Is Carl Sandburg Junior High School a good school?

Carl Sandburg Junior High School ranks 525 th of 1363 Illinois middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 3 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Carl Sandburg Junior High School?

In the 2022-23 school year, 470 students attended Carl Sandburg Junior High School.

What is the racial makeup of Carl Sandburg Junior High School?

Students at Carl Sandburg Junior High School are 45% White, 40% Hispanic, 7% Asian, 4% African American, 4% Two or more races.

Carl Sandburg Junior High School

Summary:

Carl Sandburg Junior High School is a public middle school located in Rolling Meadows, Illinois, serving grades 7-8 with a student population of 470. The school is part of the Palatine CCSD 15 district, which is ranked 375 out of 813 districts in Illinois and has a 3-star rating from SchoolDigger.

While the school's academic performance, as measured by proficiency rates in state assessments, is generally below the district and state averages, there are some areas of strength. The school's performance in Science, with 52.3% proficiency, is closer to the district (58.2%) and state (53.2%) averages. However, the school's proficiency rates in English Language Arts (46.5%) and Mathematics (25.7%) for all grades are lower than the Palatine CCSD 15 district (40.2% and 34.5%, respectively) and the Illinois state average (41.2% and 28.4%, respectively). The school's performance has fluctuated over the years, with a higher ranking of 400 out of 1,356 Illinois middle schools in the 2018-2019 school year, but a lower ranking of 711 out of 1,369 in the 2021-2022 school year.

Interestingly, the school's performance varies significantly across different student subgroups. Asian and Hispanic students have the lowest rankings among the subgroups, while the school's performance for Special Education students is relatively strong. The school's performance for Low Socioeconomic Status students is the weakest, ranking in the bottom 50% of Illinois middle schools. Additionally, the school has experienced a significant increase in chronic absenteeism, from 5.1% in the 2019-2020 school year to 19.7% in the 2023-2024 school year, which is above the district and state averages. Nearby schools, such as Plum Grove Junior High School, consistently outperform Carl Sandburg Junior High School in academic metrics, ranking in the top 10% of Illinois middle schools.

Detail:

Public 7-8

2600 Martin Ln
Rolling Meadows, IL 60008-2722

(847) 963-7800

District: Palatine CCSD 15

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

Per Pupil Expenditures: $20,377

Feeder schools for Carl Sandburg Junior High School:

Elementary:	Central Road Elementary School
	Kimball Hill Elementary School
	Thomas Jefferson Elementary School

Student/teacher ratio: 12.4

Number of students: 470

Racial breakdown:

White:

44.7%

Hispanic:

40.2%

Asian:

6.8%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 43.2%

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Compare Carl Sandburg Junior High School to nearby middle schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Carl Sandburg Junior High School ranks better than 61.5% of middle schools in Illinois. It also ranks 3^rd among 4 ranked middle schools in the Palatine CCSD 15 School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 54.87. (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 Carl Sandburg Junior High School has the largest middle school student body size in the Palatine CCSD 15 School District. (See more...)

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Teachers

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Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Carl Sandburg Junior High School is $20,377, which is the highest among 4 middle schools in the Palatine CCSD 15 School District!

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Carl Sandburg Junior High School:

SchoolDigger ranks Carl Sandburg Junior High School 525^th of 1363 Illinois public middle schools. (See Carl Sandburg 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:

Asian students:

Hispanic students:

White students:

Palatine CCSD 15:

SchoolDigger ranks Palatine CCSD 15 375^th of 813 Illinois school districts. (See district ranking list.)

Average Rating:

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Rank History for Carl Sandburg Junior High School

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Rank History for all students at Carl Sandburg Junior High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2003	83.65	168^th	1185	85.8%
2004	79.74	233^rd	1204	80.6%
2005	78.81	246^th	1209	79.7%
2006	79.54	209^th	1272	83.6%
2007	82.67	141^st	1287	89.0%
2008	76.88	266^th	1293	79.4%
2009	76.74	277^th	1318	79.0%
2010	78.05	246^th	1327	81.5%
2011	71.80	383^rd	1344	71.5%
2012	67.48	470^th	1365	65.6%
2013	62.91	488^th	1367	64.3%
2014	62.23	490^th	1322	62.9%
2015	78.68	222^nd	1302	82.9%
2016	55.41	504^th	1294	61.1%
2017	59.71	459^th	1293	64.5%
2018	59.53	462^nd	1293	64.3%
2019	66.71	400^th	1356	70.5%
2021	47.29	557^th	1241	55.1%
2022	42.20	711^th	1369	48.1%
2023	51.36	577^th	1367	57.8%
2024	54.87	525^th	1363	61.5%

