Is J Sterling Morton East High School a good school?

J Sterling Morton East High School ranks 516 th of 697 Illinois high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 1 star out of 5.

How many students attend J Sterling Morton East High School?

In the 2022-23 school year, 3,445 students attended J Sterling Morton East High School.

What is the racial makeup of J Sterling Morton East High School?

Students at J Sterling Morton East High School are 93% Hispanic, 3% White, 2% African American, 1% American Indian.

What schools feed into J Sterling Morton East High School?

J Sterling Morton East High School is fed by the following schools: Elementary : Abe Lincoln Elementary School Elementary : Cicero West Elementary School Elementary : Columbus West Elementary School Elementary : Daniel Burnham Elementary School Elementary : Drexel Elementary School Elementary : Goodwin Elementary School Elementary : Liberty Elementary School Elementary : Sherlock Elementary School Elementary : T Roosevelt Elementary School Elementary : Warren Park School Elementary : Woodrow Wilson Elementary School Middle : Cicero East Elementary School Middle : Columbus East Elementary School Middle : Unity Junior High School

J Sterling Morton East High School

Summary:

J Sterling Morton East High School is a public high school located in Cicero, Illinois, serving grades 10-12 with a total enrollment of 3,445 students. The school is part of the J S Morton HSD 201 district, which is ranked 724 out of 813 districts in Illinois and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

J Sterling Morton East High School consistently ranks in the bottom half of Illinois high schools, with academic performance, as measured by standardized test scores, significantly below the state averages. For example, in the 2023-2024 school year, only 6.9% of 11th-grade students were proficient or better in SAT Mathematics, compared to the state average of 26.1%. The school's four-year graduation rate has fluctuated between 72.5% and 84.6% over the past five years, which is lower than the state average, and it has a relatively high dropout rate, ranging from 5.8% to 8.3% over the same period. Additionally, the school has experienced a significant increase in chronic absenteeism, rising from 20.7% in 2019-2020 to 34.2% in 2023-2024, well above the state average.

When compared to the nearby J Sterling Morton West High School, which is also part of the J S Morton HSD 201 district, J Sterling Morton East High School performs worse academically, has lower graduation rates, and higher dropout and chronic absenteeism rates. The school's performance also varies significantly across different student subgroups, with White students performing better than their peers in other racial/ethnic groups, while African American and Hispanic students perform significantly worse. Interestingly, the school's homeless student population performs relatively well, ranking 39 out of 125 Illinois high schools in 2023-2024, which is significantly better than the school's overall performance.

Detail:

Public 10-12

2423 S Austin Blvd
Cicero, IL 60804-2616

(708) 780-4000

District: J S Morton HSD 201

SchoolDigger Rank:
516^th of 697 Illinois High Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $17,452

Feeder schools for J Sterling Morton East High School:

Elementary:	Abe Lincoln Elementary School
	Cicero West Elementary School
	Columbus West Elementary School
	Daniel Burnham Elementary School
	More...
	Drexel Elementary School
	Goodwin Elementary School
	Liberty Elementary School
	Sherlock Elementary School
	T Roosevelt Elementary School
	Warren Park School
	Woodrow Wilson Elementary School
Middle:	Cicero East Elementary School
	Columbus East Elementary School
	Unity Junior High School

Student/teacher ratio: 20.3

Number of students: 3,445

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

93.3%

White:

3.3%

African American:

1.8%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 86.1%

See top rated Illinois high schools

Compare J Sterling Morton East High School to nearby high schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details J Sterling Morton East High School ranks worse than 74% of high schools in Illinois. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 22.74. (See more...)

The four-year cohort graduation rate measures the percentage of students at J Sterling Morton East High School who earn a standard high school diploma within four years of starting ninth grade.

The high school dropout rate measures the percentage of students who do not complete their high school education.

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

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Teachers

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Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at J Sterling Morton East High School is $17,452.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

J Sterling Morton East High School:

SchoolDigger ranks J Sterling Morton East High School 516^th of 697 Illinois public high schools. (See J Sterling Morton East High School in the ranking list.)

High School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

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:

Native American students:

White students:

J S Morton HSD 201:

SchoolDigger ranks J S Morton HSD 201 724^th of 813 Illinois school districts. (See district ranking list.)

