Schools in Metropolis, IL

Schools in Metropolis, Illinois, include five schools in Massac UD 1: three elementary schools, a middle school and a high school, serving students from elementary grades through high school. The strongest elementary results are at Franklin Elementary School and Jefferson Elementary School, while results at Metropolis Elementary School are notably lower, especially in math. The biggest difference for parents to note is the 36-point spread in all-grades elementary math, from 42% at Metropolis to 79% at Jefferson.

Jefferson and Franklin led the elementary schools in 2025–2026 IAR results: Jefferson scored 79% in both ELA and math, and Franklin scored 78% in ELA and 77% in math. Both were about 22 points above state ELA results and 37 to 39 points above state math results. Metropolis scored 63% in ELA and 42% in math—7 and 3 points above state, respectively. Massac Junior High School scored 76% in ELA and 48% in math, 20 and 8 points above state. At Massac County High School, ACT ELA was 2 points above state, while math and science were 7 and 9 points below. In fifth-grade science, Jefferson scored 79% and Franklin 75%, compared with 48% statewide.

Recent changes were mixed: from 2024–2025 to 2025–2026, Metropolis improved 9 points in ELA but fell 4 in math; Massac Junior High rose 3 in ELA and 7 in math; Franklin fell 5 and 3 points, and Jefferson fell 7 and 9. SchoolDigger’s statewide ranking percentiles remained high for Franklin (96 to 93) and Jefferson (94 to 93), while Massac Junior High went from 84 to 72, Metropolis from 65 to 50, and the high school from 62 to 48. As context, all schools reported free/reduced lunch eligible (FRL) for 2024–2025: 83% at Metropolis, 67% at Massac Junior High, 61% at the high school, 48% at Franklin and 47% at Jefferson. Attendance also varies: chronic absenteeism ranged from 3% at Franklin to 30% at the high school, compared with 24% statewide. These measures describe different aspects of the schools and do not establish cause and effect.