See the entire list of Illinois Middle School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Carl Sandburg Junior High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	52.85	72^nd	285	74.7%
2019	47.65	125^th	339	63.1%
2021	34.52	213^th	277	23.1%
2022	26.61	434^th	454	4.4%
2023	31.97	373^rd	480	22.3%
2024	46.24	197^th	486	59.5%

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

Rank History for Special Education students at Carl Sandburg Junior High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	56.41	168^th	602	72.1%
2019	65.06	143^rd	792	81.9%
2021	60.70	108^th	548	80.3%
2022	49.25	251^st	781	67.9%
2023	75.96	125^th	805	84.5%
2024	79.28	122^nd	802	84.8%

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

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

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	42.41	645^th	1161	44.4%
2019	47.93	591^st	1217	51.4%
2021	40.15	576^th	1019	43.5%
2022	24.45	1001^st	1221	18.0%
2023	37.31	774^th	1234	37.3%
2024	42.96	648^th	1219	46.8%

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

Rank History for Female students at Carl Sandburg Junior High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	59.06	454^th	1226	63.0%
2019	69.95	333^rd	1276	73.9%
2021	49.85	451^st	1017	55.7%
2022	42.61	671^st	1286	47.8%
2023	45.71	627^th	1275	50.8%
2024	50.85	543^rd	1251	56.6%

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

Rank History for Disabled students at Carl Sandburg Junior High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	53.11	221^st	674	67.2%
2024	51.40	214^th	639	66.5%

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

Rank History for Male students at Carl Sandburg Junior High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	56.45	471^st	1223	61.5%
2019	60.23	451^st	1296	65.2%
2021	38.63	584^th	1048	44.3%
2022	41.46	672^nd	1286	47.7%
2023	56.70	458^th	1292	64.6%
2024	57.00	451^st	1264	64.3%

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

Rank History for Asian students at Carl Sandburg Junior High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	59.16	76^th	209	63.6%
2019	39.72	133^rd	201	33.8%
2022	22.63	167^th	198	15.7%
2023	30.92	145^th	192	24.5%
2024	36.06	133^rd	184	27.7%

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

Rank History for African American students at Carl Sandburg Junior High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	47.12	243^rd	569	57.3%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at Carl Sandburg Junior High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	25.95	480^th	590	18.6%
2019	37.94	394^th	639	38.3%
2021	26.16	418^th	517	19.1%
2022	22.01	569^th	662	14.0%
2023	30.15	477^th	661	27.8%
2024	26.92	494^th	643	23.2%

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

Rank History for White students at Carl Sandburg Junior High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	57.20	355^th	889	60.1%
2019	64.64	290^th	905	68.0%
2021	49.58	374^th	813	54.0%
2022	37.09	546^th	898	39.2%
2023	50.92	398^th	895	55.5%
2024	51.88	402^nd	875	54.1%

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: 5)

100%

Reviews:
No reviews have been submitted!

