Summary:
The city of Morris, Illinois has only one middle school, Shabbona Middle School, which serves students in grades 6-8. The school's performance has been consistently in the middle-to-lower range among Illinois middle schools over the past few years, ranking 617th out of 1,368 in 2024-2025, 573rd out of 1,363 in 2023-2024, and 536th out of 1,367 in 2022-2023.
Shabbona Middle School has had mixed results on standardized tests, with 49% of students proficient or better in ELA in 2024-2025, which is lower than the state average of 53.1%. However, the school outperformed the state in 8th grade science, with 57.9% proficient or better compared to the state's 45.4%. Math performance has been a challenge, with only 27.2% of students proficient or better in 2024-2025, well below the state average of 38.5%. The school's chronic absenteeism rate of 25.4% in 2024-2025 is also concerning and may be contributing to the academic challenges.
Despite the school's relatively high per-student spending of $15,626 in 2023-2024, which is higher than the state average, Shabbona Middle School serves a population with significant socioeconomic challenges, as evidenced by the high percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch at 49.15% in 2023-2024. The school and Morris School District 54 may want to examine how resources are being allocated and identify opportunities to better target areas of need, such as math instruction and student support services.
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