Summary:
Zion, Illinois, has nine schools serving students from prekindergarten through grade 12: three schools for PK–2, two for grades 3–5, two for grades 6–8 and two high schools. The three PK–2 schools have no supplied test scores, so they can be compared here only on attendance. Across the schools with test results, local leaders often remain well below state results: for example, the elementary schools’ all-grades ELA scores are 14%–17%, compared with 56% statewide. The most important difference for families comparing high schools is that Zion-Benton East High School leads Zion-Benton Township High School in every supplied test comparison.
Zion-Benton East leads its high-school counterpart by 20 percentage points in grade 11 ACT ELA and 13 points in science, though its math lead is 2 points; its PreACT leads range from 9.9 to 26.9 points. East also has the area’s highest graduation rate, 97%, versus 92% at Township and 90% statewide. Among middle schools, Zion Central Middle School leads in all-grades ELA and grade 8 science, while Shiloh Park Middle School leads in all-grades math; their ELA results are nearly tied at 29.8% and 29.6%. Elmwood Elementary School leads West Elementary School on all-grades ELA and math and grade 5 science, while West has stronger grade 4 ELA.
Recent changes at East are strong but not uniform: from 2024–2025 to 2025–2026, ACT ELA rose 8 percentage points, ACT math rose 8 points and grade 10 PreACT science rose 14 points, while grade 9 PreACT ELA fell 9 points. SchoolDigger’s statewide percentile ranking for East rose from the 22nd to the 37th percentile over three years; Township’s fell from the 29th to the 13th. Ratios at the two high schools are similar, 15.5 students per teacher at East and 15.4 at Township, as are their free/reduced lunch eligible shares in sy 2024–2025: 61% and 62%. Across all nine schools, chronic absenteeism averages 31%; rates range from 22.7% at Central to 38.2% at Lakeview School. These figures offer useful context, not explanations for schools’ results.
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