Summary:
Gillespie, Illinois, has three public schools serving prekindergarten through grade 12, with 1,095 students across Gillespie CUSD 7. The most important pattern is that performance varies considerably by grade and subject: Gillespie Middle scored 15 percentage points above the state in grade 8 math, but 20 points below in grade 7 ELA.
Gillespie High stands out for ELA: grade 11 ACT proficiency was 67%, 17 points above the state, and grade 9 PreACT ELA was 72%, 10 points above. Its grade 9 math was also strong, 56% versus 42% statewide, while grade 11 math lagged at 33% versus 40%. At Ben-Gil, grade 5 ELA was 64%, 9 points above the state, but grade 5 math was 23%, 13 points below; its all-grades ELA was close to the state, at 55% versus 56%. Middle’s grade 8 math was its clearest strength, while its ELA was below state results in all three grades, including 38% versus 58% in grade 7. No school leads across every subject and grade.
Recent trends favor the high school overall, with exceptions. Its SchoolDigger statewide percentile rose from the 31st in 2023–2024 to the 65th in 2025–2026; Ben-Gil fell from the 66th to the 45th, and Middle from the 57th to the 43rd. High school ACT grade 11 ELA moved from 16 points below the state in 2024–2025 to 17 points above in 2025–2026, while Ben-Gil’s all-grades ELA shifted from 6 points above to 1 point below. The schools’ student–teacher ratios range from 12.4 at Ben-Gil to 13.6 at Middle. Free/reduced lunch eligible shares in 2024–2025 were 66% at Ben-Gil, 63% at Middle and 57% at the high school; these figures are context, not an explanation for achievement. The high school also had the area’s highest 2025–2026 chronic absenteeism, 27%, despite a 94% graduation rate.
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