Best Public Schools in Carmi, IL

Carmi, Illinois, has five public schools serving prekindergarten through grade 12, with 1,210 students enrolled; the supplied results include IAR scores for three schools and ACT results for the high school. Overall, tested elementary and middle grades compare favorably with Illinois, but achievement varies by subject and school. The clearest difference—and the most important finding for comparing schools—is in math, where scores range much more widely than they do in ELA.

Jefferson Attendance Center leads the reported all-grades IAR math results at 72%, 9 points above Washington Attendance Center at 63% and 30 points above Carmi White County Junior High School at 43%. Washington stands out in ELA at 75%, 8 points above the junior high’s 67%; all three schools exceed state rates in both subjects. The junior high is lowest among them in math, though its score remains 3 points above the state rate. High school results are mixed: Carmi-White County High School is below state rates in 11th-grade ACT ELA and math, but above the state in science; its graduation rate is 96%, compared with 90% statewide.

Recent changes favor Washington: from 2024–25 to 2025–26, its IAR ELA score rose 7 points and math rose 9, while the junior high’s ELA fell 1 point and math was nearly unchanged; its advantage over the state narrowed in both subjects. SchoolDigger statewide percentile ranks also fell from 73 to 43 for the high school and from 83 to 58 for the junior high. School context varies: in 2024–25, the student-teacher ratios were 14.4 at Washington, 12.5 at the junior high, and 13.1 at Jefferson; free/reduced lunch eligible rates that year were 47%, 52%, and 56%, respectively. Lincoln Attendance Center had a 10.3 student-teacher ratio and 62% free/reduced lunch eligible in 2024–25, but no test scores are supplied. These context measures do not show a consistent pattern alongside test results.