Enrollment
244
Middle
DISTRICT 321 · STATE 462
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·ORION CUSD 223·NCES 173020003121
Orion Middle School
800 12th Ave, Orion, IL 61273 · (309) 526-3392 · Henry County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE42-RURALREGULAR SCHOOL244 STUDENTS
B
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 59% of Illinois public middle schools
- B+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
14.2:1
17 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.2:1 · STATE 13.0:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
19%
47 students
DISTRICT 20% · STATE 56%
Community
0
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 | 89 | 36% |
| Grade 7 | 83 | 34% |
| Grade 8 | 72 | 30% |
Student demographics
9%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 10% · 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
Orion Middle School→Orion High School
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within Orion CUSD 223. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
IAR + ISA 2024-25 . % Proficient (Levels 4-5)English Language Arts
62.7%
IL avg 51.0% . +7.9pp since 2023
Math
49.6%
IL avg 37.9% . +12.2pp since 2023
What this means: On the IAR + ISA, Illinois's statewide test, about 63 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 50 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 12 points.
IAR + ISA results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 62.7% | 49.6% |
| 2023-24 | 54.8% | 37.4% |
% 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
56.7%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
60.4%
based on IL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-3.7pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 57% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 60% 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 Orion Middle School
Orion Middle School's state test result (56.7% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orion Middle School this school | 244 | 19.3% | 56.7% |
| Rockridge Jr High School Taylor Ridge | 234 | 21.8% | 45.4% |
| Tremont Middle School Tremont | 291 | 18.9% | 60.9% |
| Riverdale Middle School Port Byron | 254 | 15.7% | 54.7% |
| St Joseph Middle School Saint Joseph | 325 | 18.8% | 70.3% |
| Teutopolis Junior High School Teutopolis | 166 | 14.5% | 72.0% |
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 Orion Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Illinois |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 56.7% | #124 of 578 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 49.6% | #147 of 640 ▲ 27 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 62.7% | #260 of 640 ▼ 22 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 244 | #513 of 691 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 14.2:1 | #402 of 558 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 8.8% | #547 of 560 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 19.3% | #529 of 581 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +1.2% | #118 of 127 |
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
244
+27 (+12%) vs 2020
-24% since 1990-91, when it was 323
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 | 244 | 17.2 | 14.2:1 | 19% (47) |
| 2023-24 | 232 | 17.2 | 13.5:1 | 22% (50) |
| 2022-23 | 223 | 16.3 | 13.7:1 | 10% (22) |
| 2020-21 | 217 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 241 | 15.5 | 15.6:1 | 18% (43) |
| 2015-16 | 263 | 16 | 16.4:1 | 6% (15) |
| 2010-11 | 237 | 15 | 15.8:1 | 20% (48) |
| 2000-01 | 272 | 19 | 14.3:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 323 | 17 | 19.0:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Orion Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students up 1% (241 to 244); teachers up 11% (15.5 to 17.2).
About Orion Middle School
Orion Middle School is a small middle school in Illinois, with an address in Orion. Enrollment is 244 students in 2024-25, and the school serves grades 6 through 8. The average for middle schools in Illinois is about 462 students, so this school is 47% smaller than average.
Within Orion CUSD 223, Orion Middle School is one of 3 schools. The district enrolls 963 students.
White students make up 95% of enrollment at Orion Middle School. The school's diversity index is 9%, meaning two students picked at random have a 9% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
Its 17.2 full-time-equivalent teachers give the school a ratio of 14.2:1. This ratio sits 1.2 above the 13.0:1 average for middle schools in Illinois. Free or reduced-price lunch eligibility is 19%. That rate is below the 43% average among public schools in Henry County.
Orion Middle School is graded B by allk12, scoring above 59% of Illinois public middle schools once test results, poverty-adjusted performance, and the recent trend are combined.
Orion Middle School posts an average proficiency rate on state tests of 56.7%, compared with a predicted 60.4%. It is not in the top or bottom 10% of Illinois schools on BeatsExpectations.
In Henry County (population about 48,643), the median household income is $71,911, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 25%, and roughly 6% of residents are in poverty. Orion Middle School is one of 28 public schools in the county.
The next-closest public school is C R Hanna Elementary School, about 0.1 miles away. The count of other public schools within five miles is 2. Among its closest neighbors with test data, Orion Middle School is 2nd of 9 on proficiency.
NCES describes the area around Orion Middle School as Rural: Distant, meaning in rural territory some distance from an urban area.
The school enrolled 244 students in 2024-25, 27 more than the 217 it had in 2020-21.
Topics for discussion here include science fairs, picture day, and bus routes. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Henry County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
48,643
Census ACS
Median income
$71,911
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
25%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
28
7,723 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Orion CUSD 223
- C R Hanna Elementary SchoolElementary · 434 students
- Orion High SchoolHigh · 285 students
Other schools in Orion
- C R Hanna Elementary SchoolElementary · 434 students
- Orion High SchoolHigh · 285 students
Nearby schools
- C R Hanna Elementary School0.1 mi · 434
- Orion High School0.4 mi · 285
- Sherrard Elementary School7.0 mi · 224
- Bicentennial Elementary School7.7 mi · 328
- Sherrard Jr High School8.0 mi · 189
- Sherrard High School8.0 mi · 449
Frequently asked questions
About Orion Middle SchoolHow large is Orion Middle School?
Orion Middle School enrolls approximately 244 students in grades 06-08.
What age range does Orion Middle School serve?
Orion Middle School serves students from grade 06 through grade 08.
How many students per teacher at Orion Middle School?
Approximately 14.2:1 students per teacher at Orion Middle School.
What is the student diversity at Orion Middle School?
Student demographics at Orion Middle School are roughly 95% White, 2% Hispanic, 1% Black, 0% Asian, 2% Two or more.
What district is Orion Middle School in?
Orion Middle School is part of Orion CUSD 223.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.