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
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
Student demographics
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. 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
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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.
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 →
7-year change
SY 2017-18 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
250
-13 (-5%) vs 2017
Student : Teacher
12.1:1
was 12.4:1
% White
83%
was 90%
% Hispanic
10%
was 2%
% Black
0%
was 2%
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
About Prairie Central Jr High School
Prairie Central Jr High School is a 6-8 campus of tight-knit scale in Forrest, Illinois, part of Prairie Central CUSD 8, educateing 250 students in grades 7 through 8. By comparison, Illinois's public schools average about 462 students each, so Prairie Central Jr High School sits 46% leaner than that benchmark.
Prairie Central Jr High School is one of 6 schools operated by Prairie Central CUSD 8, a district that hosts 1,712 students overall.
Demographically, Prairie Central Jr High School lists that the student body is overwhelmingly White (83%); the rest comes out to 10% Hispanic, 5% multiracial.
Looking at the economic backdrop, Prairie Central Jr High School shows 21 full-time-equivalent teachers, putting the student-to-teacher ratio at about 12.1:1. Statewide, the average ratio sits near 13.0:1, putting Prairie Central Jr High School tighter than the state norm the norm. Roughly 52% of students at Prairie Central Jr High School qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator.
On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), Prairie Central Jr High School tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 41.3% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 44.3%.
Across the wider county, Livingston County reports that the typical household earns roughly $73,790 per year, 19% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and roughly 8% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Prairie Central Jr High School is one of 24 public schools in Livingston County (combined enrollment of about 5,273 students).
Nearest neighbor: Prairie Central Upper Elementary, around 0.4 miles off. Counting just inside five miles, 2 other public schools cluster around Prairie Central Jr High School. On composite proficiency, Prairie Central Jr High School comes 3rd of 8 in the immediate cluster, ahead of the nearby-schools average of 41.7%.
Prairie Central Jr High School operates from a rural location.
Over the past 7-year window. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at Prairie Central Jr High School has shrank 5%, going from 263 students in 2018 to 250 in 2025. Over the same period, the Hispanic share grew from 2% to 10%.
On this page, posts here usually surface around fundraisers, lost-and-found posts, and report-card season. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
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 Elem 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 Elem School5.6 mi · 367
- Prairie Central Primary East6.4 mi · 148
- Saunemin Elem 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.