Enrollment
306
Middle
DISTRICT 464 · STATE 462
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·REED CUSTER CUSD 255U·NCES 173338003454
Reed-Custer Middle School
407 Comet Dr, Braidwood, IL 60408 · (815) 458-2868 · Will County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE31-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL306 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
10.9:1
28 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 11.8:1 · STATE 13.0:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
43%
132 students
DISTRICT 43% · 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 6 | 110 | 36% |
| Grade 7 | 91 | 30% |
| Grade 8 | 105 | 34% |
Student demographics
31%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 31% · 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
Reed-Custer Middle School→Reed-Custer High School
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within Reed Custer CUSD 255U. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
IAR + ISA 2024-25 . % Proficient (Levels 4-5)English Language Arts
69.5%
IL avg 51.0% . +6.8pp since 2023
Math
37.2%
IL avg 37.9% . +4.6pp 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 37 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 7 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 5 points.
IAR + ISA results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 69.5% | 37.2% |
| 2023-24 | 62.7% | 32.6% |
% 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
55.0%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
46.6%
based on IL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+8.4pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 55% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 47% 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 Reed-Custer Middle School
Reed-Custer Middle School's state test result (55.0% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reed-Custer Middle School this school | 306 | 43.1% | 55.0% |
| Paxton-Buckley-Loda Jr High School Paxton | 288 | 48.3% | 48.6% |
| Carterville Jr High School Carterville | 344 | 45.3% | 58.0% |
| Bureau Valley Elementary and JH Manlius | 303 | 45.9% | 57.6% |
| Somonauk Middle School Somonauk | 249 | 38.6% | 67.7% |
| John L Nash Middle School Clifton | 278 | 41.4% | 44.3% |
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 Reed-Custer Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Illinois | In Will County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 55.0% | #138 of 578 | #19 of 39 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 37.2% | #267 of 640 ▼ 56 | #28 of 44 ▼ 2 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 69.5% | #187 of 640 ▼ 25 | #24 of 44 ▼ 3 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 306 | #446 of 691 | #38 of 44 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 10.9:1 | #88 of 558 | #9 of 44 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 31.1% | #397 of 560 | #38 of 44 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 43.1% | #360 of 581 | #15 of 39 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -12.3% | #215 of 440 | #20 of 36 |
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
306
+17 (+6%) vs 2020
-13% since 1990-91, when it was 350
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 | 306 | 28 | 10.9:1 | 43% (132) |
| 2023-24 | 287 | 28.4 | 10.1:1 | 42% (121) |
| 2022-23 | 287 | 27.3 | 10.5:1 | 43% (122) |
| 2020-21 | 289 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 349 | 28.8 | 12.1:1 | 36% (127) |
| 2015-16 | 362 | 31 | 11.7:1 | 40% (144) |
| 2010-11 | 405 | 28 | 14.5:1 | 36% (146) |
| 2000-01 | 376 | 30 | 12.5:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 350 | 24 | 14.6:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Reed-Custer Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students down 12% (349 to 306); teachers down 3% (28.8 to 28).
About Reed-Custer Middle School
Reed-Custer Middle School is a public middle-grades school in Braidwood, Illinois. Enrolled students number 306 students, in grades 6 through 8. Statewide, middle schools in Illinois average about 462 students each.
Reed-Custer Middle School is one school in a 3-school district, Reed Custer CUSD 255U, which enrolls 1,393 students.
White students make up 82% of enrollment at Reed-Custer Middle School. Next come 14% Hispanic and 3% multiracial. That compares with about 62% White among all Will County residents. Reed-Custer Middle School's diversity index is 31%, against a US figure of 70%.
The ratio of students to teachers is 10.9:1, with 28 full-time-equivalent teachers on staff. That is 2.1 students per teacher below the 13.0:1 average for middle schools in Illinois. The percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch is 43%. That tracks the 44% average for public schools in Will County.
The model predicts 46.6% for a school in Illinois with Reed-Custer Middle School's free or reduced-price lunch share. Reed-Custer Middle School posts 55.0%.
According to the American Community Survey, in Will County, the median household income is $109,984, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 38%, and roughly 6% of residents are in poverty. Reed-Custer Middle School is one of 209 public schools in the county.
Reed-Custer High School is the public school closest to Reed-Custer Middle School, about 0.1 miles away. There are at least 8 other public schools within five miles. Ranking the closest schools with test data puts Reed-Custer Middle School at 2nd of 8.
Locale data from NCES put Reed-Custer Middle School in a town close to an urbanized area (Town: Fringe).
2024-25 enrollment was 306, a 6% rise from 289 in 2020-21.
Discussions about Reed-Custer Middle School may include science fairs, picture day, and bus routes. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
Will County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
701,462
Census ACS
Median income
$109,984
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
38%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
209
113,008 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Reed Custer CUSD 255U
- Reed-Custer Elementary SchoolElementary · 690 students
- Reed-Custer High SchoolHigh · 397 students
Other schools in Braidwood
- Reed-Custer Elementary SchoolElementary · 690 students
- Reed-Custer High SchoolHigh · 397 students
- SOWIC-EC Reed CusterElementary
- SOWIC-Educ & Life Skills-Reed CusElementary
- SOWIC-Educ & Life Skills-Reed CusElementary
Nearby schools
- Reed-Custer High School0.1 mi · 397
- Reed-Custer Elementary School1.0 mi · 690
- Braceville Elementary School3.7 mi · 130
- Bruning Elementary School3.7 mi · 222
- Coal City Intermediate School4.4 mi · 294
- L J Stevens Intermediate School4.6 mi · 353
Frequently asked questions
About Reed-Custer Middle SchoolHow large is Reed-Custer Middle School?
Reed-Custer Middle School enrolls approximately 306 students in grades 06-08.
What age range does Reed-Custer Middle School serve?
Reed-Custer Middle School serves students from grade 06 through grade 08.
How many students per teacher at Reed-Custer Middle School?
Approximately 10.9:1 students per teacher at Reed-Custer Middle School.
How diverse is Reed-Custer Middle School?
Reed-Custer Middle School reports a student body of 82% White, 14% Hispanic, 0% Black, 0% Asian, 3% Two or more.
Is Reed-Custer Middle School public or private?
Reed-Custer Middle School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Reed Custer CUSD 255U.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.