Polo CUSD 222

The Polo CUSD 222 district in Illinois consists of three schools: Centennial Elementary School, Polo Community High School, and Aplington Middle School. The data reveals that Centennial Elementary is the standout school in the district, consistently outperforming the other schools and the state averages in academic achievement.

Centennial Elementary has impressive test scores, with 67.5% of students proficient or better in ELA and 71.1% in Math, significantly above the district and state levels. The school also holds a 4-star rating from SchoolDigger and ranks in the top 15% of Illinois elementary schools. In contrast, Aplington Middle School and Polo Community High School have more average performance, with test scores closer to the district and state norms. Aplington Middle School's math proficiency rates are particularly low, with only 22.9% of students meeting or exceeding standards.

While the district's schools have relatively small class sizes, they also face challenges, such as high chronic absenteeism rates ranging from 25.4% to 25.4% and a significant population of economically disadvantaged students, with free/reduced lunch rates between 46.56% and 52.38%. The district should investigate the root causes of the absenteeism and explore strategies to support its economically disadvantaged students, while also learning from the success of Centennial Elementary to raise the overall quality of education across the Polo CUSD 222 district.