Summary:
The 61741 zip code in Illinois is home to two middle schools: Prairie Central Junior High School and Prairie Central Upper Elementary, both part of the Prairie Central CUSD 8 district. While the schools share some similarities, they exhibit notable differences in academic performance, with Prairie Central Upper Elementary outperforming its counterpart.
Prairie Central Upper Elementary stands out as the stronger performer, with higher proficiency rates in English Language Arts and Mathematics compared to both the district and state averages. In the 2024-2025 school year, the school had 70.3% of students proficient or better in ELA and 49.5% in Math, significantly outpacing the district and state. In contrast, Prairie Central Junior High School has lower proficiency rates, particularly in Mathematics, where only 22% of students were proficient or better in 2024-2025, compared to 35.8% for the district and 38.5% for the state.
Both schools face challenges, such as high chronic absenteeism rates of 25.4% and relatively high percentages of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, at 49.09% for Prairie Central Upper Elementary and 46.98% for Prairie Central Junior High School in 2023-2024. The district should prioritize addressing these issues to ensure all students have access to a high-quality education and the support they need to succeed.
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