Is Dirksen Junior High School a good school?

Dirksen Junior High School ranks 960 th of 1363 Illinois middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 1 star out of 5.

How many students attend Dirksen Junior High School?

In the 2022-23 school year, 573 students attended Dirksen Junior High School.

What is the racial makeup of Dirksen Junior High School?

Students at Dirksen Junior High School are 60% Hispanic, 25% African American, 9% White, 7% Two or more races.

Dirksen Junior High School

Summary:

Dirksen Junior High School is a public middle school located in Joliet, Illinois, serving grades 6-8 with a student population of 573. The school is part of the Joliet PSD 86 district, which is ranked 739 out of 813 districts in Illinois and has a 0-star rating from SchoolDigger. Dirksen Junior High School has consistently been ranked in the bottom quarter of Illinois middle schools, with a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger for the past several years.

Dirksen Junior High School faces significant challenges, including a notable increase in chronic absenteeism, from 10.8% in 2019-2020 to 39.1% in 2023-2024, which is higher than the state and district averages. The school's academic performance, as measured by proficiency rates in English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics, is also significantly below the state and district averages. For example, in 2023-2024, only 30.5% of Dirksen students were proficient or better in ELA, compared to 41.2% statewide and 23.1% in the Joliet PSD 86 district. In Mathematics, the proficiency rate was just 9.6%, compared to 28.4% statewide and 10.9% in the district. Additionally, Dirksen Junior High School's performance on ELA and Mathematics assessments varies significantly across different student subgroups, with the proficiency rates for African American and Hispanic students being particularly low.

When comparing Dirksen Junior High School to other nearby schools in the same district, such as Gompers Junior High School and Hufford Junior High School, the performance metrics are relatively similar, suggesting systemic challenges within the Joliet PSD 86 district. However, when comparing Dirksen Junior High School to schools in neighboring districts, such as Channahon Junior High School, Troy Middle School, and Kelvin Grove Junior High School, the performance gap becomes more pronounced, with these higher-performing schools consistently achieving significantly better academic outcomes.

Detail:

Public 6-8

203 S Midland Ave
Joliet, IL 60436-1305

(815) 729-1566

District: Joliet PSD 86

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

Per Pupil Expenditures: $20,359

Feeder schools for Dirksen Junior High School:

Elementary:	Lynne Thigpen Elementary School
	Pershing Elementary School

Student/teacher ratio: 12.0

Number of students: 573

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

59.5%

African American:

24.8%

White:

8.9%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 96.9%

See top rated Illinois middle schools

Compare Dirksen Junior High School to nearby middle schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Dirksen Junior High School ranks worse than 70.4% of middle schools in Illinois. It also ranks 2^nd among 4 ranked middle schools in the Joliet PSD 86 School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 26.97. (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 Dirksen Junior High School has the largest middle school student body size in the Joliet PSD 86 School District. (See more...)

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Teachers

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Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Dirksen Junior High School is $20,359. 2 middle schools in the Joliet PSD 86 School District spend more per student.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Dirksen Junior High School:

SchoolDigger ranks Dirksen Junior High School 960^th of 1363 Illinois public middle schools. (See Dirksen Junior High 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:

Homeless students:

Female students:

Disabled students:

Male students:

African American students:

Hispanic students:

White students:

Joliet PSD 86:

SchoolDigger ranks Joliet PSD 86 739^th of 813 Illinois school districts. (See district ranking list.)

Average Parent Rating:

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Rank History for Dirksen Junior High School

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Rank History for all students at Dirksen Junior High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2003	24.34	914^th	1185	22.9%
2004	29.39	900^th	1204	25.2%
2005	28.41	906^th	1209	25.1%
2006	24.79	1019^th	1272	19.9%
2007	32.66	966^th	1287	24.9%
2008	59.80	623^rd	1293	51.8%
2009	57.06	669^th	1318	49.2%
2010	47.96	815^th	1327	38.6%
2011	52.35	744^th	1344	44.6%
2012	51.18	778^th	1365	43.0%
2013	49.11	718^th	1367	47.5%
2014	42.59	791^st	1322	40.2%
2015	46.55	606^th	1302	53.5%
2016	39.34	743^rd	1294	42.6%
2017	30.84	888^th	1293	31.3%
2018	29.16	910^th	1293	29.6%
2019	18.07	1144^th	1356	15.6%
2021	18.01	1060^th	1241	14.6%
2022	15.66	1223^rd	1369	10.7%
2023	17.30	1175^th	1367	14.0%
2024	26.97	960^th	1363	29.6%

See the entire list of Illinois Middle School Rankings!

