Is Zion Central Middle School a good school?

Zion Central Middle School ranks in the bottom 12.8% of Illinois middle schools.

How many students attend Zion Central Middle School?

In the 2023-24 school year, 342 students attended Zion Central Middle School.

What is the racial makeup of Zion Central Middle School?

Students at Zion Central Middle School are 64% Hispanic, 25% African American, 7% Two or more races, 4% White.

What high school do graduates of Zion Central Middle School attend?

Students who attend Zion Central Middle School usually go on to attend New Technical High - Zion-Benton East

Zion Central Middle School

Summary:

Zion Central Middle School is a public middle school serving grades 6-8 in Zion, Illinois, with an enrollment of 323 students. The school has consistently ranked in the bottom quarter of Illinois middle schools over the past decade, with a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Zion Central Middle School significantly underperforms the state and district averages in academic proficiency. In the 2023-2024 school year, only 20.3% of students were proficient or better in English Language Arts, compared to 41.2% statewide and 12% in the Zion Education Service District 6. In Mathematics, the school's proficiency rate was just 3.4%, compared to 28.4% statewide and 3% in the district. The school also struggles with high chronic absenteeism rates, reaching 42.6% in the 2022-2023 school year, significantly higher than the state average of 17.6%. Additionally, the school has a high percentage of students from low-socioeconomic backgrounds, with 82.97% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch in the 2022-2023 school year.

Zion Central Middle School's performance is significantly lower than that of nearby schools, such as Shiloh Park Middle School (also in the Zion Education Service District 6) and North Prairie Junior High (in the Winthrop Harbor School District 1), which outperform Zion Central Middle School in academic proficiency, chronic absenteeism, and other key metrics. Despite spending over $23,000 per student in the 2022-2023 school year, Zion Central Middle School's academic outcomes remain poor, suggesting the need for a comprehensive, data-driven approach to address the underlying issues and support student learning.

Detail:

Public 6-8

1716 27th St
Zion, IL 60099-2553

(847) 379-0227

District: Zion Education Service District 6

SchoolDigger Rank:
1188^th of 1,363 Illinois Middle Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $24,256

Students who attend Zion Central Middle School usually attend:

High:	New Technical High - Zion-Benton East
	Zion-Benton Township High School

Feeder schools for Zion Central Middle School:

Elementary:	Beulah Park Elementary School
	East Elementary School
	Elmwood Elementary School
	West Elementary School

Student/teacher ratio: 11.7

Number of students: 342

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

63.7%

African American:

24.6%

Two or more races:

7.0%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 74.3%

See top rated Illinois middle schools

Compare Zion Central Middle School to nearby middle schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Zion Central Middle School ranks worse than 87.2% of middle schools in Illinois. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 16.43. (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 Racial makeup is: Hispanic (63.7%), African American (24.6%), two or more races (7%). (See more...)

Compare Details 74.3% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Zion Central Middle School is 11.7. (See more...)

Compare Zion Central Middle School employs 29 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Zion Central Middle School is $24,256.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Zion Central Middle School:

SchoolDigger ranks Zion Central Middle School 1188^th of 1363 Illinois public middle schools. (See Zion Central 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:

Average Parent Rating:

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Rank History for Zion Central Middle School

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Rank History for all students at Zion Central Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2003	10.98	1037^th	1185	12.5%
2004	9.25	1073^rd	1204	10.9%
2005	15.65	1018^th	1209	15.8%
2006	22.81	1038^th	1272	18.4%
2007	24.95	1032^nd	1287	19.8%
2008	18.79	1087^th	1293	15.9%
2009	18.67	1111^th	1318	15.7%
2010	22.37	1100^th	1327	17.1%
2011	21.99	1135^th	1344	15.6%
2012	13.49	1235^th	1365	9.5%
2013	12.17	1244^th	1367	9.0%
2014	16.40	1155^th	1322	12.6%
2015	28.27	923^rd	1302	29.1%
2016	24.46	1010^th	1294	21.9%
2017	20.38	1051^st	1293	18.7%
2018	11.28	1225^th	1293	5.3%
2019	14.17	1217^th	1356	10.3%
2021	17.46	1076^th	1241	13.3%
2022	16.74	1188^th	1369	13.2%
2023	12.24	1296^th	1367	5.2%
2024	16.43	1188^th	1363	12.8%

See the entire list of Illinois Middle School Rankings!

