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SCHOOL COMMUNITY·OAK PARK ESD 97·NCES 172925004582

Percy Julian Middle School

416 S Ridgeland Ave, Oak Park, IL 60302 · (708) 524-3040 · Cook County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL927 STUDENTS
B
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 56% 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.
  • CBeats 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

Enrollment
927
Middle
DISTRICT 937 · STATE 462
Student : Teacher
11.9:1
78 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.3:1 · STATE 13.0:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
18%
167 students
DISTRICT 18% · 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

GradeStudentsShare
Grade 633436%
Grade 728030%
Grade 831334%
Student demographics
63%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 66% · STATE 69% · US 70%
White
50655%
DISTRICT 52% · STATE 45% · US 43%
Hispanic
13815%
DISTRICT 15% · STATE 29% · US 30%
Black
13515%
DISTRICT 16% · STATE 16% · US 15%
Asian
263%
DISTRICT 3% · STATE 6% · US 6%
Two+
10812%
DISTRICT 13% · STATE 5% · US 5%
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
Male
45649%
Female
45749%

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Test scores

IAR + ISA 2024-25 . % Proficient (Levels 4-5)
English Language Arts
69.1%
IL avg 51.0% . +18.3pp since 2023
Math
50.7%
IL avg 37.9% . +13.9pp since 2023

What this means: On the IAR + ISA, Illinois's statewide test, about 69 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 51 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 18 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 14 points.

IAR + ISA results by year

School yearEnglish Language ArtsMath
2024-2569.1%50.7%
2023-2450.8%36.8%
% 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 · methodology
Tier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
55.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
61.1%
based on IL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-5.2pp
below demographic expectation

What this means: About 56% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 61% 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 Percy Julian Middle School

Percy Julian Middle School's state test result (55.9% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.

SchoolStudentsLow-incomeProficient
Percy Julian Middle School this school92718.0%55.9%
Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School
Oak Park
94720.8%61.2%
Mascoutah Middle School
Mascoutah
97321.2%60.8%
Fulton Jr High School
O Fallon
66719.0%68.5%
Traughber Jr High School
Oswego
1,07024.7%49.3%
Park Junior High School
La Grange Park
66115.7%70.0%
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 Percy Julian Middle School ranks

Among middle schools
MeasureThis schoolIn IllinoisIn Cook County
State test proficiency
ranked highest first
55.9%#130 of 578#22 of 116
Math proficiency
ranked highest first
50.7%#138 of 640
▲ 41
#42 of 146
▲ 5
Reading proficiency
ranked highest first
69.1%#189 of 640
▲ 90
#50 of 146
▲ 12
Enrollment
ranked largest first
927#40 of 691#10 of 148
Students per teacher
ranked fewest first
11.9:1#169 of 558#61 of 138
Diversity index
ranked most diverse first
63.3%#111 of 560#33 of 138
Free and reduced lunch
ranked highest share first
18.0%#542 of 581#112 of 117
Enrollment change since 2017-18
ranked steepest decline first
-8.5%#281 of 440#70 of 97
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 2024-25
Enrollment
927
-50 (-5%) vs 2020
+9% since 2010-11, when it was 851
Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Enrollment and staffing by year

School yearStudentsTeachers (FTE)Students per teacherFree and reduced lunch
2024-2592778.111.9:118% (167)
2023-2490280.811.2:121% (190)
2022-2392174.212.4:119% (176)
2020-21977N/AN/AN/A
2017-181,01367.215.1:118% (185)
2015-169726215.7:120% (195)
2010-118515914.4:124% (202)
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Percy Julian Middle School.

Since 2017-18: students down 8% (1,013 to 927); teachers up 16% (67.2 to 78.1).

About Percy Julian Middle School

Percy Julian Middle School is a large middle school found in Oak Park, Illinois. The school reports 927 students in grades 6 through 8. The typical figure for middle schools in Illinois is about 462 students.

Percy Julian Middle School is one school in a 10-school district, Oak Park ESD 97, which enrolls 5,560 students.

White students are the majority at Percy Julian Middle School, with 55% of enrollment. Other groups make up 15% Hispanic, 15% Black, 12% multiracial, and 3% Asian. Cook County as a whole is about 44% White, so the school's share is higher. Pick two students at random and there is a 63% chance they belong to different racial or ethnic groups; that figure is the school's diversity index.

With 78.1 full-time-equivalent teachers in 2024-25, the ratio at Percy Julian Middle School was 11.9:1. This ratio sits 1.1 below the 13.0:1 average for middle schools in Illinois. A measure often used for student poverty, free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, stands at 18%. Compared with the 66% average for public schools in Cook County, the school's rate is lower.

allk12 grades Percy Julian Middle School a B. The grade compares the school only with Illinois public middle schools, because each state gives its own test.

Percy Julian Middle School posts an average proficiency rate on state tests of 55.9%, compared with a predicted 61.1%. It is not in the top or bottom 10% of Illinois schools on BeatsExpectations.

Among Cook County residents, the median household income is $83,498, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 43%, and about 10% of people live in poverty. Besides Percy Julian Middle School, Cook County has 1,405 other public schools.

The closest public school, Longfellow Elementary School, is about 0.4 miles from Percy Julian Middle School. There are at least 8 other public schools within five miles. Percy Julian Middle School places 6th of 9 on proficiency among the closest schools that report scores.

Federal records code the school's setting as Suburb: Large.

Compared with 2020-21, the school had 50 fewer students in 2024-25.

To ask about science fairs, picture day, and bus routes, start a discussion on this page. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.

Cook County at a glance

View full county profile
Population
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

School name
Percy Julian Middle School
District
Oak Park ESD 97
Address
416 S Ridgeland Ave, Oak Park, IL 60302
Phone
(708) 524-3040
County
Cook County
Level
Middle
Grade range
06–08
Total enrollment
927
Teachers (FTE)
78
Student–teacher ratio
11.9:1
Free and reduced lunch
167 (18%)
Locale
21-Suburb: Large
NCES ID
172925004582
Charter school
No
Virtual school
No

Related schools

Other schools in Oak Park ESD 97
Other schools in Oak Park
Nearby schools

Frequently asked questions

About Percy Julian Middle School
How large is Percy Julian Middle School?
Percy Julian Middle School enrolls approximately 927 students in grades 06-08.
Is Percy Julian Middle School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Percy Julian Middle School is a middle school covering grades 06-08.
How many students per teacher at Percy Julian Middle School?
Approximately 11.9:1 students per teacher at Percy Julian Middle School.
How diverse is Percy Julian Middle School?
Percy Julian Middle School reports a student body of 55% White, 15% Hispanic, 15% Black, 3% Asian, 12% Two or more.
Who oversees Percy Julian Middle School?
Percy Julian Middle School is overseen by Oak Park ESD 97 in Cook County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.
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