Carthage Middle School

Carthage Middle School operates as an one-room-style junior high in Carthage, Illinois, one of the schools within Carthage ESD 317. Current enrollment sits at 167 students spanning grades 5 through 8. That puts it 64% below the typical public school in Illinois, which averages around 462 students.

Carthage ESD 317 comprises 2 schools with combined enrollment of 405 students; Carthage Middle School is among them.

For racial and ethnic makeup, Carthage Middle School reports that the student body is overwhelmingly White (92%); the rest breaks down as 7% Hispanic. That composition is broadly in line with Hancock County as a whole.

Looking at school resources, Carthage Middle School lists 12 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 13.9:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 13.0:1, putting Carthage Middle School higher than the state norm the norm. Roughly 50% of students at Carthage Middle School qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, often used as a Title I proxy.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Carthage Middle School performs roughly as the BeatsExpectations model predicts for a school with this FRL share. The predicted value is around 42.8%, the actual is 44.2%, a residual of +1.4 points.

In the broader community, the surrounding county (Hancock County) shows that the typical household earns roughly $65,865 per year, 25% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 11%. In all, Hancock County runs 15 public schools (combined enrollment of about 2,703 students), of which Carthage Middle School is one.

The closest other public school is Carthage Primary School, roughly 0.4 miles away. Within five miles, there are 2 other public schools. Among the 8 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), Carthage Middle School ranks 3rd on composite proficiency, above the local average of 41.8%.

Carthage Middle School operates from an outlying location.

Trend over the last 7 years. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Carthage Middle School has ticked down 5%, going from 175 students in 2018 to 167 in 2025. The White share of enrollment decreased from 96% to 92% over that span.

On this page, posts here usually surface around sports schedules, lunch menu changes, and school spirit week. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.