Enrollment
250
Middle
DISTRICT 233 · STATE 462
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·PRAIRIE CENTRAL CUSD 8·NCES 170000505127
Prairie Central Jr High School
800 N Wood St, Forrest, IL 61741 · (815) 657-8660 · Livingston County
GRADES 07–08MIDDLE43-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL250 STUDENTS
B-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 54% 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.
- BBeats 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
12.1:1
21 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 11.9:1 · STATE 13.0:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
52%
131 students
DISTRICT 48% · STATE 56%
Community
0
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 7 | 136 | 54% |
| Grade 8 | 114 | 46% |
Student demographics
29%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
Students here typically continue to
Prairie Central Jr High School→Prairie Central High School
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within Prairie Central CUSD 8. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
QUIET COMMUNITY
Be the first to start a discussion at Prairie Central Jr High School.
START A DISCUSSIONTest scores
IAR + ISA 2024-25 . % Proficient (Levels 4-5)English Language Arts
62.0%
IL avg 51.0% . +22.6pp since 2023
Math
22.0%
IL avg 37.9% . -3.1pp since 2023
What this means: On the IAR + ISA, Illinois's statewide test, about 62 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 22 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 23 points since 2023, while math scores are down about 3 points.
IAR + ISA results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 62.0% | 22.0% |
| 2023-24 | 39.4% | 25.1% |
% 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
44.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
41.3%
based on IL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+3.0pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 44% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 41% 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 Jr High School
Prairie Central Jr High School's state test result (44.3% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prairie Central Jr High School this school | 250 | 52.4% | 44.3% |
| Edison Junior High School Pekin | 271 | 51.3% | 37.2% |
| Chillicothe Jr High Chillicothe | 229 | 52.4% | 54.1% |
| Greenville Jr High School Greenville | 284 | 52.8% | 45.5% |
| Abingdon-Avon Middle School Avon | 204 | 51.5% | 44.5% |
| Midland Middle School Sparland | 214 | 50.9% | 47.6% |
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 Prairie Central Jr High School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Illinois |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 44.3% | #279 of 578 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 22.0% | #461 of 640 ▼ 142 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 62.0% | #269 of 640 ▲ 133 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 250 | #502 of 691 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 12.1:1 | #191 of 558 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 29.4% | #403 of 560 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 52.4% | #271 of 581 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -4.9% | #359 of 440 |
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
250
-1 (0%) vs 2020
-11% since 1990-91, when it was 280
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 | 250 | 20.6 | 12.1:1 | 52% (131) |
| 2023-24 | 232 | 22 | 10.6:1 | 47% (109) |
| 2022-23 | 228 | 20.5 | 11.1:1 | 43% (97) |
| 2020-21 | 251 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 263 | 21.2 | 12.4:1 | 45% (119) |
| 2015-16 | 306 | 20 | 15.3:1 | 39% (119) |
| 2010-11 | 292 | 22 | 13.3:1 | 41% (121) |
| 2000-01 | 325 | 21 | 15.5:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 280 | 17 | 16.5:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Prairie Central Jr High School.
Since 2017-18: students down 5% (263 to 250); teachers down 3% (21.2 to 20.6).
About Prairie Central Jr High School
Prairie Central Jr High School is a small middle school in Forrest, Illinois, one of the schools in Prairie Central CUSD 8. It enrolled 250 students in grades 7 through 8 for the 2024-25 school year. Enrollment is 46% lower than the average for middle schools in Illinois, which is about 462.
Prairie Central CUSD 8 has 1,712 students in 6 schools, and Prairie Central Jr High School is one of those schools.
At Prairie Central Jr High School, White students make up 83% of the student body. Other students are 10% Hispanic and 5% multiracial. The chance that two students picked at random at Prairie Central Jr High School belong to different racial or ethnic groups, known as the diversity index, is 29%.
Teacher staffing is 20.6 full-time equivalents, or about 12.1 students per teacher. Among middle schools in Illinois, the typical ratio is 13.0:1. About 52% of students, or 131, qualify for free or reduced-price lunch.
allk12 grades Prairie Central Jr High School a B-. The grade compares the school only with Illinois public middle schools, because each state gives its own test.
Prairie Central Jr High School's average proficiency rate on state tests of 44.3% is 3.0 points above the 41.3% the model predicts from its lunch-eligibility share.
Federal survey data for Livingston County show that median household income is about $73,790, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 19% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 8%. A total of 24 public schools operate in Livingston County, serving about 5,273 students.
Prairie Central Upper Elementary is the public school closest to Prairie Central Jr High School, about 0.4 miles away. Prairie Central Jr High School has 2 other public schools within five miles. Prairie Central Jr High School ranks 3rd of 8 among nearby schools on average proficiency, with 44.3% against a local average of 41.7%.
On the NCES locale scale, the school is Rural: Remote.
Enrollment in 2024-25 was 250, close to the 251 recorded in 2020-21.
Posts about school safety, transportation, and start times are welcome on this page. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
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 High SchoolHigh · 487 students
- Prairie Central Elementary SchoolElementary · 367 students
- Prairie Central Primary WestElementary · 244 students
- Prairie Central Upper ElementaryMiddle · 216 students
- Prairie Central Primary EastElementary · 148 students
Nearby schools
- Prairie Central Upper Elementary0.4 mi · 216
- Prairie Central High School4.9 mi · 487
- Prairie Central Elementary School5.6 mi · 367
- Prairie Central Primary East6.4 mi · 148
- Saunemin Elementary School9.2 mi · 102
- Tri-Point High School11.5 mi · 98
Frequently asked questions
About Prairie Central Jr High SchoolHow large is Prairie Central Jr High School?
Prairie Central Jr High School enrolls approximately 250 students in grades 07-08.
Is Prairie Central Jr High School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Prairie Central Jr High School is a middle school covering grades 07-08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Prairie Central Jr High School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Prairie Central Jr High School is approximately 12.1:1 (21 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Prairie Central Jr High School?
At Prairie Central Jr High School, the student body is approximately 83% White, 10% Hispanic, 0% Black, 1% Asian, 5% Two or more.
Who oversees Prairie Central Jr High School?
Prairie Central Jr 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.