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What's the biggest difference between Murphysboro Middle School and what you expected?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
422
Middle
DISTRICT 375 · STATE 462
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·MURPHYSBORO CUSD 186·NCES 172761002926
Murphysboro Middle School
2125 Spruce St, Murphysboro, IL 62966 · (618) 684-3041 · Jackson County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE32-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL422 STUDENTS
B-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 48% 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.
- ABeats 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
12.2:1
35 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.8:1 · STATE 13.0:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
95%
403 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 | 135 | 32% |
| Grade 7 | 131 | 31% |
| Grade 8 | 155 | 37% |
| Grade 10 | 1 | 0% |
Student demographics
47%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 51% · 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
Murphysboro Middle School→Murphysboro High School
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within Murphysboro CUSD 186. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
IAR + ISA 2024-25 . % Proficient (Levels 4-5)English Language Arts
36.6%
IL avg 51.0% . +20.1pp since 2023
Math
20.0%
IL avg 37.9% . +10.6pp since 2023
What this means: On the IAR + ISA, Illinois's statewide test, about 37 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 20 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 20 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 11 points.
IAR + ISA results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 36.6% | 20.0% |
| 2023-24 | 16.5% | 9.4% |
% 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
28.4%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
16.4%
based on IL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+12.1pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 28% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 16% 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 Murphysboro Middle School
Murphysboro Middle School's state test result (28.4% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Murphysboro Middle School this school | 422 | 95.5% | 28.4% |
| Centralia Jr High School Centralia | 559 | 99.1% | 22.9% |
| Worth Jr High School Worth | 330 | 99.1% | 52.3% |
| Lombard Middle School Galesburg | 534 | 80.5% | 27.3% |
| Galesburg Jr High School Galesburg | 518 | 79.0% | 26.4% |
| Zadok Casey Middle School Mount Vernon | 380 | 83.9% | 22.7% |
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 Murphysboro Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Illinois |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 28.4% | #455 of 578 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 20.0% | #481 of 640 ▲ 62 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 36.6% | #522 of 640 ▲ 80 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 422 | #348 of 691 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 12.2:1 | #199 of 558 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 46.9% | #286 of 560 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 95.5% | #26 of 581 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -3.7% | #386 of 440 |
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
422
-27 (-6%) vs 2020
-30% since 1990-91, when it was 599
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 | 422 | 34.6 | 12.2:1 | 95% (403) |
| 2023-24 | 432 | 34.5 | 12.5:1 | 100% (431) |
| 2022-23 | 444 | 35.5 | 12.5:1 | 100% (442) |
| 2020-21 | 449 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 438 | 30 | 14.6:1 | 99% (435) |
| 2015-16 | 454 | 33 | 13.8:1 | 99% (448) |
| 2010-11 | 449 | 31 | 14.5:1 | 66% (298) |
| 2000-01 | 556 | 36 | 15.4:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 599 | 25 | 24.0:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Murphysboro Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students down 4% (438 to 422); teachers up 15% (30 to 34.6).
About Murphysboro Middle School
Murphysboro Middle School is a middle school in Murphysboro, Illinois, and it is part of Murphysboro CUSD 186. Federal data show 422 students enrolled in grades 6 through 8 in 2024-25.
Murphysboro CUSD 186 has 1,877 students spread across 5 schools.
The largest group at Murphysboro Middle School is White students, at 71%. Other groups make up 13% Black, 8% Hispanic, and 8% multiracial. Jackson County residents are about 73% White, a similar share. Measured by the diversity index, the student body scores 47%.
Murphysboro Middle School has 34.6 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of about 12.2:1. By comparison, the average for middle schools in Illinois is 13.0:1. A common income measure, free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, is 95% at Murphysboro Middle School. The rate at public schools in Jackson County averages 73%, lower than here.
Among Illinois public middle schools, Murphysboro Middle School outscored 48%, which works out to a B- on the allk12 Grade.
In Illinois, Murphysboro Middle School is in the middle band of BeatsExpectations: 28.4% actual against a predicted 16.4%.
Looking at the county, Jackson County, median household income comes to about $48,763, about 36% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and roughly 11% of residents are in poverty. The county has 32 public schools and about 6,811 students.
About 1.4 miles separate Murphysboro Middle School from the closest public school, Carruthers Elementary School. A five-mile radius around the school includes 4 other public schools. Nearby schools average 27.1% on proficiency, and Murphysboro Middle School is above that at 28.4%.
The school's federal locale classification is Town: Distant.
Over the 4 years from 2020-21 to 2024-25, enrollment decreased 6%.
Anyone can start a thread about athletics, class schedules, and weather closures at Murphysboro Middle School. Teachers and staff are welcome to share updates too.
Jackson County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
53,064
Census ACS
Median income
$48,763
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
36%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
11%
Below federal line
Schools in county
32
6,811 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Murphysboro CUSD 186
- Murphysboro High SchoolHigh · 565 students
- Carruthers Elementary SchoolElementary · 426 students
- Gen John A Logan Attendance CntrElementary · 400 students
- McElvain SchoolElementary · 64 students
Other schools in Murphysboro
- Murphysboro High SchoolHigh · 565 students
- Carruthers Elementary SchoolElementary · 426 students
- Gen John A Logan Attendance CntrElementary · 400 students
- McElvain SchoolElementary · 64 students
- Cope Alternative SchoolHigh
- Five County Regional AlternativeHigh
Nearby schools
- Carruthers Elementary School1.4 mi · 426
- Murphysboro High School1.4 mi · 565
- Gen John A Logan Attendance Cntr2.8 mi · 400
- McElvain School3.2 mi · 64
- Parrish Elementary School5.9 mi · 466
- DeSoto Elementary School7.9 mi · 198
Frequently asked questions
About Murphysboro Middle SchoolHow large is Murphysboro Middle School?
Murphysboro Middle School enrolls approximately 422 students in grades 06-08.
What age range does Murphysboro Middle School serve?
Murphysboro Middle School serves students from grade 06 through grade 08.
How many students per teacher at Murphysboro Middle School?
Approximately 12.2:1 students per teacher at Murphysboro Middle School.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Murphysboro Middle School?
At Murphysboro Middle School, the student body is approximately 71% White, 8% Hispanic, 13% Black, 0% Asian, 8% Two or more.
Is Murphysboro Middle School public or private?
Murphysboro Middle School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Murphysboro CUSD 186.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.