Summary:
The 61554 zip code is home to a single public high school, Pekin Community High School, which serves grades 9-12 and is part of the Pekin Central School District 303. While the school has a relatively high enrollment of 1,737 students, its academic performance has been declining in recent years, with its statewide ranking dropping from 248 out of 699 Illinois high schools in 2022-2023 to 392 out of 698 in 2024-2025, and its SchoolDigger star rating decreasing from 3 to 2 stars.
Pekin Community High School's academic performance, as measured by proficiency rates on standardized tests, is generally below the state averages across subjects and grade levels. For example, in 2024-2025, the school's 11th-grade proficiency rates were 37.3% in English Language Arts, 30% in Mathematics, and 34.8% in Science, compared to state averages of 51.7%, 39.3%, and 48.7%, respectively. Additionally, the school has a relatively high percentage of students (48.53%) receiving free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a higher proportion of economically disadvantaged students.
Despite the school's relatively high per-student spending of $16,649 and a student-teacher ratio of 15.1, the academic underperformance and socioeconomic challenges faced by the student population suggest that the school may be struggling to provide a high-quality education. Further investigation would be needed to understand the root causes of these issues and develop targeted strategies to address them and improve student outcomes.
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