Enrollment
216
Middle
DISTRICT 233 · STATE 462
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·PRAIRIE CENTRAL CUSD 8·NCES 170000502056
Prairie Central Upper Elementary
312 N Center St, Forrest, IL 61741 · (815) 657-8238 · Livingston County
GRADES 05–06MIDDLE43-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL216 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
11.8:1
18 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 11.9:1 · STATE 13.0:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
44%
95 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 3 | 1 | 0% |
| Grade 5 | 129 | 60% |
| Grade 6 | 86 | 40% |
Student demographics
22%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
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 Upper Elementary.
START A DISCUSSIONTest scores
IAR + ISA 2024-25 . % Proficient (Levels 4-5)English Language Arts
70.3%
IL avg 51.0% . +9.7pp since 2023
Math
49.5%
IL avg 37.9% . +19.9pp since 2023
What this means: On the IAR + ISA, Illinois's statewide test, about 70 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 50 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 10 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 20 points.
IAR + ISA results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 70.3% | 49.5% |
| 2023-24 | 60.6% | 29.6% |
% 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
55.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
46.1%
based on IL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+9.5pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 56% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 46% 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 Upper Elementary
Prairie Central Upper Elementary's state test result (55.6% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prairie Central Upper Elementary this school | 216 | 44.0% | 55.6% |
| Bismarck-Henning Jr High School Bismarck | 246 | 44.3% | 40.4% |
| United Intermediate School Monmouth | 198 | 44.4% | N/A |
| Amboy Jr High School Amboy | 210 | 47.1% | 40.0% |
| Serena Middle School Serena | 184 | 44.6% | 42.4% |
| River Bend Middle School Fulton | 228 | 46.5% | 47.5% |
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 Upper Elementary ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Illinois |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 55.6% | #134 of 578 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 49.5% | #148 of 640 ▲ 103 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 70.3% | #175 of 640 ▲ 10 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 216 | #539 of 691 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 11.8:1 | #154 of 558 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 22.5% | #458 of 560 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 44.0% | #353 of 581 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -23.9% | #57 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
216
-20 (-8%) vs 2020
-28% since 2000-01, when it was 300
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 | 216 | 18.3 | 11.8:1 | 44% (95) |
| 2023-24 | 220 | 21.3 | 10.3:1 | 49% (108) |
| 2022-23 | 237 | 21.1 | 11.2:1 | 48% (114) |
| 2020-21 | 236 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 284 | 21 | 13.5:1 | 44% (126) |
| 2015-16 | 278 | 23 | 12.1:1 | 43% (120) |
| 2010-11 | 333 | 21 | 15.9:1 | 47% (156) |
| 2000-01 | 300 | 21 | 14.3:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Prairie Central Upper Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 24% (284 to 216); teachers down 13% (21 to 18.3).
About Prairie Central Upper Elementary
Prairie Central Upper Elementary is a small middle school with an address in Forrest, Illinois. The school enrolls 216 students, from grades 5 through 6. An average school in this group (middle schools in Illinois) has about 462 students.
Prairie Central Upper Elementary reports to Prairie Central CUSD 8, which has 6 schools and 1,712 students.
Federal enrollment data show Prairie Central Upper Elementary is 88% White. Other groups include 9% Hispanic and 3% multiracial. County-wide, about 89% of residents are White. Prairie Central Upper Elementary's diversity index is 22%, against a US figure of 70%.
The ratio of students to teachers is 11.8:1, with 18.3 full-time-equivalent teachers on staff. The school has fewer students per teacher than the 13.0:1 average for middle schools in Illinois. Lunch subsidy eligibility at Prairie Central Upper Elementary is 44%.
Given its share of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, Prairie Central Upper Elementary would be expected to post about 46.1%. Its actual average proficiency rate on state tests is 55.6%.
Prairie Central Upper Elementary is located in Livingston County, where the median household income is $73,790, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 19%, and roughly 8% of residents are in poverty. Besides Prairie Central Upper Elementary, Livingston County has 23 other public schools.
The closest public school, Prairie Central Jr High School, is about 0.4 miles from Prairie Central Upper Elementary. Other public schools within five miles: 2. Compared with its nearest neighbors, Prairie Central Upper Elementary ranks 1st of 8 on average proficiency.
Federal data place Prairie Central Upper Elementary in the Rural: Remote locale, which means it is in rural territory far from an urban area.
Federal data show an 8% enrollment decrease, from 236 in 2020-21 to 216 in 2024-25.
The Prairie Central Upper Elementary community page is open for posts about sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.
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 Jr High SchoolMiddle · 250 students
- Prairie Central Primary WestElementary · 244 students
- Prairie Central Primary EastElementary · 148 students
Nearby schools
- Prairie Central Jr High School0.4 mi · 250
- Prairie Central High School5.0 mi · 487
- Prairie Central Elementary School5.6 mi · 367
- Prairie Central Primary East6.3 mi · 148
- Saunemin Elementary School9.6 mi · 102
- Tri-Point High School11.7 mi · 98
Frequently asked questions
About Prairie Central Upper ElementaryHow large is Prairie Central Upper Elementary?
Prairie Central Upper Elementary enrolls approximately 216 students in grades 05-06.
Is Prairie Central Upper Elementary an elementary, middle, or high school?
Prairie Central Upper Elementary is a middle school covering grades 05-06.
How many teachers does Prairie Central Upper Elementary have?
Prairie Central Upper Elementary employs 18 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 11.8:1.
What is the student diversity at Prairie Central Upper Elementary?
Student demographics at Prairie Central Upper Elementary are roughly 88% White, 9% Hispanic, 3% Two or more.
What district is Prairie Central Upper Elementary in?
Prairie Central Upper Elementary is part of Prairie Central CUSD 8.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.