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If you had an hour of school board time for Dirksen Junior High School, what would you bring up?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
653
Middle
DISTRICT 766 · STATE 462
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·JOLIET PSD 86·NCES 172058002326
Dirksen Junior High School
203 S Midland Ave, Joliet, IL 60436 · (815) 729-1566 · Will County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL653 STUDENTS
C+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 35% of Illinois public middle schools
- DTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- A-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 middle schools
Student : Teacher
14.1:1
46 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.9:1 · STATE 13.0:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
98%
641 students
DISTRICT 96% · STATE 56%
Community
5
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other middle schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 6 | 232 | 36% |
| Grade 7 | 215 | 33% |
| Grade 8 | 206 | 32% |
Student demographics
52%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 46% · 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
Test scores
IAR + ISA 2024-25 . % Proficient (Levels 4-5)English Language Arts
29.5%
IL avg 51.0% . -1.0pp since 2023
Math
15.3%
IL avg 37.9% . +5.7pp since 2023
What this means: On the IAR + ISA, Illinois's statewide test, about 30 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 15 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Illinois schools, those numbers are about 51 and 38. Reading and writing scores are down about 1 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 6 points.
IAR + ISA results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 29.5% | 15.3% |
| 2023-24 | 30.5% | 9.6% |
% 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
22.1%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
14.8%
based on IL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+7.3pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 22% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 15% 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 Dirksen Junior High School
Dirksen Junior High School's state test result (22.1% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dirksen Junior High School this school | 653 | 98.2% | 22.1% |
| Washington Jr High & Academy Prgm Joliet | 724 | 98.5% | 21.0% |
| Neal Math Science Academy North Chicago | 601 | 98.8% | 17.0% |
| Hufford Junior High School Joliet | 1,072 | 97.3% | 22.2% |
| Chicago Heights Middle School Chicago Hts | 872 | 92.1% | 26.1% |
| Roosevelt Middle School Bellwood | 614 | 99.3% | 16.8% |
Matched among Illinois middle 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 Dirksen Junior High School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Illinois | In Will County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 22.1% | #509 of 578 | #38 of 39 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 15.3% | #535 of 640 ▲ 5 | #40 of 44 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 29.5% | #572 of 640 ▼ 78 | #44 of 44 ▼ 2 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 653 | #169 of 691 | #18 of 44 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 14.1:1 | #396 of 558 | #26 of 44 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 51.7% | #249 of 560 | #21 of 44 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 98.2% | #20 of 581 | #3 of 39 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -7.6% | #297 of 440 | #28 of 36 |
Ranked against other public middle 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
653
-38 (-5%) vs 2020
+26% since 1990-91, when it was 520
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 | 653 | 46.3 | 14.1:1 | 98% (641) |
| 2023-24 | 655 | 46.3 | 14.2:1 | 97% (638) |
| 2022-23 | 573 | 47.6 | 12.0:1 | 97% (555) |
| 2020-21 | 691 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 707 | 42.4 | 16.7:1 | 100% (707) |
| 2015-16 | 655 | 44 | 14.9:1 | 99% (646) |
| 2010-11 | 582 | 39 | 14.9:1 | 76% (443) |
| 2000-01 | 495 | 30 | 16.5:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 520 | 32 | 16.3:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Dirksen Junior High School.
Since 2017-18: students down 8% (707 to 653); teachers up 9% (42.4 to 46.3).
About Dirksen Junior High School
Dirksen Junior High School is a medium-sized middle school serving families in Joliet, Illinois. The school enrolls 653 students, from grades 6 through 8. Average enrollment for middle schools in Illinois is about 462, so this school runs 41% above that.
Dirksen Junior High School is one of the 20 schools that make up Joliet PSD 86 (9,333 students in total).
Dirksen Junior High School's enrollment is 65% Hispanic. Next come 22% Black, 8% White, and 4% multiracial. That compares with about 20% Hispanic among all Will County residents. By the diversity index, Dirksen Junior High School comes in at 52%.
Federal staffing data show 46.3 full-time-equivalent teachers at Dirksen Junior High School and a ratio of 14.1:1. That ratio is over the 13.0:1 average for middle schools in Illinois. Free or reduced-price lunch eligibility covers 98% of students. That rate is above the 44% average among public schools in Will County.
The allk12 Grade for Dirksen Junior High School is C+. Compared with Illinois public middle schools, the school scored higher than 35% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
Schools in Illinois with a similar free or reduced-price lunch share are predicted to score about 14.8%. Dirksen Junior High School scores 22.1%.
Among Will County residents, median household income is about $109,984, 38% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 6% of people live in poverty. Federal data list 209 public schools in Will County, with a combined enrollment of about 113,008.
The next-closest public school is Lynne Thigpen Elementary School, less than a tenth of a mile away. In all, at least 8 other public schools sit within five miles of Dirksen Junior High School. Of 8 schools in the immediate area with test results, Dirksen Junior High School ranks 5th on average proficiency.
NCES describes the area around Dirksen Junior High School as Suburb: Large, meaning in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.
Federal counts put enrollment at 691 in 2020-21 and 653 in 2024-25, a 5% decrease.
Parents and students can post about enrollment questions, class placement, and PTA news at Dirksen Junior High School. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
Will County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
701,462
Census ACS
Median income
$109,984
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
38%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
209
113,008 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Joliet PSD 86
- Hufford Junior High SchoolMiddle · 1,072 students
- Washington Jr High & Academy PrgmMiddle · 724 students
- Sator Sanchez Elementary SchoolElementary · 635 students
- Pershing Elementary SchoolElementary · 621 students
- Lynne Thigpen Elementary SchoolElementary · 620 students
- Gompers Junior High SchoolMiddle · 615 students
Other schools in Joliet
- Joliet West High SchoolHigh · 3,451 students
- Joliet Central High SchoolHigh · 3,295 students
- Hufford Junior High SchoolMiddle · 1,072 students
- Aux Sable Middle SchoolMiddle · 844 students
- Washington Jr High & Academy PrgmMiddle · 724 students
- Thomas Jefferson Elementary SchoolElementary · 646 students
Nearby schools
- Lynne Thigpen Elementary School0.1 mi · 620
- Pershing Elementary School0.6 mi · 621
- Rockdale Elementary School0.8 mi · 257
- Joliet West High School0.8 mi · 3,451
- Marycrest Early Childhood Center1.1 mi · 142
- Farragut Elementary School1.3 mi · 568
Frequently asked questions
About Dirksen Junior High SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Dirksen Junior High School?
Dirksen Junior High School enrolls approximately 653 students in grades 06-08.
What age range does Dirksen Junior High School serve?
Dirksen Junior High School serves students from grade 06 through grade 08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Dirksen Junior High School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Dirksen Junior High School is approximately 14.1:1 (46 FTE teachers).
What is the student diversity at Dirksen Junior High School?
Student demographics at Dirksen Junior High School are roughly 8% White, 65% Hispanic, 22% Black, 0% Asian, 4% Two or more.
Who oversees Dirksen Junior High School?
Dirksen Junior High School is overseen by Joliet PSD 86 in Will County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.