Is Simmons Middle School a good school?

Simmons Middle School ranks 715 th of 1363 Illinois middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Simmons Middle School?

In the 2022-23 school year, 751 students attended Simmons Middle School.

What is the racial makeup of Simmons Middle School?

Students at Simmons Middle School are 56% White, 35% Hispanic, 6% African American, 2% Asian.

What high school do graduates of Simmons Middle School attend?

Students who attend Simmons Middle School usually go on to attend Oak Lawn Community High School

Simmons Middle School

Summary:

Simmons Middle School is a public middle school located in Oak Lawn, Illinois, serving grades 6-8 with a total enrollment of 751 students. The school is part of the Ridgeland School District 122, which is ranked 379 out of 813 school districts in Illinois and has a 3-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Simmons Middle School faces several challenges, including consistently low academic performance, particularly in mathematics, and high chronic absenteeism rates. The school's diverse student population also highlights the need to address the performance gaps between different subgroups. Simmons Middle School has consistently ranked in the bottom half of Illinois middle schools, with only 41% and 17.3% of students meeting or exceeding proficiency in English Language Arts and Mathematics, respectively, in the 2023-2024 school year. The school's performance is particularly weak in mathematics, with proficiency rates ranging from 10% to 20.3% across grade levels, significantly lower than the state and district averages. Additionally, Simmons Middle School has experienced a significant increase in chronic absenteeism, rising from 6.8% in 2019-2020 to 26.1% in 2022-2023, which is notably higher than the state average.

Interestingly, Simmons Middle School's performance is generally lower than that of nearby middle schools, such as Prairie Junior High School, Central Middle School, and Oak Lawn-Hometown Middle School, which have higher academic proficiency rates and better overall rankings. However, Simmons Middle School outperforms some nearby schools, such as Heritage Middle School and Elden D Finley Junior High School, in both academic proficiency and overall school rankings.

Detail:

Public 6-8

6450 W 95th St
Oak Lawn, IL 60453-2262

(708) 599-8540

District: Ridgeland School District 122

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

Per Pupil Expenditures: $13,621

Students who attend Simmons Middle School usually attend:

High:

Oak Lawn Community High School

Feeder schools for Simmons Middle School:

Elementary:	Columbus Manor Elementary School
	Ernest F Kolb Elementary School
	George W Lieb Elementary School
	Harnew Elementary School

Student/teacher ratio: 14.5

Number of students: 751

Racial breakdown:

White:

55.5%

Hispanic:

34.9%

African American:

6.3%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 59.3%

See top rated Illinois middle schools

Compare Simmons Middle School to nearby middle schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Simmons Middle School ranks worse than 52.5% of middle schools in Illinois. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 42. (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

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Teachers

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Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Simmons Middle School is $13,621.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Simmons Middle School:

SchoolDigger ranks Simmons Middle School 715^th of 1363 Illinois public middle schools. (See Simmons Middle 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:

White students:

Ridgeland School District 122:

SchoolDigger ranks Ridgeland School District 122 379^th of 813 Illinois school districts. (See district ranking list.)

Average Parent Rating:

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Rank History for Simmons Middle School

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Rank History for all students at Simmons Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2003	71.41	359^th	1185	69.7%
2004	75.56	306^th	1204	74.6%
2005	68.59	436^th	1209	63.9%
2006	71.18	376^th	1272	70.4%
2007	69.98	392^nd	1287	69.5%
2008	60.93	608^th	1293	53.0%
2009	66.07	500^th	1318	62.1%
2010	66.78	486^th	1327	63.4%
2011	55.65	698^th	1344	48.1%
2012	52.54	750^th	1365	45.1%
2013	50.36	696^th	1367	49.1%
2014	37.92	854^th	1322	35.4%
2015	42.34	675^th	1302	48.2%
2016	43.61	687^th	1294	46.9%
2017	32.73	855^th	1293	33.9%
2018	46.88	648^th	1293	49.9%
2019	50.33	618^th	1356	54.4%
2021	36.29	700^th	1241	43.6%
2022	36.37	814^th	1369	40.5%
2023	43.32	710^th	1367	48.1%
2024	42.00	715^th	1363	47.5%

