Best Middle Schools in Lansing, IL

The city of Lansing, Illinois is home to two middle schools: Memorial Junior High School and Heritage Middle School. These schools serve students in grades 6-8 and are part of the Lansing School District 158 and Sunnybrook School District 171, respectively.

Based on the available data, Heritage Middle School appears to be the standout school in this area. It has a higher statewide school ranking, with a 2-star rating compared to Memorial Junior High's 1-star rating. Heritage Middle School also has significantly higher proficiency rates in English Language Arts across all grade levels, with 52.6% of students proficient or better, compared to 37.4% at Memorial Junior High. In mathematics, Heritage Middle School still outperforms Memorial Junior High, though both schools have relatively low proficiency rates compared to the state average.

Despite the performance gap, both schools face challenges, such as high chronic absenteeism rates of 25.4% at both schools. Additionally, while Heritage Middle School spends more per student ($17,074) than Memorial Junior High ($15,379), the student-teacher ratios are similar, with 16 students per teacher at Heritage Middle School and 16.5 students per teacher at Memorial Junior High. These findings suggest that factors beyond just funding and resources may be contributing to the differences in student outcomes between the two schools.