Is Parkside Junior High School a good school?

Parkside Junior High School ranks 748 th of 1363 Illinois middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Parkside Junior High School?

In the 2022-23 school year, 641 students attended Parkside Junior High School.

What is the racial makeup of Parkside Junior High School?

Students at Parkside Junior High School are 63% White, 16% African American, 13% Hispanic, 6% Two or more races, 2% Asian.

What high school do graduates of Parkside Junior High School attend?

Students who attend Parkside Junior High School usually go on to attend Normal Community West High School

Parkside Junior High School

Summary:

Parkside Junior High School is a public middle school located in Normal, Illinois, serving grades 6-8 with a total enrollment of 641 students. It is part of the McLean County Unified School District 5, which is ranked 420 out of 813 school districts in Illinois and has a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Parkside Junior High School faces several challenges, including lower academic performance compared to the district and state averages. In the 2023-2024 school year, only 36.4% of Parkside students were proficient or better in English Language Arts, and just 18.8% were proficient or better in Mathematics, significantly lower than the district and state averages. The school has also experienced a significant increase in chronic absenteeism, reaching 23.5% in the 2023-2024 school year, which is higher than the district and state averages. Additionally, Parkside's performance varies significantly across different student subgroups, with African American, Hispanic, English Language Learners, and students with disabilities struggling academically compared to their peers.

When comparing Parkside Junior High School to other nearby schools within the same district, such as Evans Junior High School and Chiddix Junior High School, Parkside generally performs worse academically, with lower proficiency rates in both English Language Arts and Mathematics. However, Parkside's chronic absenteeism rate is higher than these nearby schools. The school's declining performance over time and the need to address these issues should be a priority for the district and school leadership.

Detail:

Public 6-8

101 N Parkside Rd
Normal, IL 61761-2344

(309) 557-4408

District: McLean County Unified School District 5

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

Per Pupil Expenditures: $15,568

Students who attend Parkside Junior High School usually attend:

High:

Normal Community West High School

Feeder schools for Parkside Junior High School:

Elementary:	Carlock Elementary School
	Fox Creek Elementary School
	Parkside Elementary School
	Prairieland Elementary School

Student/teacher ratio: 12.9

Number of students: 641

Racial breakdown:

White:

63.0%

African American:

16.1%

Hispanic:

12.9%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 43.1%

See top rated Illinois middle schools

Compare Parkside Junior High School to nearby middle schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Parkside Junior High School ranks worse than 54.9% of middle schools in Illinois. It also ranks last among 4 ranked middle schools in the McLean County Unified School District 5. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 39.96. (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 Parkside Junior High School has the largest middle school student body size in the McLean County Unified School District 5. (See more...)

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Teachers

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Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Parkside Junior High School is $15,568, which is the highest among 4 middle schools in the McLean County Unified School District 5!

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Parkside Junior High School:

SchoolDigger ranks Parkside Junior High School 748^th of 1363 Illinois public middle schools. (See Parkside 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:

Female students:

Disabled students:

Male students:

African American students:

Hispanic students:

White students:

McLean County Unified School District 5:

SchoolDigger ranks McLean County Unified School District 5 420^th of 813 Illinois school districts. (See district ranking list.)

Average Rating:

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Rank History for Parkside Junior High School

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Rank History for all students at Parkside Junior High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2003	71.73	355^th	1185	70.0%
2004	82.80	167^th	1204	86.1%
2005	75.94	299^th	1209	75.3%
2006	73.71	329^th	1272	74.1%
2007	69.71	402^nd	1287	68.8%
2008	69.13	433^rd	1293	66.5%
2009	65.51	517^th	1318	60.8%
2010	65.90	501^st	1327	62.2%
2011	66.74	503^rd	1344	62.6%
2012	70.03	411^th	1365	69.9%
2013	61.55	520^th	1367	62.0%
2014	63.96	463^rd	1322	65.0%
2015	58.02	441^st	1302	66.1%
2016	50.84	584^th	1294	54.9%
2017	60.84	441^st	1293	65.9%
2018	65.77	381^st	1293	70.5%
2019	67.30	393^rd	1356	71.0%
2021	54.70	460^th	1241	62.9%
2022	57.86	478^th	1369	65.1%
2023	52.85	555^th	1367	59.4%
2024	39.96	748^th	1363	45.1%

See the entire list of Illinois Middle School Rankings!

