Summary:
Zip code 62918 has two middle schools in Carterville CUSD 5, serving grades 4–8: Carterville Intermediate School (grades 4–6; 500 students) and Carterville Junior High School (grades 7–8; 344 students). In 2025–2026, both schools were above state proficiency rates in ELA and math: Intermediate posted 83% in ELA and 77% in math, while Junior High posted 77% and 51%, compared with state rates of 56% and 40%. The clearest difference is math: Intermediate’s all-grade rate was 27 points higher, versus a 6-point ELA gap.
Carterville Intermediate stands out at the top on both all-grade measures; Carterville Junior High has the lower reported rates, though it is also above the state in both subjects. Intermediate’s state leads were 27 points in ELA and 38 in math; Junior High’s were 21 and 11 points. Intermediate’s sixth-grade math result was especially strong at 79%, versus 36% statewide, a 43-point lead. Science was also above state rates at both schools: Intermediate’s fifth-grade result was 75% versus 48% statewide, while Junior High’s eighth-grade result was 61% versus 52%. Because the schools test different grades in science, these results do not establish which is stronger in that subject.
Results increased from 2024–2025 to 2025–2026 at both schools, with one exception close to flat: Intermediate rose 8 points in ELA and 10 in math, while Junior High rose 12 points in ELA and 0.4 point in math. SchoolDigger’s statewide percentile for Junior High declined from the 88th in 2023–2024 to the 76th in 2025–2026, despite the recent score increases. Context measures are similar: both schools reported free/reduced lunch eligible in 2024–2025, at 47% for Intermediate and 45% for Junior High; student-teacher ratios were 14 and 14.8, respectively. These figures describe the schools but do not explain their score differences.
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