Summary:
Zip code 61421 has one middle school, Bradford Junior High School, which serves grades 6–8 and enrolls 45 students in Bradford CUSD 1. Its 2025–26 proficiency results are above state results in both English language arts (ELA) and math, with math the clearest strength: 83% were proficient, compared with 40% statewide, a 43-point advantage.
Bradford is both the highest- and lowest-scoring school in this area because it is the only one, so there is no local school-to-school comparison. Against the state, it stands out most in math: its advantage was 46 points in grade 6, 46 in grade 7, and 47 in grade 8. ELA was also higher than the state, with 75% proficient versus 56%, an 18-point gap. The earlier eighth-grade science result was strong, too: 87% in 2024–25 versus 45% statewide, a 41-point advantage. There are no other local schools for comparison, and the 2025–26 eighth-grade science figures are suppressed.
Results show a notable change in ELA, while math remained comparatively steady. From 2024–25 to 2025–26, Bradford’s ELA proficiency fell 10 percentage points, from 84% to 75%, while the state’s rose 3 points; Bradford’s ELA lead narrowed from 31 to 18 points. Math increased by 1 point at Bradford and statewide, leaving the school’s advantage at about 43 points. SchoolDigger gives Bradford 5 stars and ranks it 105th of 1,126 schools, in the 91st percentile; its percentile ranking has moved down from 99th in 2023–24. Chronic absenteeism was 26% in 2025–26, above the state’s 24% and district’s 21%. Other context: the student-teacher ratio was 9 in 2024–25, and 69% of students were free/reduced lunch eligible that year.
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