Summary:
The County of Winnebago School District 320 in Illinois is home to two middle schools: South Beloit Junior High School and Blackhawk Elementary School. Both schools are underperforming compared to state averages on key metrics, with consistently low test scores, high chronic absenteeism rates, and high percentages of economically disadvantaged students.
South Beloit Junior High School and Blackhawk Elementary School have significantly lower proficiency rates in both English Language Arts and Mathematics compared to the district and state averages. For example, in the 2024-2025 school year, South Beloit Junior High School had a 43.8% proficiency rate in ELA and 14.3% in Math, while Blackhawk Elementary School had even lower rates of 21.5% in ELA and 12.7% in Math. Both schools also have high chronic absenteeism rates, at 25.4% for both in the 2024-2025 school year, which is significantly higher than the state average.
The high percentages of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch at both schools, 56.93% at South Beloit Junior High School and 47.01% at Blackhawk Elementary School, suggest that socioeconomic factors may be playing a role in the academic outcomes. Despite the higher spending per student at South Beloit Junior High School, the school's academic performance remains below state averages, raising questions about the effectiveness of the district's resource allocation. The district should prioritize addressing these systemic issues to improve the educational outcomes for students in the County of Winnebago School District 320.
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