Summary:
The 62079 zip code area is home to two schools - Southwestern High School and Southwestern Middle School, both part of the Southwestern CUSD 9 district. While the district is ranked 385 out of 811 in Illinois and has a 3-star rating, the individual schools show mixed performance, with the high school ranked 362 out of 698 and the middle school ranked 615 out of 1,368 for the 2024-2025 school year.
Southwestern High School has a 89.0% four-year graduation rate and a 2.4% dropout rate, but performs below the state average in proficiency rates for standardized tests. The school spends $14,437 per student, higher than the state average, and maintains a 12 student-to-teacher ratio. In contrast, Southwestern Middle School has a 25.4% chronic absenteeism rate and performs below the state average in English Language Arts and Mathematics on the IAR tests, though it performs slightly above average in 8th grade Science. The middle school spends $13,617 per student and has a 12.1 student-to-teacher ratio.
Both schools serve a relatively high percentage of economically disadvantaged students, with free and reduced lunch rates of 40.69% at the high school and 43.68% at the middle school. While the district is investing resources into these schools, the academic performance does not seem to be commensurate with the level of funding and staffing, suggesting that the district should closely examine the factors contributing to the declining performance, particularly at the middle school level, and implement targeted strategies to improve student outcomes.
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