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Alumni: what's one memory from Plainfield South High School that still sticks with you?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
2,323
High
DISTRICT 2,087 · STATE 834
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·PLAINFIELD SD 202·NCES 173174004524
Plainfield South High School
7800 Caton Farm Rd, Plainfield, IL 60586 · (815) 439-5555 · Kendall County
GRADES 09–12HIGH21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL2,323 STUDENTS
B
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 59% of Illinois public high 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.
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 high schools
Student : Teacher
17.0:1
137 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 16.6:1 · STATE 13.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
34%
794 students
DISTRICT 35% · STATE 56%
Community
6
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other high schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 9 | 569 | 24% |
| Grade 10 | 542 | 23% |
| Grade 11 | 564 | 24% |
| Grade 12 | 648 | 28% |
Student demographics
69%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 69% · 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
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
43.0%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
51.8%
based on IL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-8.8pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 43% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 52% 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 Plainfield South High School
Plainfield South High School's state test result (43.0% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plainfield South High School this school | 2,323 | 34.2% | 43.0% |
| Plainfield High School Plainfield | 1,800 | 34.7% | 40.6% |
| Oswego High School Oswego | 2,870 | 30.5% | 41.3% |
| Evanston Twp High School Evanston | 3,560 | 35.4% | 59.1% |
| Wauconda High School Wauconda | 1,452 | 35.5% | 44.4% |
| Crystal Lake Central High School Crystal Lake | 1,443 | 35.3% | 45.3% |
Matched among Illinois high 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 Plainfield South High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Illinois | In Kendall County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 43.0% | #157 of 573 | #3 of 6 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 2,323 | #53 of 708 | #3 of 6 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 17.0:1 | #466 of 528 | N/A |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 68.7% | #36 of 537 | N/A |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 34.2% | #473 of 578 | #2 of 6 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -7.9% | #202 of 358 | N/A |
Ranked against other public high 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
2,323
-98 (-4%) vs 2020
-5% since 2010-11, when it was 2,439
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 | 2,323 | 136.5 | 17.0:1 | 34% (794) |
| 2023-24 | 2,379 | 138.7 | 17.1:1 | 40% (941) |
| 2022-23 | 2,411 | 137.6 | 17.5:1 | 39% (945) |
| 2020-21 | 2,421 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 2,521 | 138.8 | 18.2:1 | 28% (697) |
| 2015-16 | 2,593 | 131 | 19.8:1 | 26% (662) |
| 2010-11 | 2,439 | 131 | 18.6:1 | 24% (592) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Plainfield South High School.
Since 2017-18: students down 8% (2,521 to 2,323); teachers down 2% (138.8 to 136.5).
About Plainfield South High School
Plainfield South High School serves students in Plainfield, Illinois, as a large high school. The school serves grades 9 through 12. Enrollment is 2,323 students. By comparison, high schools in Illinois enroll about 834 students on average.
Plainfield SD 202, which runs Plainfield South High School, has 30 schools and 24,556 students.
No group is above 50% at Plainfield South High School; the largest is White, at 42%. Other reported shares: 31% Hispanic, 20% Black, 4% multiracial, and 3% Asian. Kendall County's residents are about 65% White, 24 points above the school's share. On the diversity index, which measures the chance that two random students are from different groups, Plainfield South High School scores 69%.
The school has 136.5 full-time-equivalent teachers and a ratio of 17.0 students per teacher. High schools in Illinois have an average ratio of 13.8:1. The school reported 34% of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch in 2024-25. That is in line with the 32% average for public schools in Kendall County.
Plainfield South High School earns a B on the allk12 Grade, which blends test scores, results against poverty-based expectations, and the three-year trend. It scored higher than 59% of Illinois public high schools.
Plainfield South High School is 8.8 points below its predicted average proficiency rate across its state test results (43.0% versus 51.8%), which places it in neither the top nor the bottom 10% in Illinois.
Five-year Census Bureau estimates for Kendall County show that median household income comes to about $111,601, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 37% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 5%. Kendall County counts 50 public schools with about 29,773 students.
Charles Reed Elementary School is about 0.5 miles from Plainfield South High School, the shortest distance to any other public school. A five-mile radius around the school includes at least 8 other public schools. On state test proficiency, Plainfield South High School ranks 6th in a group of 9 nearby schools.
On the NCES locale scale, the school is Suburb: Large.
Enrollment fell by 4% across 4 years, from 2,421 in 2020-21 to 2,323 in 2024-25.
Use the discussion section to ask about homework, tutoring, and testing dates at Plainfield South High School. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.
Kendall County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
137,675
Census ACS
Median income
$111,601
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
37%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
5%
Below federal line
Schools in county
50
29,773 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Plainfield SD 202
- Plainfield North High SchoolHigh · 2,399 students
- Plainfield East High SchoolHigh · 1,825 students
- Plainfield High SchoolHigh · 1,800 students
- John F Kennedy Middle SchoolMiddle · 912 students
- Timber Ridge Middle SchoolMiddle · 885 students
- Richard Ira Jones Middle SchoolMiddle · 851 students
Other schools in Plainfield
- Plainfield North High SchoolHigh · 2,399 students
- Plainfield East High SchoolHigh · 1,825 students
- Plainfield High SchoolHigh · 1,800 students
- John F Kennedy Middle SchoolMiddle · 912 students
- Timber Ridge Middle SchoolMiddle · 885 students
- Troy Middle SchoolMiddle · 881 students
Nearby schools
- Charles Reed Elementary School0.5 mi · 641
- Aux Sable Middle School0.7 mi · 844
- Thomas Jefferson Elementary School0.8 mi · 646
- Meadow View Elementary School1.1 mi · 627
- Jones Elementary School1.9 mi · 553
- Ridge Elementary School2.2 mi · 481
Frequently asked questions
About Plainfield South High SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Plainfield South High School?
Plainfield South High School enrolls approximately 2,323 students in grades 09-12.
What grades does Plainfield South High School serve?
Plainfield South High School serves grades 09-12.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Plainfield South High School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Plainfield South High School is approximately 17.0:1 (137 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Plainfield South High School?
At Plainfield South High School, the student body is approximately 42% White, 31% Hispanic, 20% Black, 3% Asian, 4% Two or more.
Is Plainfield South High School public or private?
Plainfield South High School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Plainfield SD 202.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.