Summary:
The city of Gardner, Illinois is home to two schools that serve different grade levels - Gardner Elementary School and Gardner-South Wilmington Township High School. Both schools have consistently strong performance, with each earning a 3-star rating from SchoolDigger.
Gardner Elementary School stands out for its excellent English Language Arts proficiency, outperforming the state average across all grade levels. The school also maintains a relatively high chronic absenteeism rate of 25.4%, which is an area for potential improvement. In contrast, Gardner-South Wilmington Township High School excels in its 89% four-year graduation rate, which exceeds the state average. The high school also performs well on PreACT Secure assessments, with 10th and 9th graders exceeding state averages in English Language Arts and Science. However, the school struggles somewhat on ACT assessments, with 11th graders underperforming the state average in English Language Arts and Mathematics.
The two schools in Gardner, Illinois serve very different grade levels, but both maintain strong performance and rankings within their respective categories. The significant difference in spending per student between the elementary and high school ($17,730 vs. $28,270) is noteworthy and may reflect different resource allocation priorities or cost structures between the two school levels. Additionally, the higher free/reduced lunch rates at the elementary school suggest the need to closely monitor and address potential equity and access issues, especially as they relate to student achievement.
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