Summary:
The city of Pittsfield, Illinois is home to three schools: Pikeland Community School (a middle school), Pittsfield South Elementary School (an elementary school), and Pittsfield High School. These schools are part of the Pikeland CUSD 10 district and serve students from the Pittsfield area.
Among the three schools, Pittsfield High School stands out as the strongest performer, with a higher 3-star rating from SchoolDigger and a statewide ranking of 289 out of 698 Illinois high schools for the 2024-2025 school year. The high school also has better test scores, a higher 4-year graduation rate (89%), and a lower dropout rate (2.4%) compared to the district and state averages. In contrast, the other two schools, Pikeland Community School and Pittsfield South Elementary School, have relatively low statewide rankings and 1-2 star ratings from SchoolDigger.
However, the Pittsfield school district as a whole appears to be struggling, with all three schools having high chronic absenteeism rates (ranging from 25.4% to 25.4%) and significantly lower proficiency rates in ELA and Math compared to state averages, especially in the middle and upper grades. Additionally, the schools have high percentages of students qualifying for free/reduced lunch, ranging from 47.44% to 57.34%, indicating a student population with significant socioeconomic challenges. Despite the relatively high spending per student (ranging from $12,285 to $14,548), the district's performance suggests that addressing systemic issues, such as attendance and supporting students from low-income backgrounds, could be key strategies for improving the overall quality of education in the Pittsfield area.
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