Summary:
Galena Unified School District 120 has one high school, Galena High School, serving grades 9–12 and enrolling 260 students. In 2025–26, the school scored above Illinois in eight of nine matched test comparisons, and its average advantage across those comparisons was 4 percentage points—the clearest overall takeaway for families.
With only one school in the area, there is no peer-school leader or trailer; the most useful comparisons are with state results. The strongest relative result was 9th-grade PreACT math: 56% of students met the benchmark, compared with 42% statewide, a 14-point advantage. The sharpest exception was 9th-grade PreACT science, where 33% met the benchmark versus 47% statewide, a 14-point shortfall. The other seven comparisons were above state results. Outside testing, the 2025–26 graduation rate was 87%, 3 points below the state’s 90%, while chronic absenteeism was 12%, 12 points lower than the state’s 24%.
Results changed unevenly over time: the average school–state test gap narrowed from 8 percentage points in 2024–25 to 4 points in 2025–26. Math remained the strongest subject relative to the state, but its average advantage fell from 16 points to 8; ELA held steady at about 4 points, while science shifted from a 3-point advantage to a 2-point deficit. The standout change was 9th-grade science: its gap moved from 1 point above the state in 2024–25 to 14 points below in 2025–26. SchoolDigger’s statewide percentile ranking also declined, from 81 in 2023–24 to 69 in 2025–26. The school reports 35% free/reduced lunch eligible in 2024–25 and a student–teacher ratio of 11.6 that year; these figures provide context, not an explanation of results.
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