Enrollment
370
High
DISTRICT 230 · STATE 834
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·SOUTHWESTERN CUSD 9·NCES 173150003320
Southwestern High School
8226 Route 111, Piasa, IL 62079 · (618) 372-3813 · Macoupin County
GRADES 09–12HIGH42-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL370 STUDENTS
C+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 39% 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
11.8:1
31 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.0:1 · STATE 13.8:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
42%
156 students
DISTRICT 43% · STATE 56%
Community
0
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 | 80 | 22% |
| Grade 10 | 104 | 28% |
| Grade 11 | 95 | 26% |
| Grade 12 | 91 | 25% |
Student demographics
11%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 11% · 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 Southwestern CUSD 9. 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
35.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
47.2%
based on IL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-11.7pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 35% 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 Southwestern High School
Southwestern High School's state test result (35.5% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southwestern High School this school | 370 | 42.2% | 35.5% |
| Pana Sr High School Pana | 404 | 42.1% | 38.6% |
| Mercer County High School Aledo | 411 | 41.6% | 38.0% |
| Carlinville High School Carlinville | 353 | 40.8% | 38.0% |
| Flora High School Flora | 353 | 43.9% | 37.0% |
| Nokomis Jr/Sr High School Nokomis | 314 | 41.1% | 50.3% |
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 Southwestern High School ranks
Among high schools| Measure | This school | In Illinois | In Macoupin County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 35.5% | #274 of 573 | #6 of 7 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 370 | #394 of 708 | #2 of 8 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 11.8:1 | #92 of 528 | N/A |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 10.9% | #475 of 537 | N/A |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 42.2% | #379 of 578 | #5 of 7 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -20.8% | #54 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
370
-49 (-12%) vs 2020
-28% since 1990-91, when it was 516
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 | 370 | 31.4 | 11.8:1 | 42% (156) |
| 2023-24 | 376 | 31.3 | 12.0:1 | 41% (153) |
| 2022-23 | 372 | 31.4 | 11.9:1 | 36% (135) |
| 2020-21 | 419 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 467 | 30.8 | 15.2:1 | 36% (168) |
| 2015-16 | 482 | 29 | 16.6:1 | 32% (155) |
| 2010-11 | 507 | 29 | 17.5:1 | 30% (154) |
| 2000-01 | 616 | 38 | 16.2:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 516 | 28 | 18.4:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Southwestern High School.
Since 2017-18: students down 21% (467 to 370); teachers up 2% (30.8 to 31.4).
About Southwestern High School
Southwestern High School is a small high school in Illinois, with an address in Piasa. A federal count lists 370 students at the school, in grades 9 through 12. An average school in this group (high schools in Illinois) has about 834 students.
Southwestern CUSD 9 is responsible for 5 schools, Southwestern High School included, with 1,149 students in all.
Most students at Southwestern High School are White: 94% of enrollment. Other students are 2% Hispanic. For comparison, Macoupin County is about 94% White. By the diversity index, Southwestern High School comes in at 11%.
Its 31.4 full-time-equivalent teachers give the school a ratio of 11.8:1. The average ratio among high schools in Illinois is 13.8:1, higher than at this school. The school's lunch program data list 42% of students as eligible for free or reduced-price meals.
allk12 grades Southwestern High School a C+. The grade compares the school only with Illinois public high schools, because each state gives its own test.
Southwestern High School is 11.7 points below its predicted average proficiency rate on state tests (35.5% versus 47.2%), which places it in neither the top nor the bottom 10% in Illinois.
Census Bureau estimates for Macoupin County show that median household income is about $70,805, 20% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 10% of residents live below the federal poverty line. A total of 28 public schools operate in Macoupin County, serving about 7,221 students.
Southwestern Middle School is the public school closest to Southwestern High School, less than a tenth of a mile away. Southwestern High School has 3 other public schools within five miles. Nearby schools average 48.9% on proficiency, and Southwestern High School is below that at 35.5%.
Southwestern High School is coded as Rural: Distant in federal locale data.
Enrollment was 419 in 2020-21 and 370 in 2024-25, a decrease of 49 students.
Topics for discussion here include sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
Macoupin County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
44,350
Census ACS
Median income
$70,805
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
20%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
10%
Below federal line
Schools in county
28
7,221 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Southwestern CUSD 9
- Brighton North Primary SchoolElementary · 293 students
- Southwestern Middle SchoolMiddle · 171 students
- Medora Intermediate SchoolMiddle · 160 students
- Shipman Elementary SchoolElementary · 155 students
Other Southwestern High schools
3 other US public schools in 3 states are named Southwestern High. Southwestern High School is the 2nd largest of the 4.
- Southwestern High SchoolSomerset, KY · 1,213 students
- Southwestern High SchoolHanover, IN · 350 students
- Southwestern High SchoolShelbyville, IN · 264 students
Nearby schools
- Southwestern Middle School0.0 mi · 171
- Medora Intermediate School3.8 mi · 160
- Brighton North Primary School4.8 mi · 293
- Shipman Elementary School5.2 mi · 155
- Jerseyville East Elementary School9.9 mi · 392
- Jersey Community Middle School10.1 mi · 489
Frequently asked questions
About Southwestern High SchoolHow large is Southwestern High School?
Southwestern High School enrolls approximately 370 students in grades 09-12.
Is Southwestern High School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Southwestern High School is a high school covering grades 09-12.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Southwestern High School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Southwestern High School is approximately 11.8:1 (31 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Southwestern High School?
At Southwestern High School, the student body is approximately 94% White, 2% Hispanic, 2% Black, 1% Two or more.
Is Southwestern High School public or private?
Southwestern High School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Southwestern CUSD 9.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.