See the entire list of Illinois Middle School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Simmons Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	51.44	79^th	285	72.3%
2019	39.63	213^th	339	37.2%
2021	38.93	172^nd	277	37.9%
2022	35.20	327^th	454	28.0%
2023	42.58	234^th	480	51.3%
2024	36.22	316^th	486	35.0%

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

Rank History for Special Education students at Simmons Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	41.34	283^rd	602	53.0%
2019	34.60	470^th	792	40.7%
2021	29.98	420^th	548	23.4%
2022	28.90	626^th	781	19.8%
2023	35.52	459^th	805	43.0%
2024	36.30	455^th	802	43.3%

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

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Simmons Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	62.09	335^th	1161	71.1%
2019	62.06	359^th	1217	70.5%
2021	45.08	502^nd	1019	50.7%
2022	55.12	434^th	1221	64.5%
2023	53.90	475^th	1234	61.5%
2024	54.70	456^th	1219	62.6%

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

Rank History for Female students at Simmons Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	45.20	661^st	1226	46.1%
2019	51.86	569^th	1276	55.4%
2021	40.59	553^rd	1017	45.6%
2022	34.93	782^nd	1286	39.2%
2023	43.95	657^th	1275	48.5%
2024	46.79	604^th	1251	51.7%

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

Rank History for Disabled students at Simmons Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	44.08	302^nd	674	55.2%
2024	38.54	345^th	639	46.0%

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

Rank History for Male students at Simmons Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	47.55	588^th	1223	51.9%
2019	48.54	602^nd	1296	53.5%
2021	28.12	749^th	1048	28.5%
2022	38.02	727^th	1286	43.5%
2023	42.33	676^th	1292	47.7%
2024	37.47	719^th	1264	43.1%

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

Rank History for African American students at Simmons Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2019	62.37	139^th	565	75.4%
2022	57.00	161^st	573	71.9%
2023	65.82	121^st	569	78.7%
2024	80.04	48^th	548	91.2%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at Simmons Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	51.86	249^th	590	57.8%
2019	49.12	289^th	639	54.8%
2021	32.87	362^nd	517	30.0%
2022	34.88	423^rd	662	36.1%
2023	42.32	345^th	661	47.8%
2024	44.34	312^th	643	51.5%

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

Rank History for White students at Simmons Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	28.16	669^th	889	24.7%
2019	32.59	619^th	905	31.6%
2021	24.78	629^th	813	22.6%
2022	21.97	742^nd	898	17.4%
2023	27.69	676^th	895	24.5%
2024	24.41	686^th	875	21.6%

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:

by a parent
Tuesday, February 5, 2019

My son went to Simmons-he loved it! I as a parent have never met the nicest, caring & kind teachers at this school! They care about where a student is going in life & help them in every way!! Close Quote

Enrollment information for Simmons Middle School

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1988	358	1	11	17	8	n/a	n/a	0	395
1989	357	n/a	5	18	8	n/a	n/a	0	388
1990	370	n/a	8	10	1	n/a	n/a	0	389
1991	368	0	5	8	0	n/a	n/a	0	381
1992	406	3	0	9	0	n/a	n/a	0	418
1993	428	0	4	12	0	n/a	n/a	0	444
1994	397	0	3	15	1	n/a	n/a	0	416
1995	384	1	3	10	0	n/a	n/a	0	398
1996	384	1	3	10	0	n/a	n/a	0	398
1997	390	1	5	13	0	n/a	n/a	0	409
1998	395	7	6	23	0	n/a	n/a	0	431
1999	389	4	3	24	0	n/a	n/a	0	420
2000	397	0	4	25	0	n/a	n/a	0	426
2001	482	3	2	34	0	n/a	n/a	0	521
2002	451	2	6	43	0	n/a	n/a	0	502
2003	451	2	6	43	0	n/a	n/a	0	502
2004	404	2	5	65	1	n/a	n/a	0	477
2005	404	12	5	85	1	n/a	n/a	0	507
2006	403	13	6	93	1	n/a	n/a	0	516
2007	388	23	6	93	1	n/a	n/a	2	513
2008	364	26	6	107	0	n/a	n/a	10	513
2009	342	22	6	105	2	n/a	n/a	14	491
2010	537	41	9	157	1	n/a	n/a	12	757
2011	522	40	13	172	0	0	3	0	750
2012	491	40	9	178	0	0	8	0	726
2013	477	39	7	165	0	0	12	0	700
2014	504	28	7	155	0	0	13	0	707
2015	496	43	7	185	0	1	14	0	746
2016	467	33	6	190	0	1	13	0	710
2017	475	34	7	185	1	0	14	0	716
2018	465	23	11	200	1	0	7	0	707
2019	488	38	12	235	1	0	10	0	784
2020	458	33	12	253	1	2	9	0	768
2021	478	44	11	255	2	2	8	0	800
2022	424	46	12	260	2	4	8	0	756
2023	417	47	18	262	1	1	5	0	751

