Summary:
ZIP code 60475 has two schools in Steger School District 194, serving grades 2–8: Steger Intermediate Center serves grades 2–4 and enrolls 465 students, while Columbia Central School serves grades 5–8 and enrolls 646. The clearest overall finding is a sharp split in English results: Columbia is slightly above the state in ELA, while Steger Intermediate is far below it.
Columbia stands out in 2025–2026 All Grades ELA, with 59% meeting the measure compared with 32% at Steger Intermediate—a 26-point gap. Columbia is 2 points above the state’s 56%, while Steger Intermediate is 24 points below it. In math, Steger Intermediate leads this pair at 30% versus Columbia’s 19%, but both trail the state’s 40%: by 10 and 20 points, respectively. Columbia’s ELA results vary by grade, including results above the state in grades 6 and 7, while its grade 5 result is below. Its science results are also well below state levels: 21% in grade 5 and 25% in grade 8, compared with 48% and 52% statewide. SchoolDigger gives Columbia a 2-star rating and 31st-percentile ranking, versus 1 star and the 12th percentile for Steger Intermediate.
Across the two years, both schools’ average distance from the state grew: the ELA shortfall widened from 7 to 11 points, and the math shortfall from 13 to 15 points. Columbia’s ELA score declined by 2 points, while Steger Intermediate’s rose by 1; in math, Columbia gained 1 point and Steger Intermediate fell by 3. Both schools also had chronic absenteeism of about 32% in 2025–2026, compared with 24% statewide. As context, in 2024–2025, 56% of Columbia students and 63% of Steger Intermediate students were free/reduced lunch eligible; student–teacher ratios were 16.5 and 13.6, respectively. SchoolDigger’s percentile rankings also fell over time, by 16 points for Columbia and 21 for Steger Intermediate from 2023–2024 to 2025–2026. Because the schools serve different, non-overlapping grades, their All Grades results do not compare the same grade mix.
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