Summary:
Normal, Illinois, has four high schools: three serve grades 9–12, while YBMC Charter School serves grades 11–12 and enrolls 16 students. Across the three schools with comparable current test results, average proficiency ranges from 47% to 78%, so the most important finding is how sharply achievement differs among schools in the same city.
University High School leads all nine reported subject-and-grade tests, averaging 78% proficient, and scores above the state in every one. Normal Community High School is second in all nine, averaging 58% and also exceeding the state in each. Normal Community West High School is third, averaging 47%; it is below the state in all three math tests but above it in the other six. The widest gap between schools is 40 points in grade 10 PreACT math. SchoolDigger ranks University High 19th of 620 schools (97th percentile, 5 stars), Normal Community 111th (82nd percentile, 4 stars), and West 253rd (59th percentile, 3 stars).
Recent test-score changes are mixed rather than a shared upward or downward trend: results averaged across the nine tests rose about 1 point at Normal Community, fell about 1 point at West, and were essentially flat at University High; the overall school average changed by about 0 points, while the state average fell about 1 point. Attendance and completion figures also offer useful context: chronic absenteeism is 4% at University High, compared with 33% at Normal Community, 35% at West, and 47% at YBMC, while all three schools with reported graduation results exceed the state’s 90%. Normal Community and West both have a 15.1 student-teacher ratio; their 2024–25 free/reduced lunch eligible rates are 33% and 39%, respectively. YBMC’s current ACT proficiency values are suppressed, so its results cannot be compared with the other schools.
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