Summary:
The city of Steger, Illinois is home to two schools - Columbia Central School, a middle school, and Steger Intermediate Center, an elementary school. Both schools serve a population with significant socioeconomic challenges, as evidenced by the high percentages of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch.
While Columbia Central School outperforms the district and state averages in English Language Arts (ELA) proficiency, it struggles with math proficiency, with only 18.1% of students proficient or better in 2024-2025. In contrast, Steger Intermediate Center lags behind the district and state in both ELA and math proficiency, with only 31.8% and 32.3% of students proficient or better, respectively, in 2024-2025.
Both schools face significant challenges, including high chronic absenteeism rates of 25.4% in 2024-2025, well above the state average. Columbia Central School is ranked 739 out of 1,368 Illinois middle schools in 2024-2025, with a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger, while Steger Intermediate Center is ranked 1,466 out of 2,056 Illinois elementary schools, with a 1-star rating. The disparities in academic performance and resource allocation between the two schools suggest the need for targeted interventions and a closer examination of the factors contributing to these differences.
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