Enrollment information for Carl Sandburg 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	420	3	33	31	n/a	n/a	n/a	0	487
1989	454	3	31	29	n/a	n/a	n/a	0	517
1990	496	5	30	44	n/a	n/a	n/a	0	575
1991	424	5	27	46	0	n/a	n/a	0	502
1992	408	11	26	53	0	n/a	n/a	0	498
1993	477	3	24	66	0	n/a	n/a	0	570
1994	447	8	22	79	0	n/a	n/a	0	556
1995	434	9	28	68	1	n/a	n/a	0	540
1996	434	9	28	68	1	n/a	n/a	0	540
1997	415	5	23	74	2	n/a	n/a	0	519
1998	408	12	31	91	1	n/a	n/a	0	543
1999	399	25	37	94	0	n/a	n/a	0	555
2000	417	17	33	80	3	n/a	n/a	0	550
2001	458	15	32	88	1	n/a	n/a	0	594
2002	473	11	54	124	2	n/a	n/a	0	664
2003	473	11	54	124	2	n/a	n/a	0	664
2004	461	23	48	129	0	n/a	n/a	0	661
2005	397	20	37	141	7	n/a	n/a	3	605
2006	373	11	46	161	3	n/a	n/a	3	597
2007	376	16	36	179	2	n/a	n/a	1	610
2008	364	11	38	181	2	n/a	n/a	5	601
2009	341	5	44	165	0	n/a	n/a	7	562
2010	320	11	42	159	0	n/a	n/a	4	536
2011	299	12	48	157	3	0	4	0	523
2012	282	9	49	180	0	0	8	0	528
2013	288	12	47	216	1	0	12	0	576
2014	270	13	52	223	1	0	15	0	574
2015	244	12	51	218	2	0	17	0	544
2016	229	11	42	214	1	0	11	0	508
2017	215	8	48	205	2	0	12	0	490
2018	222	9	54	199	1	0	11	0	496
2019	249	14	45	209	0	0	13	0	530
2020	245	8	39	195	3	1	17	0	508
2021	213	9	39	199	1	1	13	0	475
2022	187	15	38	154	0	1	11	0	406
2023	210	21	32	189	0	1	17	0	470

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 Carl Sandburg Junior High School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	487	35.4	13.7	n/a
1989	517	35.9	14.4	n/a
1990	575	39.3	14.6	n/a
1991	502	38.5	13.0	n/a
1992	498	38.0	13.1	n/a
1993	570	41.0	13.9	n/a
1994	556	40.0	13.9	n/a
1995	540	41.6	13.0	n/a
1996	540	41.6	13.0	n/a
1997	519	40.0	13.0	n/a
1998	543	41.5	13.1	n/a
1999	555	45.0	12.3	n/a
2000	550	45.5	12.1	n/a
2001	594	46.3	12.8	n/a
2002	664	46.3	14.3	21.4
2003	664	46.3	14.3	21.4
2004	661	46.2	14.3	21.2
2005	605	46.5	13.0	26.9
2006	597	39.0	15.3	30.1
2007	610	37.0	16.5	31.4
2008	601	33.0	18.2	32.7
2009	562	40.0	14.1	31
2010	536	39.3	13.6	33.3
2011	523	35.0	14.9	36.1
2012	528	35.0	15.0	37.1
2013	576	58.3	9.8	44.3
2014	574	39.0	14.7	46
2015	544	41.0	13.2	45.4
2016	508	38.0	13.3	43.5
2017	490	32.7	14.9	48.6
2018	496	32.8	15.1	45.8
2019	530	36.9	14.3	45.7
2020	508	38.4	13.2	43.9
2021	475	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	406	39.9	10.1	36.9
2023	470	37.8	12.4	43.2

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 Carl Sandburg Junior High School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	487	35.4	13.7	n/a
1989	517	35.9	14.4	n/a
1990	575	39.3	14.6	n/a
1991	502	38.5	13.0	n/a
1992	498	38.0	13.1	n/a
1993	570	41.0	13.9	n/a
1994	556	40.0	13.9	n/a
1995	540	41.6	13.0	n/a
1996	540	41.6	13.0	n/a
1997	519	40.0	13.0	n/a
1998	543	41.5	13.1	n/a
1999	555	45.0	12.3	n/a
2000	550	45.5	12.1	n/a
2001	594	46.3	12.8	n/a
2002	664	46.3	14.3	21.4
2003	664	46.3	14.3	21.4
2004	661	46.2	14.3	21.2
2005	605	46.5	13.0	26.9
2006	597	39.0	15.3	30.1
2007	610	37.0	16.5	31.4
2008	601	33.0	18.2	32.7
2009	562	40.0	14.1	31
2010	536	39.3	13.6	33.3
2011	523	35.0	14.9	36.1
2012	528	35.0	15.0	37.1
2013	576	58.3	9.8	44.3
2014	574	39.0	14.7	46
2015	544	41.0	13.2	45.4
2016	508	38.0	13.3	43.5
2017	490	32.7	14.9	48.6
2018	496	32.8	15.1	45.8
2019	530	36.9	14.3	45.7
2020	508	38.4	13.2	43.9
2021	475	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	406	39.9	10.1	36.9
2023	470	37.8	12.4	43.2

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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