Summary:
The Gillespie Middle School is the sole middle school serving grades 6-8 in the Gillespie CUSD 7 school district in Illinois. While the school has a relatively high science proficiency rate, its performance in English Language Arts and Mathematics falls below the state average. Additionally, the school faces challenges with a high chronic absenteeism rate and a low district ranking.
Gillespie Middle School has an enrollment of 262 students, with a high percentage (99.62%) of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a significant level of economic disadvantage. In the 2024-2025 school year, the school's proficiency rates in English Language Arts (40.8%) and Mathematics (37.2%) were below the state averages of 53.1% and 38.5%, respectively. However, the school's proficiency rates in 8th grade science (50%) were higher than the state average of 45.4%. The school's performance has remained relatively consistent over the past few years, with proficiency rates remaining below the state averages.
One of the notable concerns for Gillespie Middle School is its high chronic absenteeism rate of 25.4% in the 2024-2025 school year, which is significantly higher than the state average. Despite the school district's higher per-student spending of $12,410 and a slightly lower student-teacher ratio of 15.8, the school's academic performance remains below the state average, suggesting that simply increasing funding and resources may not be enough to drive improvement. Overall, the data indicates that Gillespie Middle School is a relatively low-performing school within the state of Illinois, with room for improvement in core academic areas and addressing attendance and economic challenges faced by its student population.
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