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Best kept secret at Prairie Central High School?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
487
High
DISTRICT 285 · STATE 834
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·PRAIRIE CENTRAL CUSD 8·NCES 170000505126
Prairie Central High School
411 N 7th St, Fairbury, IL 61739 · (815) 692-2355 · Livingston County
GRADES 09–12HIGH42-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL487 STUDENTS
C+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 40% 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.
- 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 high schools
Student : Teacher
11.7:1
42 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.3:1 · STATE 13.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
40%
195 students
DISTRICT 48% · STATE 56%
Community
5
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 | 125 | 26% |
| Grade 10 | 108 | 22% |
| Grade 11 | 132 | 27% |
| Grade 12 | 122 | 25% |
Student demographics
30%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 28% · 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
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within Prairie Central CUSD 8. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
36.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
48.4%
based on IL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-12.1pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 36% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 48% 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 Prairie Central High School
Prairie Central High School's state test result (36.3% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prairie Central High School this school | 487 | 40.0% | 36.3% |
| Forreston Jr/Sr High School Forreston | 406 | 40.9% | 47.3% |
| Reed-Custer High School Braidwood | 397 | 41.8% | 33.1% |
| Princeton High School Princeton | 479 | 39.7% | 39.1% |
| United Jr./Sr. High School Monmouth | 445 | 39.1% | 42.7% |
| Wilmington High School Wilmington | 432 | 43.8% | 40.7% |
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 Prairie Central High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Illinois | In Livingston County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 36.3% | #263 of 573 | N/A |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 487 | #333 of 708 | #2 of 6 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 11.7:1 | #87 of 528 | N/A |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 30.2% | #304 of 537 | N/A |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 40.0% | #402 of 578 | N/A |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -13.5% | #115 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
487
-82 (-14%) vs 2020
-6% since 1990-91, when it was 519
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 | 487 | 41.5 | 11.7:1 | 40% (195) |
| 2023-24 | 518 | 45 | 11.5:1 | 44% (226) |
| 2022-23 | 516 | 43 | 12.0:1 | 36% (185) |
| 2020-21 | 569 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 563 | 39.8 | 14.2:1 | 35% (198) |
| 2015-16 | 594 | 45 | 13.2:1 | 34% (201) |
| 2010-11 | 623 | 50 | 12.5:1 | 35% (218) |
| 2000-01 | 667 | 47 | 14.2:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 519 | 35 | 14.8:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Prairie Central High School.
Since 2017-18: students down 13% (563 to 487); teachers up 4% (39.8 to 41.5).
About Prairie Central High School
Prairie Central High School is a low-enrollment high school in Prairie Central CUSD 8, located in Fairbury, Illinois. Federal data show 487 students enrolled in grades 9 through 12 in 2024-25. On average, high schools in Illinois enroll around 834, and this school is 42% below that mark.
Prairie Central CUSD 8 has 1,712 students in 6 schools, and Prairie Central High School is one of those schools.
Of every 100 students at Prairie Central High School, about 83 are White. Smaller groups are 12% Hispanic and 3% multiracial. Its diversity index, the chance that two randomly chosen students belong to different racial or ethnic groups, is 30%.
Its ratio of 11.7:1 is based on 41.5 full-time-equivalent teachers. High schools in Illinois have an average ratio of 13.8:1. In all, 40% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.
On the allk12 Grade, Prairie Central High School lands at C+, ahead of 40% of Illinois public high schools.
Based on its free or reduced-price lunch share, the BeatsExpectations model predicts an average proficiency rate across its state test results of 48.4% for Prairie Central High School. The school posts 36.3%, 12.1 points below the prediction.
The county, Livingston County, is where the school is located. The median household earns about $73,790 a year, 19% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 8% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Counting Prairie Central High School, Livingston County has 24 public schools.
Among nearby public schools, Prairie Central Elementary School is closest at about 1.0 miles. There are 3 more public schools inside five miles. Prairie Central High School is 6th of 9 nearby schools by average proficiency rate.
Prairie Central High School has an NCES locale of Rural: Distant.
The 2020-21-to-2024-25 change in enrollment was a 14% drop, from 569 to 487.
This page is set up for the Prairie Central High School community to discuss homework, tutoring, and testing dates. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.
Livingston County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
35,565
Census ACS
Median income
$73,790
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
19%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
8%
Below federal line
Schools in county
24
5,273 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Prairie Central CUSD 8
- Prairie Central Elementary SchoolElementary · 367 students
- Prairie Central Jr High SchoolMiddle · 250 students
- Prairie Central Primary WestElementary · 244 students
- Prairie Central Upper ElementaryMiddle · 216 students
- Prairie Central Primary EastElementary · 148 students
Other schools in Fairbury
- Prairie Central Elementary SchoolElementary · 367 students
Nearby schools
- Prairie Central Elementary School1.0 mi · 367
- Prairie Central Jr High School4.9 mi · 250
- Prairie Central Upper Elementary5.0 mi · 216
- Lincoln Elementary School10.6 mi · 227
- Washington Elementary School10.7 mi · 221
- Pontiac Jr High School10.8 mi · 326
Frequently asked questions
About Prairie Central High SchoolHow many students attend Prairie Central High School?
Prairie Central High School enrolls approximately 487 students in grades 09-12.
What grades does Prairie Central High School serve?
Prairie Central High School serves grades 09-12.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Prairie Central High School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Prairie Central High School is approximately 11.7:1 (42 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Prairie Central High School?
At Prairie Central High School, the student body is approximately 83% White, 12% Hispanic, 1% Black, 1% Asian, 3% Two or more.
Who oversees Prairie Central High School?
Prairie Central High School is overseen by Prairie Central CUSD 8 in Livingston County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.