Average Parent Rating:

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Rank History for J Sterling Morton East High School

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Rank History for all students at J Sterling Morton East High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2003	6.85	534^th	586	8.9%
2004	5.84	539^th	592	9.0%
2005	3.69	544^th	590	7.8%
2006	6.57	542^nd	596	9.1%
2007	8.88	543^rd	612	11.3%
2008	6.90	557^th	624	10.7%
2009	7.70	565^th	632	10.6%
2010	6.41	575^th	643	10.6%
2011	9.00	572^nd	655	12.7%
2012	10.10	583^rd	665	12.3%
2013	8.24	600^th	670	10.4%
2014	9.02	594^th	670	11.3%
2016	10.80	611^th	643	5.0%
2017	9.33	586^th	642	8.7%
2018	14.87	567^th	647	12.4%
2019	15.89	590^th	701	15.8%
2021	20.52	553^rd	688	19.6%
2022	24.40	532^nd	699	23.9%
2023	25.24	529^th	699	24.3%
2024	22.74	516^th	697	26.0%

See the entire list of Illinois High School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at J Sterling Morton East High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	32.22	103^rd	151	31.8%
2019	34.28	113^th	183	38.3%
2021	32.79	86^th	189	54.5%
2022	34.28	136^th	205	33.7%
2023	37.84	127^th	217	41.5%
2024	32.80	144^th	248	41.9%

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

Rank History for Special Education students at J Sterling Morton East High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	27.23	248^th	374	33.7%
2019	36.14	247^th	473	47.8%
2021	31.33	267^th	453	41.1%
2022	33.03	284^th	493	42.4%
2023	26.64	334^th	476	29.8%
2024	25.41	349^th	482	27.6%

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

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at J Sterling Morton East High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	26.98	467^th	585	20.2%
2019	27.94	482^nd	639	24.6%
2021	33.38	413^th	611	32.4%
2022	39.14	392^nd	626	37.4%
2023	38.51	408^th	644	36.6%
2024	35.79	391^st	639	38.8%

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

Rank History for Homeless students at J Sterling Morton East High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2019	39.27	46^th	91	49.5%
2021	14.79	20^th	24	16.7%
2022	28.47	46^th	98	53.1%
2023	28.07	55^th	104	47.1%
2024	52.43	39^th	125	68.8%

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

Rank History for Female students at J Sterling Morton East High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	13.99	548^th	620	11.6%
2019	13.91	564^th	665	15.2%
2021	17.44	530^th	639	17.1%
2022	22.75	508^th	658	22.8%
2023	23.50	497^th	656	24.2%
2024	20.47	512^th	664	22.9%

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

Rank History for Disabled students at J Sterling Morton East High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	40.97	209^th	428	51.2%
2024	29.92	255^th	429	40.6%

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

Rank History for Male students at J Sterling Morton East High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	16.12	528^th	619	14.7%
2019	18.74	556^th	675	17.6%
2021	23.47	495^th	653	24.2%
2022	25.65	494^th	664	25.6%
2023	26.76	501^st	668	25.0%
2024	25.74	476^th	668	28.7%

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

Rank History for African American students at J Sterling Morton East High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	19.28	245^th	253	3.2%
2019	39.39	149^th	299	50.2%
2021	30.02	193^rd	281	31.3%
2022	27.31	213^th	294	27.6%
2023	28.69	215^th	301	28.6%
2024	22.06	274^th	299	8.4%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at J Sterling Morton East High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	21.35	242^nd	291	16.8%
2019	21.42	259^th	317	18.3%
2021	27.28	233^rd	317	26.5%
2022	31.80	228^th	335	31.9%
2023	32.86	225^th	333	32.4%
2024	23.89	267^th	336	20.5%

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

Rank History for Native American students at J Sterling Morton East High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2024	92.07	1^st	3	66.7%

See the entire list of Best Illinois High Schools for Native American Students!

Rank History for White students at J Sterling Morton East High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2019	4.90	548^th	552	0.7%
2021	4.82	548^th	553	0.9%
2022	11.01	532^nd	560	5.0%
2023	9.09	539^th	557	3.2%
2024	60.04	181^st	554	67.3%

See the entire list of Best Illinois High 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: 5)

100%

Reviews:

by a parent
Wednesday, August 27, 2014

I believe that Morton deserves more credit then what they are given.Although the school has some bad credit parents you need to remember that it is the student who has to make up the choice if they would like to go somewhere with there life. The teachers help students when struggling. They teach students discipline. Unlike some private schools. I regret taking my daughter out but I will be bringing her back. If a student really goes after there opportunities they will go far. Close Quote

