Summary:
Prairie-Hills Junior High School is a public middle school located in Markham, Illinois, serving 825 students in grades 6-8. The school has a predominantly African American student population, with 81.58% of students identifying as African American in the 2022-2023 school year. The school is part of the Prairie-Hills Education Service District 144, which is ranked 792 out of 823 districts in Illinois and has a 0-star rating from SchoolDigger.
Prairie-Hills Junior High School consistently performs significantly below the state averages in academic assessments. In the 2022-2023 school year, only 16.3% of 6th-grade students, 14.6% of 7th-grade students, and 13.2% of 8th-grade students were proficient or better in English Language Arts, compared to the state averages of 34.2%, 37.9%, and 40.5%, respectively. The school's performance in Mathematics is even more concerning, with only 4.7% of 6th-grade students, 4.1% of 7th-grade students, and 3.8% of 8th-grade students achieving proficiency, compared to the state averages of 23.4%, 26.9%, and 25.7%. The school has also struggled with high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 18.9% to 96.2% over the past five school years, significantly higher than the state average.
When comparing Prairie-Hills Junior High School to nearby middle schools, it becomes evident that the school is underperforming compared to its peers. For example, Arbor Park Middle School, located just 3.52 miles away, has significantly higher academic performance, with 28.6% of 6th-grade students and 36.4% of 7th-grade students proficient or better in English Language Arts, compared to Prairie-Hills' 16.3% and 14.6%, respectively. Similarly, Arbor Park Middle School outperforms Prairie-Hills in Mathematics, with 13.4% of 6th-grade students and 26.1% of 7th-grade students achieving proficiency, compared to Prairie-Hills' 4.7% and 4.1%. Despite the school's challenges, it appears to have relatively high per-student spending, with $16,529 spent per student in the 2022-2023 school year, suggesting that the issue may not be a lack of resources, but rather the effective allocation and utilization of those resources to improve student outcomes.
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