Summary:
The 60475 zip code area is home to two schools - Columbia Central School, a middle school, and Steger Intermediate Center, an elementary school. Both schools serve a community with significant socioeconomic challenges, as evidenced by the high percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, over 80% at each school.
Of the two schools, Columbia Central School stands out as the stronger performer, with higher proficiency rates in English Language Arts (ELA) compared to the district and state averages across multiple grade levels. For example, in 2024-2025, 60.8% of students were proficient or better in ELA, compared to 51% for the district and 53.1% for the state. However, in mathematics, Columbia Central lags behind the district and state, with proficiency rates ranging from 12.5% to 26.8% across grade levels.
Both schools face the challenge of high chronic absenteeism, with around 25% of students chronically absent in 2024-2025. This is an area of concern that warrants further investigation, as it may be impacting student learning and achievement. Despite these challenges, the data suggests that Columbia Central School has the potential for improvement, particularly in its stronger ELA performance, which could provide valuable insights for the Steger School District 194 as it works to support student success across the area.
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