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What's the most underrated thing about Jefferson Middle School that outsiders don't know?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
517
Middle
DISTRICT 508 · STATE 462
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·SPRINGFIELD SD 186·NCES 173708004431
Jefferson Middle School
3001 S Allis St, Springfield, IL 62703 · (217) 585-5810 · Sangamon County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE22-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL517 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
12.0:1
43 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 11.7:1 · STATE 13.0:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
81%
417 students
DISTRICT 67% · 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 | 176 | 34% |
| Grade 7 | 163 | 32% |
| Grade 8 | 178 | 34% |
Student demographics
60%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 66% · 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
16.0%
IL avg 51.0% . +2.5pp since 2023
Math
4.6%
IL avg 37.9% . +2.1pp since 2023
What this means: On the IAR + ISA, Illinois's statewide test, about 16 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 5 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 3 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 2 points.
IAR + ISA results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 16.0% | 4.6% |
| 2023-24 | 13.5% | 2.5% |
% 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
12.1%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
24.9%
based on IL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-12.9pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 12% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 25% 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 Jefferson Middle School
Jefferson Middle School's state test result (12.1% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson Middle School this school | 517 | 80.7% | 12.1% |
| Washington Middle School Springfield | 516 | 79.8% | 8.3% |
| Stephen Decatur Middle School Decatur | 413 | 85.7% | 11.2% |
| U S Grant Middle School Springfield | 498 | 72.1% | 15.1% |
| West Jr High School Belleville | 364 | 73.6% | 37.0% |
| West Middle School Rockford | 793 | 79.3% | 16.2% |
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 Jefferson Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Illinois | In Sangamon County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 12.1% | #568 of 578 | #15 of 16 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 4.6% | #629 of 640 ▼ 3 | #16 of 17 ▲ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 16.0% | #629 of 640 ▼ 7 | #16 of 17 no change |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 517 | #273 of 691 | #4 of 17 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 12.0:1 | #184 of 558 | #6 of 13 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 60.0% | #155 of 560 | #5 of 13 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 80.7% | #59 of 581 | #1 of 16 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -7.8% | #293 of 440 | #10 of 13 |
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
517
-81 (-14%) vs 2020
-10% since 1990-91, when it was 576
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 | 517 | 43 | 12.0:1 | 81% (417) |
| 2023-24 | 495 | 39.4 | 12.6:1 | 80% (394) |
| 2022-23 | 539 | 40 | 13.5:1 | 78% (423) |
| 2020-21 | 598 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 561 | 42.9 | 13.1:1 | 83% (466) |
| 2015-16 | 559 | 43 | 13.0:1 | 73% (408) |
| 2010-11 | 552 | 46 | 12.0:1 | 82% (455) |
| 2000-01 | 714 | 46 | 15.5:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 576 | 33 | 17.4:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Jefferson Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students down 8% (561 to 517); teachers unchanged (42.9 to 43).
About Jefferson Middle School
Jefferson Middle School is a medium-sized middle school in Springfield, Illinois. Enrolled students number 517 students, in grades 6 through 8.
Springfield SD 186 is made up of 31 schools with 13,014 students in all.
Black students account for 56% of enrollment at Jefferson Middle School. Other students are 26% White, 13% multiracial, and 4% Hispanic. That is higher than the 13% Black share among all Sangamon County residents. Jefferson Middle School has a diversity index of 60%, compared with 70% for all US public school students.
Its teaching staff equals 43 full-time positions, a ratio of 12.0:1. For comparison, middle schools in Illinois average 13.0:1. Free and reduced-price lunch eligibility, a common measure of family income, is 81%. The rate at public schools in Sangamon County averages 48%, lower than here.
On the allk12 BeatsExpectations measure, Jefferson Middle School is 12.9 points below the average proficiency rate on state tests predicted for its free or reduced-price lunch share: 12.1% actual, 24.9% predicted. That is outside both the top and bottom 10% in Illinois.
Jefferson Middle School is located in Sangamon County, where median household income is about $75,357, about 37% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and roughly 9% of residents are in poverty. Jefferson Middle School is one of 77 public schools in Sangamon County, which together enroll about 27,345 students.
The closest other public school is Laketown Elementary School, about 0.7 miles away. Around the school, at least 8 other public schools are within five miles. In a group of 8 nearby schools with scores, Jefferson Middle School ranks 7th on average proficiency.
In the federal locale system, Jefferson Middle School is coded Suburb: Mid-size, for schools in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population between 100,000 and 250,000.
The 2024-25 enrollment of 517 was 14% lower than in 2020-21, when it was 598.
The allk12 site hosts a discussion page for Jefferson Middle School covering things like school events, clubs, and volunteer needs. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
Sangamon County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
194,947
Census ACS
Median income
$75,357
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
37%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
9%
Below federal line
Schools in county
77
27,345 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Springfield SD 186
- Springfield High SchoolHigh · 1,308 students
- Springfield Southeast High SchoolHigh · 1,229 students
- Lanphier High SchoolHigh · 1,117 students
- Benjamin Franklin Middle SchoolMiddle · 709 students
- Early Learning CenterElementary · 549 students
- Washington Middle SchoolMiddle · 516 students
Other schools in Springfield
- Springfield High SchoolHigh · 1,308 students
- Springfield Southeast High SchoolHigh · 1,229 students
- Lanphier High SchoolHigh · 1,117 students
- Benjamin Franklin Middle SchoolMiddle · 709 students
- Early Learning CenterElementary · 549 students
- Washington Middle SchoolMiddle · 516 students
Other Jefferson Middle schools
26 other US public schools in 18 states are named Jefferson Middle. Jefferson Middle School is the 19th largest of the 27.
- Jefferson Middle SchoolChampaign, IL · 711 students
- Jefferson Middle SchoolAurora, IL · 577 students
- Jefferson Middle SchoolVilla Park, IL · 375 students
- Jefferson MiddleArlington, VA · 1,120 students
- Jefferson MiddleSan Gabriel, CA · 1,013 students
Nearby schools
- Laketown Elementary School0.7 mi · 135
- Harvard Park Elementary School0.8 mi · 370
- Southern View Elementary School0.9 mi · 171
- Early Learning Center1.4 mi · 549
- Black Hawk Elementary School1.4 mi · 234
- Springfield Southeast High School1.4 mi · 1,229
Frequently asked questions
About Jefferson Middle SchoolHow large is Jefferson Middle School?
Jefferson Middle School enrolls approximately 517 students in grades 06-08.
Is Jefferson Middle School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Jefferson Middle School is a middle school covering grades 06-08.
How many teachers does Jefferson Middle School have?
Jefferson Middle School employs 43 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 12.0:1.
What is the student diversity at Jefferson Middle School?
Student demographics at Jefferson Middle School are roughly 26% White, 4% Hispanic, 56% Black, 1% Asian, 13% Two or more.
Who oversees Jefferson Middle School?
Jefferson Middle School is overseen by Springfield SD 186 in Sangamon County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.