Enrollment information for J Sterling Morton East High School

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1989	1446	n/a	49	796	7	n/a	n/a	0	2298
1990	1335	1	59	1008	7	n/a	n/a	0	2410
1991	1226	1	47	1272	0	n/a	n/a	0	2546
1992	1111	2	59	1731	4	n/a	n/a	0	2907
1993	984	1	51	1988	3	n/a	n/a	0	3027
1994	887	6	48	2204	13	n/a	n/a	0	3158
1995	681	3	41	2526	6	n/a	n/a	0	3257
1996	681	3	41	2526	6	n/a	n/a	0	3257
1997	623	3	55	2800	5	n/a	n/a	0	3486
1998	562	12	50	2993	6	n/a	n/a	0	3623
1999	375	3	44	2988	3	n/a	n/a	0	3413
2000	303	13	37	3136	3	n/a	n/a	0	3492
2001	273	14	27	3399	2	n/a	n/a	0	3715
2002	230	17	18	3664	3	n/a	n/a	0	3932
2003	230	17	18	3664	3	n/a	n/a	0	3932
2004	228	21	21	3799	2	n/a	n/a	0	4071
2005	134	22	17	2885	2	n/a	n/a	1	3061
2006	117	31	17	3189	2	n/a	n/a	6	3362
2007	111	26	16	3140	1	n/a	n/a	6	3300
2008	102	43	12	3327	1	n/a	n/a	11	3496
2009	99	58	15	3409	0	n/a	n/a	10	3591
2010	101	89	16	3533	3	n/a	n/a	9	3751
2011	74	72	12	3324	44	1	11	0	3538
2012	65	59	14	3373	15	0	9	0	3535
2013	61	63	8	3389	15	0	8	0	3544
2014	41	53	12	3438	9	1	10	0	3564
2015	68	56	8	3238	9	0	7	0	3386
2016	56	67	7	3217	4	0	10	0	3361
2017	52	60	6	3327	4	1	9	0	3459
2018	37	50	5	3381	3	0	9	0	3485
2019	44	53	5	3335	14	0	26	0	3477
2020	58	52	7	3311	13	0	22	0	3463
2021	59	57	3	3326	12	0	24	0	3481
2022	126	55	5	3158	10	0	8	0	3362
2023	115	63	2	3214	41	0	10	0	3445

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 J Sterling Morton East High School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1989	2298	142.3	16.1	n/a
1990	2410	139.1	17.3	n/a
1991	2546	147.8	17.2	n/a
1992	2907	167.3	17.3	n/a
1993	3027	208.7	14.5	n/a
1994	3158	183.1	17.2	n/a
1995	3257	191.1	17.0	n/a
1996	3257	191.1	17.0	n/a
1997	3486	195.4	17.8	n/a
1998	3623	200.1	18.1	n/a
1999	3413	207.1	16.5	n/a
2000	3492	203.5	17.2	n/a
2001	3715	202.5	18.3	n/a
2002	3932	208.9	18.8	72.6
2003	3932	208.9	18.8	72.6
2004	4071	224.0	18.2	76.1
2005	3061	153.0	20.0	71.9
2006	3362	166.5	20.2	65.9
2007	3300	187.0	17.6	75.5
2008	3496	155.0	22.6	70.3
2009	3591	165.5	21.7	76.7
2010	3751	174.8	21.4	86.1
2011	3538	137.6	25.7	84.5
2012	3535	137.6	25.6	93.4
2013	3544	151.7	23.3	94.6
2014	3564	136.4	26.1	93.3
2015	3386	136.0	24.8	93.8
2016	3361	137.0	24.5	92.8
2017	3459	141.5	24.4	92
2018	3485	141.0	24.7	92.2
2019	3477	153.2	22.6	90.9
2020	3463	162.0	21.3	88.7
2021	3481	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	3362	165.4	20.3	91.4
2023	3445	169.3	20.3	86.1

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 J Sterling Morton East High School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1989	2298	142.3	16.1	n/a
1990	2410	139.1	17.3	n/a
1991	2546	147.8	17.2	n/a
1992	2907	167.3	17.3	n/a
1993	3027	208.7	14.5	n/a
1994	3158	183.1	17.2	n/a
1995	3257	191.1	17.0	n/a
1996	3257	191.1	17.0	n/a
1997	3486	195.4	17.8	n/a
1998	3623	200.1	18.1	n/a
1999	3413	207.1	16.5	n/a
2000	3492	203.5	17.2	n/a
2001	3715	202.5	18.3	n/a
2002	3932	208.9	18.8	72.6
2003	3932	208.9	18.8	72.6
2004	4071	224.0	18.2	76.1
2005	3061	153.0	20.0	71.9
2006	3362	166.5	20.2	65.9
2007	3300	187.0	17.6	75.5
2008	3496	155.0	22.6	70.3
2009	3591	165.5	21.7	76.7
2010	3751	174.8	21.4	86.1
2011	3538	137.6	25.7	84.5
2012	3535	137.6	25.6	93.4
2013	3544	151.7	23.3	94.6
2014	3564	136.4	26.1	93.3
2015	3386	136.0	24.8	93.8
2016	3361	137.0	24.5	92.8
2017	3459	141.5	24.4	92
2018	3485	141.0	24.7	92.2
2019	3477	153.2	22.6	90.9
2020	3463	162.0	21.3	88.7
2021	3481	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	3362	165.4	20.3	91.4
2023	3445	169.3	20.3	86.1

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