High Schools in Decatur School District 61

The Decatur School District 61 in Illinois is home to two high schools: MacArthur High School and Eisenhower High School. Both schools serve grades 9-12 and face similar challenges, with neither standing out as a clear standout in the district.

According to the data, both MacArthur High School and Eisenhower High School are ranked in the bottom half of Illinois high schools, with rankings of 573rd and 578th respectively out of 698 schools. Both schools are rated 1 out of 5 stars by SchoolDigger, and the Decatur School District 61 as a whole is ranked 806th out of 811 districts in Illinois and is rated 0 out of 5 stars. The schools have similar graduation rates of 89.0% and dropout rates of 2.4%, as well as high chronic absenteeism rates of 25.4%.

Academically, both schools perform significantly below the state averages in all subject areas, including English Language Arts, Mathematics, and Science, on both the ACT and PreACT Secure assessments. Additionally, both schools have a high percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, with MacArthur High School at 55.47% and Eisenhower High School at 58.01%. The per-student spending for the 2023-2024 school year was $14,990 at MacArthur High School and $15,833 at Eisenhower High School, indicating that the district is facing significant challenges in providing high-quality education to its students.