Summary:
Lena, Illinois, has three schools serving prekindergarten through grade 12: Lena-Winslow Elementary School (PK–5), Lena-Winslow Junior High School (6–8), and Lena-Winslow High School (9–12), with 817 students combined. In 2025–2026, chronic absenteeism at the schools was 7% to 8%, compared with 24% statewide, and high school graduation was 97%, versus 90% statewide. The most important finding is that all three schools were above state proficiency rates on nearly every reported test result, with junior high grade 8 science the exception.
Lena-Winslow Elementary stands out in all-grades IAR math: 61% were proficient, 21 percentage points above Illinois; its ELA rate was 73%, 16 points above the state. Lena-Winslow Junior High had the strongest all-grades IAR ELA result, 76%—20 points above the state—but its math rate was 46%, just 6 points above. Grade 8 science was 45%, 7 points below Illinois. At Lena-Winslow High, grade 11 ACT results were 6 to 8 points above the state, while grade 9 and 10 PreACT results were 9 to 30 points above. SchoolDigger gives elementary and high school 4 stars (80th and 84th percentile) and junior high 3 stars (68th percentile). IAR rates cover different grade spans, so they are not like-grade comparisons.
Results over time show both strengths and changes to watch: high school grade 11 ACT proficiency fell from 81% to 56% in ELA and from 67% to 46% in math between 2024–2025 and 2025–2026, though this year’s results remain above state rates. Junior high grade 8 science moved from 5 points above the state to 7 points below; meanwhile, grade 10 PreACT gaps widened in all three subjects. SchoolDigger’s junior high ranking also declined from the 83rd to the 68th percentile over three years, while elementary and high school remain at 4 stars. As context, the 2024–2025 free/reduced lunch eligible measure was 41% at elementary and junior high and 37% at high school; student-teacher ratios were 14.2, 14.4, and 12.0, respectively.
Thank you for your feedback!