
2004	36.92	815^th	1204	32.3%
2005	47.38	737^th	1209	39.0%
2006	50.44	746^th	1272	41.4%
2007	52.62	726^th	1287	43.6%
2008	52.29	730^th	1293	43.5%
2009	44.48	858^th	1318	34.9%
2010	43.91	874^th	1327	34.1%
2011	44.92	842^nd	1344	37.4%
2012	43.98	885^th	1365	35.2%
2013	29.07	1035^th	1367	24.3%
2014	42.66	786^th	1322	40.5%
2015	39.91	720^th	1302	44.7%
2016	41.86	713^th	1294	44.9%
2017	41.42	725^th	1293	43.9%
2018	43.90	683^rd	1293	47.2%
2019	49.17	631^st	1356	53.5%
2021	30.84	803^rd	1241	35.3%
2022	38.99	766^th	1369	44.0%
2023	41.76	739^th	1367	45.9%
2024	36.45	801^st	1363	41.2%

See the entire list of Illinois Middle School Rankings!

Rank History for Multi-racial students at Harlem Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	26.29	117^th	164	28.7%
2019	31.91	119^th	179	33.5%
2021	19.86	81^st	97	16.5%
2022	21.51	159^th	195	18.5%
2023	27.65	134^th	194	30.9%
2024	26.31	123^rd	184	33.2%

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

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Harlem Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	60.31	45^th	285	84.2%
2019	64.42	47^th	339	86.1%
2021	41.56	146^th	277	47.3%
2022	41.16	240^th	454	47.1%
2023	51.99	144^th	480	70.0%
2024	45.25	206^th	486	57.6%

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

Rank History for Special Education students at Harlem Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	35.44	356^th	602	40.9%
2019	34.51	473^rd	792	40.3%
2021	27.94	449^th	548	18.1%
2022	34.14	498^th	781	36.2%
2023	32.99	507^th	805	37.0%
2024	36.55	449^th	802	44.0%

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

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

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	45.93	583^rd	1161	49.8%
2019	53.21	496^th	1217	59.2%
2021	32.86	688^th	1019	32.5%
2022	41.26	652^nd	1221	46.6%
2023	44.85	628^th	1234	49.1%
2024	44.59	617^th	1219	49.4%

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

Rank History for Female students at Harlem Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	41.05	701^st	1226	42.8%
2019	49.65	601^st	1276	52.9%
2021	28.63	717^th	1017	29.5%
2022	38.96	731^st	1286	43.2%
2023	40.95	713^th	1275	44.1%
2024	37.55	737^th	1251	41.1%

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

Rank History for Disabled students at Harlem Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	33.55	432^nd	674	35.9%
2024	35.71	378^th	639	40.8%

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

Rank History for Military Connected students at Harlem Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2019	34.10	6^th	8	25.0%
2021	10.20	4^th	4	0.0%
2022	27.92	7^th	10	30.0%
2023	54.87	5^th	12	58.3%

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

Rank History for Male students at Harlem Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	45.28	630^th	1223	48.5%
2019	47.38	617^th	1296	52.4%
2021	28.89	734^th	1048	30.0%
2022	39.50	703^rd	1286	45.3%
2023	42.14	678^th	1292	47.5%
2024	34.90	756^th	1264	40.2%

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

Rank History for African American students at Harlem Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	42.20	266^th	511	47.9%
2019	37.73	338^th	565	40.2%
2021	32.57	268^th	385	30.4%
2022	31.55	403^rd	573	29.7%
2023	28.07	447^th	569	21.4%
2024	33.37	375^th	548	31.6%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at Harlem Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	51.60	251^st	590	57.5%
2019	50.32	282^nd	639	55.9%
2021	37.36	314^th	517	39.3%
2022	43.09	342^nd	662	48.3%
2023	39.15	379^th	661	42.7%
2024	31.38	443^rd	643	31.1%

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

Rank History for White students at Harlem Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	25.35	697^th	889	21.6%
2019	28.92	667^th	905	26.3%
2021	19.74	682^nd	813	16.1%
2022	24.47	712^th	898	20.7%
2023	27.37	682^nd	895	23.8%
2024	22.32	712^th	875	18.6%

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

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Enrollment information for Harlem Middle School

