1
What's the most underrated thing about Palos South Middle School that outsiders don't know?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
717
Middle
DISTRICT 707 · STATE 462
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·PALOS CCSD 118·NCES 173060003181
Palos South Middle School
13100 S 82nd Ave, Palos Park, IL 60464 · (708) 448-5971 · Cook County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL717 STUDENTS
A+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 96% of Illinois public middle schools
- ATest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- A+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
14.6:1
49 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.7:1 · STATE 13.0:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
36%
261 students
DISTRICT 36% · 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 | 236 | 33% |
| Grade 7 | 255 | 36% |
| Grade 8 | 226 | 32% |
Student demographics
40%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 39% · 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
Based on grade levels within Palos CCSD 118. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
IAR + ISA 2024-25 . % Proficient (Levels 4-5)English Language Arts
89.4%
IL avg 51.0% . +3.8pp since 2023
Math
61.5%
IL avg 37.9% . +8.1pp since 2023
What this means: On the IAR + ISA, Illinois's statewide test, about 89 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 62 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 4 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 8 points.
IAR + ISA results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 89.4% | 61.5% |
| 2023-24 | 85.6% | 53.4% |
% 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
OUTPERFORMING
Top 10% of IL schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
74.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
50.5%
based on IL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+23.8pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 74% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 51% typical for Illinois schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations ranks schools against others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school can post high scores and still fall short of its prediction, or post lower scores and still beat it. This school clears its prediction by about 24 points, placing it in Illinois's top 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 Palos South Middle School
Palos South Middle School's state test result (74.3% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Palos South Middle School this school | 717 | 36.4% | 74.3% |
| Roscoe Middle School Roscoe | 596 | 31.2% | 61.7% |
| McHenry Middle School McHenry | 695 | 40.6% | 42.6% |
| Manteno Middle School Manteno | 520 | 33.8% | 51.7% |
| Antioch Upper Grade School Antioch | 875 | 30.7% | 48.4% |
| Parkland School McHenry | 645 | 37.7% | 47.3% |
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 Palos South Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Illinois | In Cook County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 74.3% | #15 of 578 | #3 of 116 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 61.5% | #64 of 640 ▼ 5 | #22 of 146 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 89.4% | #15 of 640 ▼ 5 | #6 of 146 ▼ 3 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 717 | #130 of 691 | #35 of 148 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 14.6:1 | #427 of 558 | #109 of 138 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 40.2% | #332 of 560 | #92 of 138 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 36.4% | #410 of 581 | #97 of 117 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +1.6% | #113 of 127 | #36 of 40 |
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
717
+17 (+2%) vs 2020
+4% since 1990-91, when it was 691
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 | 717 | 49 | 14.6:1 | 36% (261) |
| 2023-24 | 705 | 51 | 13.8:1 | 33% (230) |
| 2022-23 | 701 | 49 | 14.3:1 | 33% (228) |
| 2020-21 | 700 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 706 | 44.8 | 15.8:1 | 22% (158) |
| 2015-16 | 681 | 45 | 15.1:1 | 15% (103) |
| 2010-11 | 670 | 50 | 13.4:1 | 14% (92) |
| 2000-01 | 752 | 48 | 15.7:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 691 | 40 | 17.3:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Palos South Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students up 2% (706 to 717); teachers up 9% (44.8 to 49).
About Palos South Middle School
Palos South Middle School is a large middle school located in Palos Park, Illinois. Federal data show 717 students enrolled in grades 6 through 8 in 2024-25. Across middle schools in Illinois, the average enrollment is about 462.
Palos South Middle School is part of Palos CCSD 118, where 3 schools serve 2,122 students.
About 76% of the student body at Palos South Middle School is White. Other students are 15% Hispanic, 3% Black, 3% Asian, and 3% multiracial. By comparison, Cook County residents are about 44% White. A diversity index of 40% means there is a 40% chance two randomly chosen students at Palos South Middle School are from different groups.
With 49 full-time-equivalent teachers, the student-to-teacher ratio is about 14.6:1. The average for middle schools in Illinois is 13.0:1, so this school has more students per teacher. Student poverty is often measured by lunch eligibility; at Palos South Middle School, 36% qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. For comparison, public schools in Cook County average 66%.
Among Illinois public middle schools, Palos South Middle School outscored 96%, which works out to an A+ on the allk12 Grade.
After accounting for student poverty, Palos South Middle School is in the top 10% of Illinois schools. Its average proficiency rate across its state test results of 74.3% is 23.8 points above the 50.5% predicted for its lunch-eligibility share.
Looking at the county, Cook County, median household income comes to about $83,498, about 43% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and roughly 10% of residents are in poverty. The county has 1,406 public schools and about 697,934 students.
Straight-line distance to the nearest public school, Palos East Elementary School, is about 1.0 miles. There are at least 8 other public schools within five miles.
NCES lists the school's locale as Suburb: Large. That means it sits in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more.
Enrollment has been fairly stable: 700 in 2020-21 and 717 in 2024-25.
This community page is for conversations about open houses, carpools, and field trips. Teachers and staff are welcome to share updates too.
Cook County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
5,182,090
Census ACS
Median income
$83,498
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
43%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
10%
Below federal line
Schools in county
1,406
697,934 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Palos CCSD 118
- Palos East Elementary SchoolElementary · 705 students
- Palos West Elementary SchoolElementary · 700 students
Nearby schools
- Palos East Elementary School1.0 mi · 705
- Prairie Elementary School1.2 mi · 507
- Carl Sandburg High School1.8 mi · 2,840
- Independence Jr High School2.0 mi · 236
- Navajo Heights Elementary School2.1 mi · 174
- A B Shepard High School (Campus)2.4 mi · 1,916
Frequently asked questions
About Palos South Middle SchoolHow many students attend Palos South Middle School?
Palos South Middle School enrolls approximately 717 students in grades 06-08.
Is Palos South Middle School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Palos South Middle School is a middle school covering grades 06-08.
How many students per teacher at Palos South Middle School?
Approximately 14.6:1 students per teacher at Palos South Middle School.
How diverse is Palos South Middle School?
Palos South Middle School reports a student body of 76% White, 15% Hispanic, 3% Black, 3% Asian, 3% Two or more.
Who oversees Palos South Middle School?
Palos South Middle School is overseen by Palos CCSD 118 in Cook County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.