Rank History for Multi-racial students at Zion Central Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2018	9.33	163^rd	164	0.6%

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

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Zion Central Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	31.73	257^th	285	9.8%
2019	25.66	329^th	339	2.9%
2021	35.79	205^th	277	26.0%
2022	27.61	419^th	454	7.7%
2023	22.55	469^th	480	2.3%
2024	24.71	447^th	486	8.0%

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

Rank History for Special Education students at Zion Central Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	24.64	570^th	602	5.3%
2019	26.07	670^th	792	15.4%
2021	25.59	501^st	548	8.6%
2022	26.86	654^th	781	16.3%
2023	21.34	735^th	805	8.7%
2024	16.81	787^th	802	1.9%

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

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Zion Central Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	14.61	1099^th	1161	5.3%
2019	19.57	1062^nd	1217	12.7%
2021	25.19	828^th	1019	18.7%
2022	23.26	1029^th	1221	15.7%
2023	15.04	1176^th	1234	4.7%
2024	21.36	1033^rd	1219	15.3%

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

Rank History for Female students at Zion Central Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	9.46	1178^th	1226	3.9%
2019	11.44	1197^th	1276	6.2%
2021	18.79	868^th	1017	14.7%
2022	17.82	1097^th	1286	14.7%
2023	12.32	1203^rd	1275	5.6%
2024	16.45	1093^rd	1251	12.6%

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

Rank History for Disabled students at Zion Central Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	23.29	603^rd	674	10.5%
2024	21.63	595^th	639	6.9%

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

Rank History for Military Connected students at Zion Central Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2022	11.81	10^th	10	0.0%
2023	15.35	10^th	12	16.7%

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

Rank History for Male students at Zion Central Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	13.91	1124^th	1223	8.1%
2019	18.42	1096^th	1296	15.4%
2021	15.52	957^th	1048	8.7%
2022	17.36	1120^th	1286	12.9%
2023	13.22	1210^th	1292	6.3%
2024	17.42	1089^th	1264	13.8%

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

Rank History for African American students at Zion Central Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	17.53	501^st	511	2.0%
2019	22.38	509^th	565	9.9%
2021	25.20	342^nd	385	11.2%
2022	28.24	468^th	573	18.3%
2023	25.51	482^nd	569	15.3%
2024	24.69	451^st	548	17.7%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at Zion Central Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	14.12	572^nd	590	3.1%
2019	19.64	573^rd	639	10.3%
2021	22.43	445^th	517	13.9%
2022	19.22	608^th	662	8.2%
2023	13.45	645^th	661	2.4%
2024	21.07	547^th	643	14.9%

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

Rank History for White students at Zion Central Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2018	15.21	807^th	889	9.2%
2019	13.76	828^th	905	8.5%

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 citizen
Wednesday, February 14, 2018

I went to Central middle school for a basketball game. Let me say these students were out of control no repect for the visiting team nor adults. It's horrible that not even security can control them. Close Quote

by a parent
Thursday, February 19, 2009

The school is lacking in attending to the educational needs of my special needs child. Close Quote

