Is Gompers Junior High School a good school?

Gompers Junior High School ranks 941 st of 1363 Illinois middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Gompers Junior High School?

In the 2022-23 school year, 649 students attended Gompers Junior High School.

What is the racial makeup of Gompers Junior High School?

Students at Gompers Junior High School are 87% Hispanic, 9% African American, 3% White, 1% Two or more races.

Gompers Junior High School

Summary:

Gompers Junior High School is a public middle school in Joliet, Illinois, serving grades 6-8 with a total enrollment of 649 students. 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.

Gompers Junior High School faces significant challenges, particularly in terms of chronic absenteeism, which has ranged from 26.1% to 34.1% in recent years, significantly higher than the state and district averages. The school's academic performance, as measured by the percentage of students proficient or better in ELA and Mathematics, is also consistently lower than the state and district averages. While African American students and English Language Learners perform relatively better compared to their peers in the state, students with disabilities and special education students perform significantly worse, ranking in the bottom 25% of Illinois middle schools. Despite the school's high per-student spending of $18,958 in 2022-2023, which is higher than the district and state averages, the challenges persist.

Interestingly, Gompers Junior High School's performance is generally lower than the nearby Dirksen Junior High School and Hufford Junior High School, which have slightly higher test scores and lower chronic absenteeism rates. The school's high percentage of students from low-socioeconomic backgrounds, with 98.61% qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch in 2022-2023, suggests that the challenges may be closely tied to the socioeconomic status of its student population. Despite the school's relatively low student-teacher ratio of 10.7, the underlying issues appear to be more complex, requiring a comprehensive approach to address the needs of the students and the community.

Detail:

Public 6-8

1501 Copperfield Ave
Joliet, IL 60432-2007

(815) 727-5276

District: Joliet PSD 86

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

Per Pupil Expenditures: $21,113

Feeder schools for Gompers Junior High School:

Elementary:	A O Marshall Elementary School
	Forest Park Individual Educational School
	Isaac Singleton Elementary School
	Sator Sanchez Elementary School

Student/teacher ratio: 10.7

Number of students: 649

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

86.7%

African American:

8.8%

White:

3.1%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 98.6%

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Performance Trends

Compare Details Gompers Junior High School ranks worse than 69% of middle schools in Illinois. It also ranks first among 4 ranked middle schools in the Joliet PSD 86 School District! (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 28.02. (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

Compare Details Gompers 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 Gompers Junior High School is $21,113, which is the highest among 4 middle schools in the Joliet PSD 86 School District!

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Gompers Junior High School:

SchoolDigger ranks Gompers Junior High School 941^st of 1363 Illinois public middle schools. (See Gompers Junior High 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:

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 Gompers Junior High School

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Rank History for all students at Gompers Junior High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2003	9.72	1061^st	1185	10.5%
2004	16.47	993^rd	1204	17.5%
2005	21.45	961^st	1209	20.5%
2006	30.33	975^th	1272	23.3%
2007	31.73	973^rd	1287	24.4%
2008	26.45	1021^st	1293	21.0%
2009	16.13	1141^st	1318	13.4%
2010	24.96	1073^rd	1327	19.1%
2011	23.74	1121^st	1344	16.6%
2012	26.50	1089^th	1365	20.2%
2013	33.40	969^th	1367	29.1%
2014	23.36	1067^th	1322	19.3%
2015	29.15	909^th	1302	30.2%
2016	26.95	956^th	1294	26.1%
2017	28.54	923^rd	1293	28.6%
2018	28.49	924^th	1293	28.5%
2019	30.34	935^th	1356	31.0%
2021	15.55	1117^th	1241	10.0%
2022	20.06	1101^st	1369	19.6%
2023	22.76	1053^rd	1367	23.0%
2024	28.02	941^st	1363	31.0%

See the entire list of Illinois Middle School Rankings!

