Summary:
Forest Ridge School District 142 has one middle school, Jack Hille Middle School, serving grades 6–8 with 490 students. In 2025–2026, its all-grades ELA proficiency was 55%, compared with 56% statewide, and math was 38%, compared with 40% statewide. The clearest concern is grade 8 science: 43% proficiency was 9 percentage points below the state.
With only one school, there is no top-to-bottom comparison between schools; Jack Hille is both the only option and the district’s overall result. Its strongest comparisons with the state were grade 8 ELA, where proficiency was 65% versus 63%, and grade 7 math, at 42% versus 40%; grade 8 math was also higher, 37% versus 35%. The weakest results were grade 6 ELA, 50% versus 59%, and grade 7 ELA, 51% versus 58%. Grade 6 math was 34% versus 36%. These differences show why a child’s grade and subject matter when considering the school’s near-statewide overall averages.
Results improved in math, but the pattern was mixed across subjects: Jack Hille’s all-grades math proficiency rose 4 percentage points from 2024–2025 to 2025–2026, while the state increased 1 point, narrowing the school’s gap from 5 points below to 2 below. ELA rose 2 points at Jack Hille and 3 statewide, moving from parity to 1 point below. Grade 8 science improved 6 points, but the state rose 7, and the shortfall widened from 8 to 9 points. SchoolDigger’s ranking fell from the 58th percentile and 3 stars to the 40th percentile and 2 stars, despite higher ELA and math proficiency. Other context: the student–teacher ratio was 14.8:1 and 47% of students were free/reduced lunch eligible in 2024–2025; chronic absenteeism was 20% in 2025–2026, versus 19% districtwide and 24% statewide. Since the list includes only one school, it cannot show how Jack Hille compares with other local middle schools.
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