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Best Public Schools in Ford County, IL

Coming soon: We're expecting this year's test scores from the Illinois State Board of Education any day now — new rankings will be posted the moment they're released!

Coming soon: This year's test scores are expected from the Illinois State Board of Education any day now — new rankings will follow the moment they're released!

At a glance

Schools

2,450

Students

Districts

Top rankedGCMS Middle School319^th of 1,368 Illinois middle schools

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Biggest riser

GCMS Elementary School up 83 spots statewide this year

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Smallest classes

Tri-Point Junior High/Elementary 9.9 students per teacher

SchoolDigger ratings

4★

3★

2★

2 schools without a SchoolDigger rating (too few tested students)

See the top-ranked Illinois schools →

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Immunizations Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				PreACT Secure English Language Arts (2025)		PreACT Secure Mathematics (2025)		PreACT Secure Science (2025)		ACT English Language Arts (2025)	ACT Mathematics (2025)	ACT Science (2025)	ISA Science (2025)		IAR English Language Arts (2025)							IAR Mathematics (2025)							% Polio (2024)	% Measles (2024)	% Mumps (2024)	% Rubella (2024)	% Hepatitis B (2024)	% Varicella (2024)	% DTP (2024)	% Pneumococcal (2024)	% Meningococcal (2024)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients (2025)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	PreACT Secure English Language Arts 9th Grade	PreACT Secure English Language Arts 10th Grade	PreACT Secure Mathematics 9th Grade	PreACT Secure Mathematics 10th Grade	PreACT Secure Science 9th Grade	PreACT Secure Science 10th Grade	ACT English Language Arts 11th Grade	ACT Mathematics 11th Grade	ACT Science 11th Grade	ISA Science 5th Grade	ISA Science 8th Grade	IAR English Language Arts 3rd Grade	IAR English Language Arts 4th Grade	IAR English Language Arts 5th Grade	IAR English Language Arts 6th Grade	IAR English Language Arts 7th Grade	IAR English Language Arts 8th Grade	IAR English Language Arts All Grades	IAR Mathematics 3rd Grade	IAR Mathematics 4th Grade	IAR Mathematics 5th Grade	IAR Mathematics 6th Grade	IAR Mathematics 7th Grade	IAR Mathematics 8th Grade	IAR Mathematics All Grades	% Polio All Grades	% Measles All Grades	% Mumps All Grades	% Rubella All Grades	% Hepatitis B All Grades	% Varicella All Grades	% DTP All Grades	% Pneumococcal All Grades	% Meningococcal All Grades	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
GCMS High School	Public	9-12	815 N Church St	Gibson City	60936	Ford County	Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley CUSD 5	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(217) 784-4292	275	23	12.0	35.6%	247 (89.8%)	4 (1.5%)	11 (4.0%)	5 (1.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (2.9%)	65.1	209^th of 698 public high schools	70.1%		85.4	86^th of 697 public high schools	87.7%	123	61.3	67.8	37.1	42.4	38.7	57.6	54.2	38.9	44.4																	98.9	97.5	97.5	97.5	98.6	97.1	98.9		98.2	$19,097	$897	$18,200
GCMS Middle School	Public	6-8	316 E 19th St	Gibson City	60936	Ford County	Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley CUSD 5	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(217) 784-8731	211	21	10.1	38.9%	176 (83.4%)	1 (0.5%)	21 (10.0%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (5.7%)	73.6	319^th of 1368 public middle schools	76.7%		64.6	398^th of 1363 public middle schools	70.8%	79											61.8				71.4	77.0	71.6	73.2				23.8	52.5	31.1	35.4	100.0	98.6	98.6	98.6	99.5	99.5	100.0		99.1	$18,080	$897	$17,182
GCMS Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	902 N Church St	Gibson City	60936	Ford County	Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley CUSD 5	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(217) 784-4278	489	44	11.1	50.1%	411 (84.0%)	3 (0.6%)	51 (10.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	23 (4.7%)	63.5	734^th of 2056 public elementary schools	64.3%		55.3	817^th of 2067 public elementary schools	60.5%	83										54.7		59.5	66.7	60.0				61.9	50.0	42.0	25.3				39.0	99.2	99.0	99.0	99.0	98.8	99.2	99.4	14.0		$17,606	$897	$16,708
Paxton-Buckley-Loda High School	Public	9-12	700 Panther Way	Paxton	60957	Ford County	Paxton-Buckley-Loda CUD 10	No	(n/a)	No	No	(217) 379-4331	378	34	11.1	44.4%	324 (85.7%)	3 (0.8%)	33 (8.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	18 (4.8%)	73.3	152^nd of 698 public high schools	78.2%		84.5	94^th of 697 public high schools	86.5%	58	68.9	57.1	45.6	41.2	56.7	54.8	58.5	45.7	48.9																	99.2	99.2	99.2	99.2	99.2	99.2	99.2		94.8	$18,107	$1,241	$16,866
Paxton-Buckley-Loda Junior High School	Public	6-8	700 Panther Way	Paxton	60957	Ford County	Paxton-Buckley-Loda CUD 10	No	(n/a)	No	No	(217) 379-9202	288	25	11.5	48.3%	228 (79.2%)	5 (1.7%)	36 (12.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (6.6%)	64.6	429^th of 1368 public middle schools	68.6%		64.1	405^th of 1363 public middle schools	70.3%	24											46.1				63.6	62.1	52.8	59.7				43.4	41.1	32.6	39.2	98.9	99.3	99.3	99.3	99.3	98.9	99.3		97.8	$15,446	$1,248	$14,198
Clara Peterson Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	580 E Franklin St	Paxton	60957	Ford County	Paxton-Buckley-Loda CUD 10	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(217) 379-2531	564	44	12.7	39.9%	465 (82.4%)	5 (0.9%)	57 (10.1%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.5%)	33 (5.9%)	43.2	1136^th of 2056 public elementary schools	44.7%		45.6	1030^th of 2067 public elementary schools	50.2%	106										22.0		42.6	51.1	44.0				45.8	56.4	35.6	24.2				39.0	93.9	95.0	95.0	95.0	96.1	95.7	94.8	9.8		$13,321	$1,243	$12,078
Panther Academy	Public, Virtual	9-12	430 S High St	Paxton	60957	Ford County	Paxton-Buckley-Loda CUD 10	No	(n/a)	Yes	(n/a)	(217) 379-3314	0	1	.0		0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)																										100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0		83.3
Tri-Point Junior High/Elementary	Public	4-8	519 S Margaret Ave	Piper City	60959	Ford County	Tri Point CUSD 6-J	No	(n/a)	No	No	(815) 686-2247	129	13	9.9	96.1%	106 (82.2%)	3 (2.3%)	12 (9.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.8%)	7 (5.4%)	47.3	664^th of 1368 public middle schools	51.5%		50.2	594^th of 1363 public middle schools	56.4%	70										72.2	29.2		37.5	72.2	43.8	58.3	45.8	50.0		54.2	94.4	25.0	37.5	33.3	45.1										$22,332	$749	$21,584
Tri Point Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-3	101 Main St	Kempton	60946	Ford County	Tri Point CUSD 6-J	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(815) 253-6299	116	10	11.3	84.5%	93 (80.2%)	3 (2.6%)	15 (12.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.9%)	4 (3.4%)								(n/a)												24.1						24.1	27.6						27.6										$24,964	$1,857	$23,107

SchoolDigger rankings lists for Illinois:

Elementary Schools Middle Schools High Schools Districts Cities

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau, the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Illinois State Board of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.