Best Public Schools in Serena, IL

Serena, Illinois, has two schools in the supplied data, serving grades 5–8 and 9–12: Serena Middle School and Serena High School, with 346 students combined. In 2025–26, middle-school English language arts (ELA) was above the state rate, but middle-school mathematics and the listed high-school test results were below theirs. The clearest overall takeaway is that results vary by subject and grade, with high-school outcomes—and especially ninth grade—an important area of concern.

Serena Middle School stands out in ELA: 59% of students met proficiency, compared with 56% statewide, and seventh-grade ELA was 70% versus 58%, a 12-point advantage. Mathematics was the counterpoint: the all-grades rate was 29% versus 40% statewide, a 11-point shortfall. At Serena High School, 11th-grade ACT ELA was closest to the state rate, at 48% versus 50%. The largest listed gap was ninth-grade PreACT ELA, at 35% versus 62%, 26 points below the state. High-school graduation was also lower: 71% compared with 90% statewide.

Several results moved closer to state rates year over year: 9 of 13 comparable school-subject-grade results improved relative to the state. But ninth-grade high-school results fell sharply from 2024–25 to 2025–26: ELA dropped 23 points, mathematics 4 points, and science 11 points. SchoolDigger’s middle-school ranking rose from the 49th to the 51st percentile, while the high school’s fell from the 46th to the 35th percentile; current ratings are 3 stars and 2 stars, respectively. The schools have similar student-teacher ratios (11.9 and 11.8); their free/reduced lunch eligible shares in 2024–25 were 45% and 34%. These are contextual observations, not explanations of results. Because the schools serve different grades and use different tests, their scores are not directly comparable as a school ranking.