Enrollment information for Zion Central Middle School

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1988	333	174	3	30	1	n/a	n/a	0	541
1989	318	186	3	25	2	n/a	n/a	0	534
1990	313	194	2	37	3	n/a	n/a	0	549
1991	341	211	10	40	2	n/a	n/a	0	604
1992	365	208	8	29	4	n/a	n/a	0	614
1993	350	240	5	34	3	n/a	n/a	0	632
1994	316	233	9	33	4	n/a	n/a	0	595
1995	274	211	11	51	2	n/a	n/a	0	549
1996	274	211	11	51	2	n/a	n/a	0	549
1997	253	233	11	70	2	n/a	n/a	0	569
1998	228	224	9	58	2	n/a	n/a	0	521
1999	251	212	11	60	1	n/a	n/a	0	535
2000	226	228	13	81	0	n/a	n/a	0	548
2001	224	264	14	89	1	n/a	n/a	0	592
2002	176	297	8	156	0	n/a	n/a	0	637
2003	176	297	8	156	0	n/a	n/a	0	637
2004	151	307	10	136	1	n/a	n/a	0	605
2005	112	286	2	136	0	n/a	n/a	36	572
2006	164	278	5	173	2	n/a	n/a	37	659
2007	104	290	7	174	1	n/a	n/a	22	598
2008	91	266	5	191	2	n/a	n/a	51	606
2009	79	249	3	193	2	n/a	n/a	54	580
2010	76	251	4	159	1	n/a	n/a	44	535
2011	76	230	1	195	11	0	30	0	543
2012	56	223	1	227	10	0	33	0	550
2013	35	230	0	228	9	0	31	0	533
2014	41	229	2	242	7	1	29	0	551
2015	49	223	4	237	2	0	36	0	551
2016	34	201	3	253	1	0	35	0	527
2017	33	230	3	268	0	0	34	0	568
2018	28	238	0	256	1	0	26	0	549
2019	30	233	0	262	0	0	21	0	546
2020	29	207	2	291	0	0	23	0	552
2021	16	124	0	302	0	1	15	0	458
2022	13	113	0	208	0	1	29	0	364
2023	13	87	0	190	1	0	32	0	323
2024	14	84	0	218	2	0	24	0	342

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 Zion Central Middle School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	541	32.0	16.9	n/a
1989	534	32.0	16.6	n/a
1990	549	32.0	17.1	n/a
1991	604	31.9	18.9	n/a
1992	614	33.6	18.2	n/a
1993	632	34.0	18.6	n/a
1994	595	37.0	16.1	n/a
1995	549	37.0	14.8	n/a
1996	549	37.0	14.8	n/a
1997	569	32.0	17.8	n/a
1998	521	33.0	15.8	n/a
1999	535	31.0	17.3	n/a
2000	548	33.0	16.6	n/a
2001	592	34.0	17.4	n/a
2002	637	35.0	18.2	56.4
2003	637	35.0	18.2	56.4
2004	605	33.0	18.3	66
2005	572	37.0	15.5	70.9
2006	659	41.0	16.1	62.4
2007	598	43.0	13.9	76.7
2008	606	31.0	19.5	83.8
2009	580	38.0	15.3	89.7
2010	535	38.0	14.0	89.6
2011	543	38.0	14.2	79.7
2012	550	36.9	14.8	74.9
2013	533	n/a	n/a	85.4
2014	551	1.0	551.0	86.6
2015	551	43.0	12.8	90.4
2016	527	42.0	12.5	83.9
2017	568	44.4	12.7	84.9
2018	549	45.1	12.1	78.1
2019	546	50.0	10.9	84.2
2020	552	45.5	12.1	87.9
2021	458	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	364	21.0	17.3	85.4
2023	323	30.0	10.7	83
2024	342	29.0	11.7	74.3

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 Zion Central Middle School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	541	32.0	16.9	n/a
1989	534	32.0	16.6	n/a
1990	549	32.0	17.1	n/a
1991	604	31.9	18.9	n/a
1992	614	33.6	18.2	n/a
1993	632	34.0	18.6	n/a
1994	595	37.0	16.1	n/a
1995	549	37.0	14.8	n/a
1996	549	37.0	14.8	n/a
1997	569	32.0	17.8	n/a
1998	521	33.0	15.8	n/a
1999	535	31.0	17.3	n/a
2000	548	33.0	16.6	n/a
2001	592	34.0	17.4	n/a
2002	637	35.0	18.2	56.4
2003	637	35.0	18.2	56.4
2004	605	33.0	18.3	66
2005	572	37.0	15.5	70.9
2006	659	41.0	16.1	62.4
2007	598	43.0	13.9	76.7
2008	606	31.0	19.5	83.8
2009	580	38.0	15.3	89.7
2010	535	38.0	14.0	89.6
2011	543	38.0	14.2	79.7
2012	550	36.9	14.8	74.9
2013	533	n/a	n/a	85.4
2014	551	1.0	551.0	86.6
2015	551	43.0	12.8	90.4
2016	527	42.0	12.5	83.9
2017	568	44.4	12.7	84.9
2018	549	45.1	12.1	78.1
2019	546	50.0	10.9	84.2
2020	552	45.5	12.1	87.9
2021	458	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	364	21.0	17.3	85.4
2023	323	30.0	10.7	83
2024	342	29.0	11.7	74.3

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.

Immunization Rates