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Honest take: what's the hardest part about being a student at Liberty Junior High School?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
573
Middle
DISTRICT 482 · STATE 462
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·NEW LENOX SD 122·NCES 172814004933
Liberty Junior High School
151 Lenox St, New Lenox, IL 60451 · (815) 462-7951 · Will County
GRADES 07–08MIDDLE21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL573 STUDENTS
B+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 65% of Illinois public middle schools
- A-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 middle schools
Student : Teacher
12.7:1
45 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 17.3:1 · STATE 13.0:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
17%
96 students
DISTRICT 15% · STATE 56%
Community
6
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 7 | 281 | 49% |
| Grade 8 | 292 | 51% |
Student demographics
37%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 33% · 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
71.8%
IL avg 51.0% . +9.1pp since 2023
Math
55.3%
IL avg 37.9% . +9.1pp since 2023
What this means: On the IAR + ISA, Illinois's statewide test, about 72 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 55 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 9 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 9 points.
IAR + ISA results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 71.8% | 55.3% |
| 2023-24 | 62.7% | 46.2% |
% 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
60.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
61.8%
based on IL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-1.3pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 61% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 62% 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 Liberty Junior High School
Liberty Junior High School's state test result (60.6% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Liberty Junior High School this school | 573 | 16.8% | 60.6% |
| Mokena Jr High School Mokena | 502 | 16.9% | 67.2% |
| Manhattan Jr High School Manhattan | 615 | 16.9% | 61.9% |
| Park Junior High School La Grange Park | 661 | 15.7% | 70.0% |
| Kaneland Harter Middle School Sugar Grove | 822 | 18.5% | 49.5% |
| Bentley Elementary School New Lenox | 380 | 16.8% | 68.3% |
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 Liberty Junior High School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Illinois | In Will County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 60.6% | #91 of 578 | #12 of 39 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 55.3% | #106 of 640 ▲ 6 | #14 of 44 ▼ 3 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 71.8% | #161 of 640 no change | #20 of 44 no change |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 573 | #236 of 691 | #26 of 44 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 12.7:1 | #252 of 558 | #17 of 44 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 36.7% | #356 of 560 | #31 of 44 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 16.8% | #550 of 581 | #33 of 39 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -14.1% | #183 of 440 | #17 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
573
-66 (-10%) vs 2020
-10% since 2010-11, when it was 635
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 | 573 | 45 | 12.7:1 | 17% (96) |
| 2023-24 | 587 | 43 | 13.7:1 | 16% (95) |
| 2022-23 | 593 | 38.3 | 15.5:1 | 13% (78) |
| 2020-21 | 639 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 667 | 41 | 16.3:1 | 11% (76) |
| 2015-16 | 676 | 35 | 19.3:1 | 9% (62) |
| 2010-11 | 635 | 38 | 16.7:1 | 19% (119) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Liberty Junior High School.
Since 2017-18: students down 14% (667 to 573); teachers up 10% (41 to 45).
About Liberty Junior High School
Families in New Lenox, Illinois, are served by Liberty Junior High School, a mid-sized middle school. The school enrolls 573 students in grades 7 through 8. That compares with an average of about 462 students for middle schools in Illinois.
New Lenox SD 122 runs 12 schools with a combined 4,956 students. Liberty Junior High School is one of them.
The largest group at Liberty Junior High School is White students, at 78%. Other groups make up 17% Hispanic and 2% Black. County-wide, 62% of Will County residents are White. Measured by the diversity index, the student body scores 37%.
There are 45 full-time-equivalent teachers at the school, a ratio of 12.7:1. The ratio is within a point of the 13.0:1 average for middle schools in Illinois. Of all students at Liberty Junior High School, 17% are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. Among public schools in Will County, the average eligibility rate is 44%.
Liberty Junior High School holds a B+ allk12 Grade, placing it above 65% of Illinois public middle schools.
Liberty Junior High School is 1.3 points below its predicted average proficiency rate across its state test results (60.6% versus 61.8%), which places it in neither the top nor the bottom 10% in Illinois.
For the population of Will County, the median household earns about $109,984 a year, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 38% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 6%. Liberty Junior High School shares Will County with 208 other public schools.
Oster-Oakview School, about 1.0 miles away, is the closest public school. A five-mile radius around the school includes at least 8 other public schools. Of the 6 nearby schools with scores, including this one, Liberty Junior High School is 3rd on average proficiency.
Its location is classified as Suburb: Large by the National Center for Education Statistics.
Over the 4 years from 2020-21 to 2024-25, enrollment decreased 10%.
People can post here about special education services, counseling, and support programs and other school topics. Members of the school community can share what they know.
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 New Lenox SD 122
- Alex M Martino Jr High SchoolMiddle · 591 students
- Spencer CrossingMiddle · 544 students
- Spencer PointeElementary · 437 students
- Nelson Ridge SchoolMiddle · 432 students
- Nelson Prairie SchoolElementary · 388 students
- Bentley Elementary SchoolMiddle · 380 students
Other schools in New Lenox
- Lincoln Way WestHigh · 2,047 students
- Lincoln-Way Central High SchoolHigh · 1,991 students
- Alex M Martino Jr High SchoolMiddle · 591 students
- Spencer CrossingMiddle · 544 students
- Spencer PointeElementary · 437 students
- Nelson Ridge SchoolMiddle · 432 students
Other Liberty Junior High schools
2 other US public schools in 2 states are named Liberty Junior High. Liberty Junior High School is the 2nd largest of the 3.
- Liberty Junior High SchoolBurbank, IL · 1,087 students
- Liberty Junior High SchoolDALLAS, TX · 549 students
Nearby schools
- Oster-Oakview School1.0 mi · 373
- Haines Elementary School1.1 mi · 358
- Alex M Martino Jr High School2.1 mi · 591
- Lincoln-Way Central High School2.3 mi · 1,991
- Arnold J Tyler School2.5 mi · 372
- Bentley Elementary School2.5 mi · 380
Frequently asked questions
About Liberty Junior High SchoolHow many students attend Liberty Junior High School?
Liberty Junior High School enrolls approximately 573 students in grades 07-08.
Is Liberty Junior High School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Liberty Junior High School is a middle school covering grades 07-08.
How many teachers does Liberty Junior High School have?
Liberty Junior High School employs 45 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 12.7:1.
What is the student diversity at Liberty Junior High School?
Student demographics at Liberty Junior High School are roughly 78% White, 17% Hispanic, 2% Black, 1% Asian, 2% Two or more.
Who oversees Liberty Junior High School?
Liberty Junior High School is overseen by New Lenox SD 122 in Will County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.