Rank History for Multi-racial students at Dirksen Junior High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	19.30	139^th	164	15.2%
2019	18.53	142^nd	179	20.7%
2022	18.78	166^th	195	14.9%
2023	16.61	173^rd	194	10.8%
2024	23.85	131^st	184	28.8%

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

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Dirksen Junior High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	39.18	170^th	285	40.4%
2019	33.69	267^th	339	21.2%
2021	34.41	214^th	277	22.7%
2022	31.48	373^rd	454	17.8%
2023	33.53	347^th	480	27.7%
2024	50.11	156^th	486	67.9%

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

Rank History for Special Education students at Dirksen Junior High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	29.59	437^th	602	27.4%
2019	24.69	700^th	792	11.6%
2021	25.59	501^st	548	8.6%
2022	29.62	608^th	781	22.2%
2023	29.36	559^th	805	30.6%
2024	28.26	584^th	802	27.2%

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

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Dirksen Junior High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	44.16	608^th	1161	47.6%
2019	27.65	944^th	1217	22.4%
2021	27.47	780^th	1019	23.5%
2022	22.24	1054^th	1221	13.7%
2023	25.86	970^th	1234	21.4%
2024	41.12	682^nd	1219	44.1%

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

Rank History for Homeless students at Dirksen Junior High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2022	60.05	7^th	34	79.4%
2023	27.50	46^th	53	13.2%
2024	38.84	44^th	70	37.1%

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

Rank History for Female students at Dirksen Junior High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	31.92	843^rd	1226	31.2%
2019	21.32	1021^st	1276	20.0%
2021	18.18	875^th	1017	14.0%
2022	16.23	1130^th	1286	12.1%
2023	15.87	1123^rd	1275	11.9%
2024	31.51	823^rd	1251	34.2%

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

Rank History for Disabled students at Dirksen Junior High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	26.56	534^th	674	20.8%
2024	33.71	410^th	639	35.8%

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

Rank History for Male students at Dirksen Junior High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	25.93	904^th	1223	26.1%
2019	14.97	1170^th	1296	9.7%
2021	14.88	968^th	1048	7.6%
2022	16.47	1144^th	1286	11.0%
2023	19.50	1078^th	1292	16.6%
2024	22.29	974^th	1264	22.9%

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

Rank History for African American students at Dirksen Junior High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	41.37	275^th	511	46.2%
2019	27.12	470^th	565	16.8%
2021	30.11	289^th	385	24.9%
2022	23.38	530^th	573	7.5%
2023	26.39	472^nd	569	17.0%
2024	28.53	409^th	548	25.4%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at Dirksen Junior High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	42.66	322^nd	590	45.4%
2019	21.74	551^st	639	13.8%
2021	22.93	441^st	517	14.7%
2022	17.61	625^th	662	5.6%
2023	22.64	560^th	661	15.3%
2024	36.79	383^rd	643	40.4%

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

Rank History for White students at Dirksen Junior High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	15.36	805^th	889	9.4%
2019	8.14	883^rd	905	2.4%
2021	10.81	780^th	813	4.1%
2022	8.84	870^th	898	3.1%
2023	10.14	858^th	895	4.1%
2024	31.02	615^th	875	29.7%

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: 4.5)

50%

Reviews:

by a parent
Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Yes, this is a school which strives always to do its best for students and parents. Love the fact that this school is smaller than other Junior High Schools. The teachers really are able to focus on the needs and questions of students at all times. Teachers are also wonderful and well prepared educators with personalities and positive attitudes that truly represent what Leader Educators should be... These teachers and staff really go above and beyond to prepare our sons and daughters to begin the crossing of the bridge of knowledge to connect with the bigger world of responsibilities and innovating information that is being created each new day they live!
Thank you for all your good work!