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1988	974	12	5	22	n/a	n/a	n/a	0	1013
1989	892	10	4	23	4	n/a	n/a	0	933
1990	872	8	9	23	6	n/a	n/a	0	918
1991	823	14	8	22	6	n/a	n/a	0	873
1992	1321	26	17	43	8	n/a	n/a	0	1415
1993	1378	35	15	55	8	n/a	n/a	0	1491
1994	1409	49	16	54	4	n/a	n/a	0	1532
1995	1449	34	14	50	4	n/a	n/a	0	1551
1996	1449	34	14	50	4	n/a	n/a	0	1551
1997	1402	31	15	50	7	n/a	n/a	0	1505
1998	1498	33	13	50	4	n/a	n/a	0	1598
1999	1483	36	16	67	5	n/a	n/a	0	1607
2000	1589	41	26	77	5	n/a	n/a	0	1738
2001	1090	29	23	48	4	n/a	n/a	0	1194
2002	1124	46	20	51	2	n/a	n/a	0	1243
2003	1124	46	20	51	2	n/a	n/a	0	1243
2004	1163	41	26	67	6	n/a	n/a	0	1303
2005	1104	39	24	63	5	n/a	n/a	4	1239
2006	1082	48	19	56	5	n/a	n/a	10	1220
2007	1110	50	17	68	2	n/a	n/a	27	1274
2008	1082	48	18	78	0	n/a	n/a	34	1260
2009	1048	53	30	76	0	n/a	n/a	35	1242
2010	993	45	29	68	2	n/a	n/a	48	1185
2011	919	38	18	110	5	0	52	0	1142
2012	875	44	13	124	5	0	55	0	1116
2013	867	59	16	117	3	1	51	0	1114
2014	889	45	25	116	6	1	52	0	1134
2015	846	44	21	115	6	1	53	0	1086
2016	763	43	20	125	3	1	55	0	1010
2017	731	49	20	142	4	0	60	0	1006
2018	710	55	21	142	9	1	67	0	1005
2019	700	48	21	141	6	1	66	0	983
2020	741	58	15	135	5	0	71	0	1025
2021	705	75	12	134	2	0	85	0	1013
2022	644	85	11	150	4	0	79	0	973
2023	631	73	13	162	3	0	75	0	957
2024	634	69	13	154	2	0	79	0	951

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 Harlem Middle School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	1013	71.0	14.2	n/a
1989	933	51.8	18.0	n/a
1990	918	52.0	17.6	n/a
1991	873	55.6	15.7	n/a
1992	1415	84.0	16.8	n/a
1993	1491	80.0	18.6	n/a
1994	1532	86.0	17.8	n/a
1995	1551	83.6	18.6	n/a
1996	1551	83.6	18.6	n/a
1997	1505	81.5	18.5	n/a
1998	1598	87.2	18.3	n/a
1999	1607	93.8	17.1	n/a
2000	1738	93.4	18.6	n/a
2001	1194	93.0	12.8	n/a
2002	1243	89.0	14.0	16.7
2003	1243	89.0	14.0	16.7
2004	1303	90.0	14.5	22.9
2005	1239	81.5	15.2	33.3
2006	1220	83.0	14.7	32.1
2007	1274	67.0	19.0	34.1
2008	1260	64.0	19.7	37.8
2009	1242	82.0	15.1	40.7
2010	1185	83.0	14.2	50
2011	1142	82.0	13.9	50.8
2012	1116	80.0	13.9	49.1
2013	1114	99.8	11.1	55.7
2014	1134	75.8	14.9	58.5
2015	1086	77.0	14.1	48.3
2016	1010	77.0	13.1	53.6
2017	1006	77.0	13.0	56.8
2018	1005	76.5	13.1	59.4
2019	983	76.5	12.8	57.4
2020	1025	78.3	13.0	54.5
2021	1013	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	973	76.7	12.6	58.4
2023	957	79.9	11.9	60.8
2024	951	79.9	11.8	61

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 Harlem Middle School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	1013	71.0	14.2	n/a
1989	933	51.8	18.0	n/a
1990	918	52.0	17.6	n/a
1991	873	55.6	15.7	n/a
1992	1415	84.0	16.8	n/a
1993	1491	80.0	18.6	n/a
1994	1532	86.0	17.8	n/a
1995	1551	83.6	18.6	n/a
1996	1551	83.6	18.6	n/a
1997	1505	81.5	18.5	n/a
1998	1598	87.2	18.3	n/a
1999	1607	93.8	17.1	n/a
2000	1738	93.4	18.6	n/a
2001	1194	93.0	12.8	n/a
2002	1243	89.0	14.0	16.7
2003	1243	89.0	14.0	16.7
2004	1303	90.0	14.5	22.9
2005	1239	81.5	15.2	33.3
2006	1220	83.0	14.7	32.1
2007	1274	67.0	19.0	34.1
2008	1260	64.0	19.7	37.8
2009	1242	82.0	15.1	40.7
2010	1185	83.0	14.2	50
2011	1142	82.0	13.9	50.8
2012	1116	80.0	13.9	49.1
2013	1114	99.8	11.1	55.7
2014	1134	75.8	14.9	58.5
2015	1086	77.0	14.1	48.3
2016	1010	77.0	13.1	53.6
2017	1006	77.0	13.0	56.8
2018	1005	76.5	13.1	59.4
2019	983	76.5	12.8	57.4
2020	1025	78.3	13.0	54.5
2021	1013	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	973	76.7	12.6	58.4
2023	957	79.9	11.9	60.8
2024	951	79.9	11.8	61

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