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

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	34.92	203^rd	285	28.8%
2019	43.55	165^th	339	51.3%
2021	49.44	92^nd	277	66.8%
2022	30.00	392^nd	454	13.7%
2023	44.83	208^th	480	56.7%
2024	46.85	191^st	486	60.7%

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

Rank History for Special Education students at Gompers Junior High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	31.54	412^th	602	31.6%
2019	30.50	564^th	792	28.8%
2022	26.86	654^th	781	16.3%
2023	30.10	549^th	805	31.8%
2024	18.92	758^th	802	5.5%

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

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

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	43.47	619^th	1161	46.7%
2019	46.64	611^th	1217	49.8%
2021	26.05	808^th	1019	20.7%
2022	30.10	885^th	1221	27.5%
2023	35.23	802^nd	1234	35.0%
2024	42.47	657^th	1219	46.1%

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

Rank History for Female students at Gompers Junior High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	29.24	886^th	1226	27.7%
2019	32.07	879^th	1276	31.1%
2021	13.20	953^rd	1017	6.3%
2022	18.69	1081^st	1286	15.9%
2023	24.36	959^th	1275	24.8%
2024	31.30	831^st	1251	33.6%

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

Rank History for Disabled students at Gompers Junior High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	32.34	448^th	674	33.5%
2024	23.03	582^nd	639	8.9%

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

Rank History for Male students at Gompers Junior High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	28.18	865^th	1223	29.3%
2019	30.10	879^th	1296	32.2%
2021	15.49	959^th	1048	8.5%
2022	22.65	990^th	1286	23.0%
2023	21.54	1037^th	1292	19.7%
2024	24.69	932^nd	1264	26.3%

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

Rank History for African American students at Gompers Junior High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	41.76	272^nd	511	46.8%
2019	48.75	231^st	565	59.1%
2022	36.05	355^th	573	38.0%
2023	31.40	396^th	569	30.4%
2024	62.39	134^th	548	75.5%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at Gompers Junior High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	33.94	410^th	590	30.5%
2019	35.14	423^rd	639	33.8%
2021	16.75	490^th	517	5.2%
2022	22.60	563^rd	662	15.0%
2023	27.37	509^th	661	23.0%
2024	34.34	419^th	643	34.8%

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

Rank History for White students at Gompers Junior High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2018	43.67	490^th	889	44.9%

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 parent
Tuesday, November 8, 2011

With bullying it starts at the top with the principle and the staff. The administration should be held accountable for this and many other problems at this school. The safety of the students should be top priority but not at this school. There has been problems in the last three years or more with incidence of knives and guns being brought to this school and being covered up by administration at this school and the distract office . The parents in the community should be outraged and ask for answer to this and the many other problems facing this school. Close Quote

Enrollment information for Gompers 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	165	214	2	286	n/a	n/a	n/a	0	667
1989	189	227	5	259	n/a	n/a	n/a	0	680
1990	179	238	4	294	n/a	n/a	n/a	0	715
1991	172	248	5	321	0	n/a	n/a	0	746
1992	178	267	7	303	0	n/a	n/a	0	755
1993	151	270	5	318	0	n/a	n/a	0	744
1994	133	277	5	322	0	n/a	n/a	0	737
1995	106	208	6	327	0	n/a	n/a	0	647
1996	106	208	6	327	0	n/a	n/a	0	647
1997	112	190	1	359	0	n/a	n/a	0	662
1998	116	176	0	310	0	n/a	n/a	0	602
1999	162	226	3	386	0	n/a	n/a	0	777
2000	159	208	3	431	0	n/a	n/a	0	801
2001	146	210	0	488	0	n/a	n/a	0	844
2002	138	257	0	530	0	n/a	n/a	0	925
2003	138	257	0	530	0	n/a	n/a	0	925
2004	104	190	0	549	0	n/a	n/a	0	843
2005	104	203	204	359	0	n/a	n/a	0	870
2006	82	192	0	553	0	n/a	n/a	1	828
2007	76	174	0	598	0	n/a	n/a	1	849
2008	64	132	0	569	0	n/a	n/a	3	768
2009	53	165	1	629	0	n/a	n/a	5	853
2010	39	140	1	496	0	n/a	n/a	16	692
2011	33	123	2	632	0	0	25	0	815
2012	40	141	0	636	0	0	29	0	846
2013	43	137	1	660	1	0	27	0	869
2014	42	175	1	689	5	0	22	0	934
2015	35	154	0	700	2	0	17	0	908
2016	33	110	0	699	1	0	16	0	859
2017	31	78	0	734	0	0	14	0	857
2018	34	64	0	751	1	0	29	0	879
2019	30	78	0	832	0	0	16	0	956
2020	31	90	0	787	0	0	16	0	924
2021	17	90	0	709	0	0	14	0	830
2022	23	66	0	577	0	0	8	0	674
2023	20	57	0	563	0	0	9	0	649

