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What's one thing John R Lewis Middle School gets right about preparing students for what comes next?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
721
Middle
DISTRICT 585 · STATE 462
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·WAUKEGAN CUSD 60·NCES 174125004138
John R Lewis Middle School
600 S Lewis Ave, Waukegan, IL 60085 · (224) 303-2560 · Lake County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL721 STUDENTS
C-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 21% of Illinois public middle schools
- C-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- C+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
11.3:1
64 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 11.5:1 · STATE 13.0:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
74%
534 students
DISTRICT 70% · 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 | 230 | 32% |
| Grade 7 | 234 | 32% |
| Grade 8 | 257 | 36% |
Student demographics
36%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 32% · 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
Students here typically continue to
John R Lewis Middle School→Waukegan High School
Based on grade levels within Waukegan CUSD 60. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
IAR + ISA 2024-25 . % Proficient (Levels 4-5)English Language Arts
34.5%
IL avg 51.0% . +7.7pp since 2023
Math
21.2%
IL avg 37.9% . +8.4pp since 2023
What this means: On the IAR + ISA, Illinois's statewide test, about 35 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 21 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 8 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 8 points.
IAR + ISA results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 34.5% | 21.2% |
| 2023-24 | 26.8% | 12.8% |
% 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
26.7%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
28.8%
based on IL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-2.0pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 27% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 29% 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 John R Lewis Middle School
John R Lewis Middle School's state test result (26.7% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| John R Lewis Middle School this school | 721 | 74.1% | 26.7% |
| Miguel Juarez Middle School Waukegan | 651 | 69.6% | 12.7% |
| Edith M Smith Middle School Waukegan | 493 | 72.2% | 11.9% |
| Henry W Cowherd Middle School Aurora | 807 | 67.0% | 15.5% |
| K D Waldo Middle School Aurora | 729 | 70.0% | 12.7% |
| Robert E Abbott Middle School Waukegan | 585 | 71.1% | 15.5% |
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 John R Lewis Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Illinois | In Lake County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 26.7% | #468 of 578 | #20 of 31 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 21.2% | #472 of 640 ▲ 22 | #32 of 44 ▲ 2 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 34.5% | #543 of 640 ▼ 21 | #32 of 44 ▲ 1 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 721 | #127 of 691 | #7 of 44 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 11.3:1 | #112 of 558 | #20 of 44 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 35.6% | #363 of 560 | #35 of 44 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 74.1% | #84 of 581 | #6 of 31 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -20.4% | #93 of 440 | #10 of 34 |
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
721
-61 (-8%) vs 2020
+25% since 1990-91, when it was 575
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 | 721 | 64 | 11.3:1 | 74% (534) |
| 2023-24 | 762 | 43 | 17.7:1 | 78% (591) |
| 2022-23 | 774 | 63 | 12.3:1 | 72% (556) |
| 2020-21 | 782 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 906 | 58.5 | 15.5:1 | 75% (677) |
| 2015-16 | 832 | 57 | 14.6:1 | 60% (501) |
| 2010-11 | 899 | 59 | 15.2:1 | 71% (635) |
| 2000-01 | 680 | 47 | 14.5:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 575 | 30 | 19.2:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for John R Lewis Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students down 20% (906 to 721); teachers up 9% (58.5 to 64).
About John R Lewis Middle School
This page covers John R Lewis Middle School, a large middle school in Waukegan, Illinois. The latest federal count shows 721 students in grades 6 through 8. Against the 462-student average for middle schools in Illinois, enrollment here is 56% higher.
Waukegan CUSD 60 is the district for John R Lewis Middle School. It has 22 schools and 13,640 students.
At John R Lewis Middle School, Hispanic students make up 79% of the student body. After that, the student body is 14% Black and 4% White. Census figures show Lake County is about 25% Hispanic. The school's diversity index is 36%, meaning two students picked at random have a 36% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
At John R Lewis Middle School, 64 full-time-equivalent teachers work with students, a ratio of about 11.3:1. That is lower than the 13.0:1 average for middle schools in Illinois. Roughly 74% of the student body qualifies for free or reduced-price lunch. That is 20 points above the 54% average for public schools in Lake County.
Measured against Illinois public middle schools, John R Lewis Middle School receives a C-. The grade weighs proficiency most heavily, then how results compare with what the school's low-income share predicts, then the three-year change.
The model predicts 28.8% for a school in Illinois with John R Lewis Middle School's free or reduced-price lunch share. John R Lewis Middle School posts 26.7%.
Lake County has these Census figures: the median household income is $110,416, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 48%, and about 6% of people live in poverty. In all, Lake County has 214 public schools and roughly 118,032 students.
The closest public school, Lyon Magnet Elementary School, is about 0.2 miles from John R Lewis Middle School. There are at least 8 other public schools within five miles. Of the 9 nearby schools with scores, including this one, John R Lewis Middle School is 2nd on average proficiency.
NCES assigns John R Lewis Middle School the locale Suburb: Large, meaning in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.
2024-25 enrollment was 721, an 8% decrease from 782 in 2020-21.
Questions about school safety, transportation, and start times can be posted here. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
Lake County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
714,223
Census ACS
Median income
$110,416
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
48%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
214
118,032 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Waukegan CUSD 60
- Waukegan High SchoolHigh · 4,186 students
- Miguel Juarez Middle SchoolMiddle · 651 students
- Robert E Abbott Middle SchoolMiddle · 585 students
- Glenwood Elementary SchoolElementary · 577 students
- Carman-Buckner Elementary SchoolElementary · 509 students
- Oakdale Elementary SchoolElementary · 505 students
Other schools in Waukegan
- Waukegan High SchoolHigh · 4,186 students
- Miguel Juarez Middle SchoolMiddle · 651 students
- Robert E Abbott Middle SchoolMiddle · 585 students
- Glenwood Elementary SchoolElementary · 577 students
- LEARN John Kathy Schreiber ChrtrElementary · 519 students
- Carman-Buckner Elementary SchoolElementary · 509 students
Nearby schools
- Lyon Magnet Elementary School0.2 mi · 430
- Washington Elementary School0.7 mi · 384
- Robert E Abbott Middle School0.9 mi · 585
- Carman-Buckner Elementary School1.0 mi · 509
- Waukegan High School1.0 mi · 4,186
- Evelyn Alexander School1.1 mi · 354
Frequently asked questions
About John R Lewis Middle SchoolHow many students attend John R Lewis Middle School?
John R Lewis Middle School enrolls approximately 721 students in grades 06-08.
Is John R Lewis Middle School an elementary, middle, or high school?
John R Lewis Middle School is a middle school covering grades 06-08.
How many students per teacher at John R Lewis Middle School?
Approximately 11.3:1 students per teacher at John R Lewis Middle School.
What is the racial breakdown of students at John R Lewis Middle School?
At John R Lewis Middle School, the student body is approximately 4% White, 79% Hispanic, 14% Black, 1% Asian, 1% Two or more.
What district is John R Lewis Middle School in?
John R Lewis Middle School is part of Waukegan CUSD 60.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.