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What's the most underrated thing about Beardstown Jr/Sr High School that outsiders don't know?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
820
High
DISTRICT 567 · STATE 834
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·BEARDSTOWN CUSD 15·NCES 170531000216
Beardstown Jr/Sr High School
500 E 15th St, Beardstown, IL 62618 · (217) 323-3665 · Cass County
GRADES 05–12HIGH33-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL820 STUDENTS
C
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 26% of Illinois public high schools
- C-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- B-Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Illinois public high schools
Student : Teacher
15.6:1
53 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 26.8:1 · STATE 13.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
77%
634 students
DISTRICT 70% · STATE 56%
Community
5
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other high schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 5 | 78 | 10% |
| Grade 6 | 100 | 12% |
| Grade 7 | 105 | 13% |
| Grade 8 | 103 | 13% |
| Grade 9 | 111 | 14% |
| Grade 10 | 105 | 13% |
| Grade 11 | 107 | 13% |
| Grade 12 | 111 | 14% |
Student demographics
61%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 70% · STATE 69% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
School pathway
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within Beardstown CUSD 15. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
IAR + ISA 2024-25 . % Proficient (Levels 4-5)English Language Arts
25.2%
IL avg 51.0% . +12.3pp since 2023
Math
10.7%
IL avg 37.9% . +7.4pp since 2023
What this means: On the IAR + ISA, Illinois's statewide test, about 25 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 11 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Illinois schools, those numbers are about 51 and 38. Reading and writing scores are up about 12 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 7 points.
IAR + ISA results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 25.2% | 10.7% |
| 2023-24 | 12.9% | 3.3% |
% Proficient (Levels 4-5), all students and all tested grades.
Source: IAR + ISA. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
19.0%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
26.9%
based on IL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-7.9pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 19% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 27% typical for Illinois schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Illinois's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Beardstown Jr/Sr High School
Beardstown Jr/Sr High School's state test result (19.0% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beardstown Jr/Sr High School this school | 820 | 77.3% | 19.0% |
| Chicago Academy High School Chicago | 580 | 77.2% | 31.8% |
| Alcott College Prep Chicago | 373 | 74.3% | 18.2% |
| Lake View High School Chicago | 1,431 | 75.1% | 21.0% |
| Noble St Chtr-Noble Campus Chicago | 696 | 73.1% | 34.8% |
| Goode STEM Academy High School Chicago | 991 | 82.4% | 14.9% |
Matched among Illinois high schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Beardstown Jr/Sr High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Illinois |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 19.0% | #454 of 573 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 10.7% | #60 of 75 ▲ 7 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 25.2% | #67 of 75 ▲ 4 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 820 | #253 of 708 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.6:1 | #381 of 528 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 60.5% | #101 of 537 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 77.3% | #127 of 578 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -8.0% | #196 of 358 |
Ranked against other public high schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
820
-29 (-3%) vs 2020
+119% since 1990-91, when it was 374
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 820 | 52.7 | 15.6:1 | 77% (634) |
| 2023-24 | 837 | 57.7 | 14.5:1 | 74% (619) |
| 2022-23 | 849 | 54.7 | 15.5:1 | 65% (556) |
| 2020-21 | 849 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 891 | 55.7 | 16.0:1 | 72% (645) |
| 2015-16 | 880 | 64 | 13.8:1 | 74% (651) |
| 2010-11 | 744 | 58 | 12.8:1 | 64% (476) |
| 2000-01 | 516 | 44 | 11.7:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 374 | 29 | 12.9:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Beardstown Jr/Sr High School.
Since 2017-18: students down 8% (891 to 820); teachers down 5% (55.7 to 52.7).
About Beardstown Jr/Sr High School
Located in Beardstown, Illinois, Beardstown Jr/Sr High School is a medium-sized high school. The school's enrollment of 820 students covers grades 5 through 12.
Beardstown CUSD 15 operates 3 schools. Combined enrollment is 1,702 students.
Hispanic students make up a majority at Beardstown Jr/Sr High School, at 55%. The remaining shares are 28% White, 12% Black, and 4% multiracial. Census estimates put the Hispanic share of Cass County's population at about 23%. Beardstown Jr/Sr High School's diversity index is 61%, against a US figure of 70%.
Teacher staffing is 52.7 full-time equivalents, or about 15.6 students per teacher. On average, high schools in Illinois have 13.8:1, compared with 15.6:1 here. About 77% of students, or 634, qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. Public schools in Cass County average 69%.
The allk12 Grade for Beardstown Jr/Sr High School is C. Compared with Illinois public high schools, the school scored higher than 26% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
When test results are adjusted for free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, Beardstown Jr/Sr High School is 7.9 points below its prediction. Actual: 19.0%. Predicted: 26.9%.
Recent Census Bureau figures for Cass County show that the median household income is $68,125, 21% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 10% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Beardstown Jr/Sr High School is one of 8 public schools in the county.
The nearest public school is Gard Elementary School, at less than a tenth of a mile. Around the school, 2 other public schools are within five miles. On state test proficiency, Beardstown Jr/Sr High School ranks 6th in a group of 7 nearby schools.
Its NCES locale code is Town: Remote: the school is in a town far from an urbanized area.
Over 4 years, Beardstown Jr/Sr High School's enrollment dropped 3%, to 820.
Threads on this page can be about sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Cass County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
12,784
Census ACS
Median income
$68,125
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
21%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
10%
Below federal line
Schools in county
8
2,352 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Beardstown CUSD 15
- Gard Elementary SchoolElementary · 711 students
- Grand Ave SchoolElementary · 171 students
Other schools in Beardstown
- Gard Elementary SchoolElementary · 711 students
- Grand Ave SchoolElementary · 171 students
Nearby schools
- Gard Elementary School0.1 mi · 711
- Grand Ave School0.7 mi · 171
- Washington Elementary School10.5 mi · 113
- Webster Elementary School11.0 mi · 183
- Rushville-Industry High School11.2 mi · 295
- Schuyler Industry Middle School11.2 mi · 252
Frequently asked questions
About Beardstown Jr/Sr High SchoolHow many students attend Beardstown Jr/Sr High School?
Beardstown Jr/Sr High School enrolls approximately 820 students in grades 05-12.
What grades does Beardstown Jr/Sr High School serve?
Beardstown Jr/Sr High School serves grades 05-12.
How many teachers does Beardstown Jr/Sr High School have?
Beardstown Jr/Sr High School employs 53 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 15.6:1.
What is the student diversity at Beardstown Jr/Sr High School?
Student demographics at Beardstown Jr/Sr High School are roughly 28% White, 55% Hispanic, 12% Black, 1% Asian, 4% Two or more.
Is Beardstown Jr/Sr High School public or private?
Beardstown Jr/Sr High School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Beardstown CUSD 15.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.