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

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	49.83	80^th	164	51.2%
2019	62.66	67^th	179	62.6%
2022	26.90	144^th	195	26.2%
2023	32.74	118^th	194	39.2%
2024	16.91	151^st	184	17.9%

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

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

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	35.96	313^th	480	34.8%
2024	21.91	472^nd	486	2.9%

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

Rank History for Special Education students at Parkside Junior High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	35.49	352^nd	602	41.5%
2019	35.74	452^nd	792	42.9%
2021	35.59	330^th	548	39.8%
2022	40.84	371^st	781	52.5%
2023	29.01	565^th	805	29.8%
2024	31.29	523^rd	802	34.8%

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

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

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	44.42	604^th	1161	48.0%
2019	40.94	712^th	1217	41.5%
2021	36.74	632^nd	1019	38.0%
2022	36.13	741^st	1221	39.3%
2023	34.80	806^th	1234	34.7%
2024	23.94	984^th	1219	19.3%

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

Rank History for Female students at Parkside Junior High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	62.07	416^th	1226	66.1%
2019	64.59	405^th	1276	68.3%
2021	51.37	428^th	1017	57.9%
2022	56.16	451^st	1286	64.9%
2023	47.88	591^st	1275	53.6%
2024	38.99	716^th	1251	42.8%

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

Rank History for Disabled students at Parkside Junior High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	36.78	392^nd	674	41.8%
2024	39.41	335^th	639	47.6%

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

Rank History for Male students at Parkside Junior High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	66.69	330^th	1223	73.0%
2019	68.63	333^rd	1296	74.3%
2021	50.74	430^th	1048	59.0%
2022	58.19	442^nd	1286	65.6%
2023	56.19	468^th	1292	63.8%
2024	41.12	660^th	1264	47.8%

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

Rank History for African American students at Parkside Junior High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	57.82	151^st	511	70.5%
2019	44.17	273^rd	565	51.7%
2021	47.62	151^st	385	60.8%
2022	44.65	250^th	573	56.4%
2023	47.17	242^nd	569	57.5%
2024	30.81	384^th	548	29.9%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at Parkside Junior High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	43.27	314^th	590	46.8%
2019	36.96	406^th	639	36.5%
2021	36.52	324^th	517	37.3%
2022	40.46	373^rd	662	43.7%
2023	29.01	490^th	661	25.9%
2024	19.23	561^st	643	12.8%

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

Rank History for White students at Parkside Junior High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	58.02	347^th	889	61.0%
2019	60.67	327^th	905	63.9%
2021	45.45	408^th	813	49.8%
2022	52.64	393^rd	898	56.2%
2023	47.45	444^th	895	50.4%
2024	36.46	562^nd	875	35.8%

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: 2)

100%

Reviews:
No reviews have been submitted!

Enrollment information for Parkside 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	682	21	4	6	3	n/a	n/a	0	716
1989	709	32	9	6	5	n/a	n/a	0	761
1990	770	38	6	5	4	n/a	n/a	0	823
1991	815	43	10	7	3	n/a	n/a	0	878
1992	820	50	3	3	1	n/a	n/a	0	877
1993	847	58	8	11	2	n/a	n/a	0	926
1994	876	60	6	16	2	n/a	n/a	0	960
1995	630	30	5	12	0	n/a	n/a	0	677
1996	630	30	5	12	0	n/a	n/a	0	677
1997	666	49	6	21	0	n/a	n/a	0	742
1998	689	73	9	20	0	n/a	n/a	0	791
1999	651	74	7	15	1	n/a	n/a	0	748
2000	651	89	9	26	0	n/a	n/a	0	775
2001	650	81	12	24	0	n/a	n/a	0	767
2002	670	117	10	21	1	n/a	n/a	0	819
2003	670	117	10	21	1	n/a	n/a	0	819
2004	711	108	16	31	1	n/a	n/a	0	867
2005	685	110	12	35	1	n/a	n/a	25	868
2006	716	106	13	39	1	n/a	n/a	39	914
2007	692	118	14	36	1	n/a	n/a	43	904
2008	711	137	14	38	1	n/a	n/a	52	953
2009	652	123	14	44	5	n/a	n/a	53	891
2010	657	137	13	44	6	n/a	n/a	57	914
2011	656	114	9	57	4	1	60	0	901
2012	509	109	5	36	1	1	50	0	711
2013	523	98	7	47	2	2	51	0	730
2014	517	96	6	45	3	2	48	0	717
2015	499	88	6	64	2	2	47	0	708
2016	499	74	9	60	1	1	48	0	692
2017	521	95	16	62	3	1	47	0	745
2018	497	78	21	63	2	0	45	0	706
2019	468	84	20	59	0	0	43	0	674
2020	448	103	19	73	0	0	49	0	692
2021	451	94	15	74	1	0	44	0	679
2022	413	105	12	69	2	0	36	0	637
2023	404	103	12	83	2	0	37	0	641