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 Simmons Middle School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	395	26.0	15.1	n/a
1989	388	26.0	14.9	n/a
1990	389	26.2	14.8	n/a
1991	381	26.0	14.6	n/a
1992	418	27.5	15.2	n/a
1993	444	27.0	16.4	n/a
1994	416	28.0	14.9	n/a
1995	398	25.0	15.9	n/a
1996	398	25.0	15.9	n/a
1997	409	28.0	14.6	n/a
1998	431	27.1	15.9	n/a
1999	420	27.0	15.6	n/a
2000	426	25.5	16.7	n/a
2001	521	25.5	20.4	n/a
2002	502	27.5	18.3	n/a
2003	502	27.5	18.3	n/a
2004	477	26.5	18.0	23.1
2005	507	24.5	20.7	27.2
2006	516	26.5	19.5	34.9
2007	513	24.0	21.4	42.5
2008	513	19.0	27.0	32
2009	491	25.0	19.6	38.4
2010	757	37.6	20.1	46.3
2011	750	36.0	20.8	56.3
2012	726	36.3	20.0	55.1
2013	700	38.5	18.1	59.6
2014	707	40.8	17.3	59.7
2015	746	43.0	17.3	70.1
2016	710	46.0	15.4	61.3
2017	716	47.0	15.2	67
2018	707	44.2	15.9	64.5
2019	784	47.2	16.5	60.8
2020	768	50.1	15.3	n/a
2021	800	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	756	47.0	16.0	52.8
2023	751	51.7	14.5	59.3

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 Simmons Middle School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	395	26.0	15.1	n/a
1989	388	26.0	14.9	n/a
1990	389	26.2	14.8	n/a
1991	381	26.0	14.6	n/a
1992	418	27.5	15.2	n/a
1993	444	27.0	16.4	n/a
1994	416	28.0	14.9	n/a
1995	398	25.0	15.9	n/a
1996	398	25.0	15.9	n/a
1997	409	28.0	14.6	n/a
1998	431	27.1	15.9	n/a
1999	420	27.0	15.6	n/a
2000	426	25.5	16.7	n/a
2001	521	25.5	20.4	n/a
2002	502	27.5	18.3	n/a
2003	502	27.5	18.3	n/a
2004	477	26.5	18.0	23.1
2005	507	24.5	20.7	27.2
2006	516	26.5	19.5	34.9
2007	513	24.0	21.4	42.5
2008	513	19.0	27.0	32
2009	491	25.0	19.6	38.4
2010	757	37.6	20.1	46.3
2011	750	36.0	20.8	56.3
2012	726	36.3	20.0	55.1
2013	700	38.5	18.1	59.6
2014	707	40.8	17.3	59.7
2015	746	43.0	17.3	70.1
2016	710	46.0	15.4	61.3
2017	716	47.0	15.2	67
2018	707	44.2	15.9	64.5
2019	784	47.2	16.5	60.8
2020	768	50.1	15.3	n/a
2021	800	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	756	47.0	16.0	52.8
2023	751	51.7	14.5	59.3

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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