1
What do students at Parkside Jr High School actually talk about outside of class?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
598
Middle
DISTRICT 676 · STATE 462
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·MCLEAN COUNTY USD 5·NCES 172862003004
Parkside Jr High School
101 N Parkside Rd, Normal, IL 61761 · (309) 557-4408 · McLean County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE22-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL598 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
11.9:1
50 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.2:1 · STATE 13.0:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
46%
276 students
DISTRICT 40% · 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 | 200 | 33% |
| Grade 7 | 197 | 33% |
| Grade 8 | 200 | 33% |
| Grade 9 | 1 | 0% |
Student demographics
61%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 66% · 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
46.3%
IL avg 51.0% . +9.9pp since 2023
Math
24.7%
IL avg 37.9% . +5.9pp since 2023
What this means: On the IAR + ISA, Illinois's statewide test, about 46 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 25 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 10 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 6 points.
IAR + ISA results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 46.3% | 24.7% |
| 2023-24 | 36.4% | 18.8% |
% 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
38.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
44.9%
based on IL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-6.0pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 39% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 45% 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 Parkside Jr High School
Parkside Jr High School's state test result (38.9% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parkside Jr High School this school | 598 | 46.2% | 38.9% |
| Bourbonnais Upper Grade Center Bourbonnais | 484 | 47.5% | 42.9% |
| Kingsley Jr High School Normal | 730 | 40.8% | 40.1% |
| Liberty Intermediate School Bourbonnais | 714 | 53.5% | 51.9% |
| Macomb Middle School Macomb | 479 | 50.7% | 35.2% |
| Thomas Jefferson Jr High School Woodridge | 573 | 44.5% | 60.2% |
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 Parkside Jr High School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Illinois | In McLean County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 38.9% | #347 of 578 | #9 of 11 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 24.7% | #430 of 640 ▼ 19 | #9 of 11 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 46.3% | #444 of 640 ▼ 2 | #7 of 11 ▲ 1 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 598 | #216 of 691 | #4 of 11 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 11.9:1 | #166 of 558 | #1 of 8 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 61.1% | #144 of 560 | #5 of 8 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 46.2% | #333 of 581 | #2 of 11 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -15.3% | #162 of 440 | #2 of 7 |
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
598
-81 (-12%) vs 2020
-32% since 1990-91, when it was 878
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 | 598 | 50.4 | 11.9:1 | 46% (276) |
| 2023-24 | 586 | 45.8 | 12.8:1 | 47% (275) |
| 2022-23 | 641 | 49.4 | 13.0:1 | 43% (276) |
| 2020-21 | 679 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 706 | 44.6 | 15.8:1 | 32% (229) |
| 2015-16 | 692 | 47 | 14.7:1 | 35% (243) |
| 2010-11 | 901 | 62 | 14.5:1 | 34% (308) |
| 2000-01 | 767 | 52 | 14.8:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 878 | 52 | 16.9:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Parkside Jr High School.
Since 2017-18: students down 15% (706 to 598); teachers up 13% (44.6 to 50.4).
About Parkside Jr High School
Parkside Jr High School is a medium-sized middle school in Normal, Illinois, administered by McLean County USD 5. The school's 598 students are in grades 6 through 8. Enrollment is 29% higher than the average for middle schools in Illinois, which is about 462.
Parkside Jr High School falls under McLean County USD 5, which has 24 schools enrolling 12,407 students.
At 57%, White students outnumber all other groups at Parkside Jr High School combined. Smaller groups are 18% Black, 13% Hispanic, 9% multiracial, and 2% Asian. County-wide, 78% of McLean County residents are White. By the diversity index, Parkside Jr High School comes in at 61%.
Dividing enrollment by its 50.4 full-time-equivalent teachers gives a ratio of about 11.9:1. The average ratio among middle schools in Illinois is 13.0:1, higher than at this school. Parkside Jr High School reports 46% of students eligible for free or reduced-price meals.
On BeatsExpectations, Parkside Jr High School is 6.0 points below its prediction, a result in the middle 80% of Illinois schools.
Federal survey data for McLean County show that median household income is about $79,905, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 47% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 7%. A total of 60 public schools operate in McLean County, serving about 23,759 students.
The school nearest to Parkside Jr High School is Parkside Elementary School, at a distance of about 0.1 miles. Within five miles of Parkside Jr High School, there are at least 8 other public schools. Compared with its nearest neighbors, Parkside Jr High School ranks 3rd of 7 on average proficiency.
For locale, NCES codes Parkside Jr High School as Suburb: Mid-size.
The student count in 2024-25 was 598, 12% below the 679 of 2020-21.
The allk12 site hosts a discussion page for Parkside Jr High School covering things like school events, clubs, and volunteer needs. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
McLean County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
171,556
Census ACS
Median income
$79,905
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
47%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
60
23,759 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in McLean County USD 5
- Normal Community High SchoolHigh · 2,079 students
- Normal Community West High SchoolHigh · 1,590 students
- Evans Junior High SchoolMiddle · 778 students
- Kingsley Jr High SchoolMiddle · 730 students
- Benjamin Elementary SchoolElementary · 607 students
- Chiddix Jr High SchoolMiddle · 597 students
Other schools in Normal
- Normal Community High SchoolHigh · 2,079 students
- Normal Community West High SchoolHigh · 1,590 students
- Kingsley Jr High SchoolMiddle · 730 students
- University High SchoolHigh · 624 students
- Chiddix Jr High SchoolMiddle · 597 students
- Grove Elementary SchoolElementary · 519 students
Nearby schools
- Parkside Elementary School0.1 mi · 322
- Normal Community West High School0.7 mi · 1,590
- Oakdale Elementary School1.2 mi · 386
- YBMC Charter School1.2 mi · 16
- Kingsley Jr High School1.4 mi · 730
- University High School1.4 mi · 624
Frequently asked questions
About Parkside Jr High SchoolHow many students attend Parkside Jr High School?
Parkside Jr High School enrolls approximately 598 students in grades 06-08.
What grades does Parkside Jr High School serve?
Parkside Jr High School serves grades 06-08.
How many students per teacher at Parkside Jr High School?
Approximately 11.9:1 students per teacher at Parkside Jr High School.
How diverse is Parkside Jr High School?
Parkside Jr High School reports a student body of 57% White, 13% Hispanic, 18% Black, 2% Asian, 9% Two or more.
Who oversees Parkside Jr High School?
Parkside Jr High School is overseen by McLean County USD 5 in McLean County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.