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 Parkside Junior High School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	716	41.0	17.4	n/a
1989	761	41.8	18.2	n/a
1990	823	42.9	19.1	n/a
1991	878	52.4	16.7	n/a
1992	877	52.0	16.8	n/a
1993	926	53.3	17.4	n/a
1994	960	53.6	17.9	n/a
1995	677	45.1	15.0	n/a
1996	677	45.1	15.0	n/a
1997	742	46.8	15.9	n/a
1998	791	53.8	14.7	n/a
1999	748	52.4	14.3	n/a
2000	775	53.7	14.4	n/a
2001	767	52.1	14.7	n/a
2002	819	61.1	13.4	25.2
2003	819	61.1	13.4	25.2
2004	867	63.6	13.6	20.4
2005	868	53.2	16.3	24.6
2006	914	57.8	15.8	26.5
2007	904	49.0	18.4	28.6
2008	953	45.0	21.2	31.1
2009	891	63.6	14.0	30.8
2010	914	65.6	13.9	34.4
2011	901	62.0	14.5	34.2
2012	711	49.0	14.5	30.9
2013	730	69.9	10.4	32.5
2014	717	50.4	14.2	34.9
2015	708	50.0	14.1	37.6
2016	692	48.0	14.4	35.1
2017	745	46.4	16.0	34.6
2018	706	44.6	15.8	32.4
2019	674	45.0	14.9	33.2
2020	692	52.0	13.3	37.6
2021	679	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	637	49.0	12.9	35.3
2023	641	49.4	12.9	43.1

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 Parkside Junior High School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	716	41.0	17.4	n/a
1989	761	41.8	18.2	n/a
1990	823	42.9	19.1	n/a
1991	878	52.4	16.7	n/a
1992	877	52.0	16.8	n/a
1993	926	53.3	17.4	n/a
1994	960	53.6	17.9	n/a
1995	677	45.1	15.0	n/a
1996	677	45.1	15.0	n/a
1997	742	46.8	15.9	n/a
1998	791	53.8	14.7	n/a
1999	748	52.4	14.3	n/a
2000	775	53.7	14.4	n/a
2001	767	52.1	14.7	n/a
2002	819	61.1	13.4	25.2
2003	819	61.1	13.4	25.2
2004	867	63.6	13.6	20.4
2005	868	53.2	16.3	24.6
2006	914	57.8	15.8	26.5
2007	904	49.0	18.4	28.6
2008	953	45.0	21.2	31.1
2009	891	63.6	14.0	30.8
2010	914	65.6	13.9	34.4
2011	901	62.0	14.5	34.2
2012	711	49.0	14.5	30.9
2013	730	69.9	10.4	32.5
2014	717	50.4	14.2	34.9
2015	708	50.0	14.1	37.6
2016	692	48.0	14.4	35.1
2017	745	46.4	16.0	34.6
2018	706	44.6	15.8	32.4
2019	674	45.0	14.9	33.2
2020	692	52.0	13.3	37.6
2021	679	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	637	49.0	12.9	35.3
2023	641	49.4	12.9	43.1

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.

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