Sincerely,

Mrs. Alvarado Close Quote

Enrollment information for Dirksen Junior High School

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1988	259	134	7	31	1	n/a	n/a	0	432
1989	267	144	12	32	n/a	n/a	n/a	0	455
1990	280	137	14	34	1	n/a	n/a	0	466
1991	311	150	11	48	0	n/a	n/a	0	520
1992	321	142	17	44	0	n/a	n/a	0	524
1993	322	133	16	70	0	n/a	n/a	0	541
1994	265	136	16	66	0	n/a	n/a	0	483
1995	215	132	12	44	0	n/a	n/a	0	403
1996	215	132	12	44	0	n/a	n/a	0	403
1997	231	128	8	42	0	n/a	n/a	0	409
1998	218	140	9	58	0	n/a	n/a	0	425
1999	221	169	10	70	1	n/a	n/a	0	471
2000	214	187	7	79	2	n/a	n/a	0	489
2001	203	191	5	93	3	n/a	n/a	0	495
2002	176	208	8	122	1	n/a	n/a	0	515
2003	176	208	8	122	1	n/a	n/a	0	515
2004	178	208	14	154	0	n/a	n/a	0	554
2005	168	212	10	152	0	n/a	n/a	0	542
2006	154	208	9	181	3	n/a	n/a	6	561
2007	140	191	5	181	0	n/a	n/a	16	533
2008	134	158	3	188	1	n/a	n/a	45	529
2009	127	170	4	187	1	n/a	n/a	48	537
2010	129	180	4	174	1	n/a	n/a	43	531
2011	122	195	6	212	1	0	46	0	582
2012	134	216	10	222	0	0	37	0	619
2013	125	214	8	244	2	0	24	0	617
2014	133	218	8	283	0	0	28	0	670
2015	96	193	6	312	0	0	28	0	635
2016	107	174	7	339	0	0	28	0	655
2017	94	168	7	359	2	0	38	0	668
2018	94	162	3	411	2	0	35	0	707
2019	81	169	5	433	1	0	32	0	721
2020	73	179	8	444	0	0	28	0	732
2021	92	152	8	410	0	0	29	0	691
2022	79	148	4	389	0	0	34	0	654
2023	51	142	0	341	0	0	39	0	573

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 Dirksen Junior High School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	432	33.0	13.0	n/a
1989	455	31.0	14.6	n/a
1990	466	29.0	16.0	n/a
1991	520	32.8	15.8	n/a
1992	524	35.0	14.9	n/a
1993	541	32.0	16.9	n/a
1994	483	30.2	16.0	n/a
1995	403	25.2	16.0	n/a
1996	403	25.2	16.0	n/a
1997	409	27.0	15.1	n/a
1998	425	25.0	17.0	n/a
1999	471	28.0	16.8	n/a
2000	489	28.8	17.0	n/a
2001	495	30.0	16.5	n/a
2002	515	35.0	14.7	61.6
2003	515	35.0	14.7	61.6
2004	554	33.5	16.5	70.4
2005	542	33.0	16.4	60.3
2006	561	34.0	16.5	67.6
2007	533	39.0	13.7	63.6
2008	529	30.0	17.6	73.1
2009	537	38.9	13.8	64.6
2010	531	39.0	13.6	84
2011	582	39.0	14.9	76.1
2012	619	41.0	15.0	73.7
2013	617	44.7	13.7	74.7
2014	670	40.0	16.7	99.3
2015	635	41.0	15.4	99.5
2016	655	44.0	14.8	98.6
2017	668	40.2	16.6	99.6
2018	707	42.3	16.6	100
2019	721	44.7	16.1	99.3
2020	732	44.8	16.3	98.6
2021	691	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	654	44.2	14.7	95.9
2023	573	47.6	12.0	96.9

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 Dirksen Junior High School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	432	33.0	13.0	n/a
1989	455	31.0	14.6	n/a
1990	466	29.0	16.0	n/a
1991	520	32.8	15.8	n/a
1992	524	35.0	14.9	n/a
1993	541	32.0	16.9	n/a
1994	483	30.2	16.0	n/a
1995	403	25.2	16.0	n/a
1996	403	25.2	16.0	n/a
1997	409	27.0	15.1	n/a
1998	425	25.0	17.0	n/a
1999	471	28.0	16.8	n/a
2000	489	28.8	17.0	n/a
2001	495	30.0	16.5	n/a
2002	515	35.0	14.7	61.6
2003	515	35.0	14.7	61.6
2004	554	33.5	16.5	70.4
2005	542	33.0	16.4	60.3
2006	561	34.0	16.5	67.6
2007	533	39.0	13.7	63.6
2008	529	30.0	17.6	73.1
2009	537	38.9	13.8	64.6
2010	531	39.0	13.6	84
2011	582	39.0	14.9	76.1
2012	619	41.0	15.0	73.7
2013	617	44.7	13.7	74.7
2014	670	40.0	16.7	99.3
2015	635	41.0	15.4	99.5
2016	655	44.0	14.8	98.6
2017	668	40.2	16.6	99.6
2018	707	42.3	16.6	100
2019	721	44.7	16.1	99.3
2020	732	44.8	16.3	98.6
2021	691	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	654	44.2	14.7	95.9
2023	573	47.6	12.0	96.9

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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