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 Gompers Junior High School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	667	46.7	14.2	n/a
1989	680	45.0	15.1	n/a
1990	715	45.3	15.7	n/a
1991	746	46.0	16.2	n/a
1992	755	45.6	16.5	n/a
1993	744	47.0	15.8	n/a
1994	737	41.1	17.9	n/a
1995	647	38.0	17.0	n/a
1996	647	38.0	17.0	n/a
1997	662	38.2	17.3	n/a
1998	602	37.0	16.3	n/a
1999	777	42.8	18.2	n/a
2000	801	43.0	18.6	n/a
2001	844	48.1	17.5	n/a
2002	925	51.0	18.1	68.6
2003	925	51.0	18.1	68.6
2004	843	50.0	16.9	85.5
2005	870	52.0	16.7	83.1
2006	828	48.1	17.2	85.2
2007	849	44.0	19.3	79.8
2008	768	42.0	18.3	76.3
2009	853	54.1	15.8	74.1
2010	692	55.5	12.4	101.9
2011	815	57.5	14.1	89.3
2012	846	57.0	14.8	89.2
2013	869	63.0	13.7	89.3
2014	934	56.0	16.6	99.4
2015	908	60.0	15.1	99.7
2016	859	60.0	14.3	100
2017	857	63.0	13.6	99.4
2018	879	61.7	14.2	100
2019	956	61.3	15.5	99.6
2020	924	64.0	14.4	98.6
2021	830	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	674	62.2	10.8	97.5
2023	649	60.6	10.7	98.6

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 Gompers Junior High School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	667	46.7	14.2	n/a
1989	680	45.0	15.1	n/a
1990	715	45.3	15.7	n/a
1991	746	46.0	16.2	n/a
1992	755	45.6	16.5	n/a
1993	744	47.0	15.8	n/a
1994	737	41.1	17.9	n/a
1995	647	38.0	17.0	n/a
1996	647	38.0	17.0	n/a
1997	662	38.2	17.3	n/a
1998	602	37.0	16.3	n/a
1999	777	42.8	18.2	n/a
2000	801	43.0	18.6	n/a
2001	844	48.1	17.5	n/a
2002	925	51.0	18.1	68.6
2003	925	51.0	18.1	68.6
2004	843	50.0	16.9	85.5
2005	870	52.0	16.7	83.1
2006	828	48.1	17.2	85.2
2007	849	44.0	19.3	79.8
2008	768	42.0	18.3	76.3
2009	853	54.1	15.8	74.1
2010	692	55.5	12.4	101.9
2011	815	57.5	14.1	89.3
2012	846	57.0	14.8	89.2
2013	869	63.0	13.7	89.3
2014	934	56.0	16.6	99.4
2015	908	60.0	15.1	99.7
2016	859	60.0	14.3	100
2017	857	63.0	13.6	99.4
2018	879	61.7	14.2	100
2019	956	61.3	15.5	99.6
2020	924	64.0	14.4	98.6
2021	830	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	674	62.2	10.8	97.5
2023	649	60.6	10.7	98.6

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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