Summary:
ZIP code 62838 has one public high school, South Central High School, serving grades 9–12 with 183 students. Most importantly, every reported 2025–2026 test result is below the Illinois average; the largest gap is in 11th-grade ACT English Language Arts (ELA), where 27% of students were proficient, compared with 50% statewide—a difference of 23 percentage points.
Science is the school’s relative bright spot, though results remain below the state. In 11th-grade ACT Science, 41% were proficient versus 48% statewide, a 7-point gap; in ninth-grade PreACT Science, it was 34% versus 47%, a 13-point gap. ELA gaps were wider: 27% versus 50% in grade 11 and 47% versus 62% in grade 9. Across these matched comparisons, the average science gap was 10 points, compared with 19 points in ELA. Because this is the only school in the list, there is no meaningful local top-or-bottom comparison.
Recent results are mixed: 11th-grade ACT Science rose from 23% in 2024–2025 to 41% in 2025–2026, narrowing its gap with the state by 19 points, while ninth-grade PreACT Science fell from 43% to 34%; ninth-grade ELA remained at 47%. SchoolDigger ranks South Central High School 473rd of 620 statewide, at the 24th percentile with one star, up slightly from the 23rd percentile the prior year but below the 51st percentile in 2023–2024. The 2025–2026 graduation rate was 87%, 3 points below the state; chronic absenteeism was 29%, 5 points above the state and 12 above South Central CUD 401. As context, the school’s student–teacher ratio was 9.6:1 and 47% were free/reduced lunch eligible in 2024–2025.
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