Enrollment
171
Middle
DISTRICT 166 · STATE 462
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·SOUTHWESTERN CUSD 9·NCES 173150003321
Southwestern Middle School
8226 Route 111, Piasa, IL 62079 · (618) 372-3813 · Macoupin County
GRADES 07–08MIDDLE42-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL171 STUDENTS
C
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 30% of Illinois public middle schools
- C+Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- C-Beats 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
14 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.6:1 · STATE 13.0:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
42%
72 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 7 | 83 | 49% |
| Grade 8 | 88 | 51% |
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
Students here typically continue to
Southwestern Middle School→Southwestern High School
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within Southwestern CUSD 9. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
IAR + ISA 2024-25 . % Proficient (Levels 4-5)English Language Arts
57.8%
IL avg 51.0% . +20.5pp since 2023
Math
26.8%
IL avg 37.9% . +9.6pp since 2023
What this means: On the IAR + ISA, Illinois's statewide test, about 58 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 27 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 21 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 10 points.
IAR + ISA results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 57.8% | 26.8% |
| 2023-24 | 37.3% | 17.2% |
% 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
39.7%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
47.2%
based on IL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-7.5pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 40% 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 Middle School
Southwestern Middle School's state test result (39.7% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southwestern Middle School this school | 171 | 42.1% | 39.7% |
| Marshall Jr High School Marshall | 186 | 41.4% | 50.8% |
| Medora Intermediate School Medora | 160 | 40.6% | 52.6% |
| Meridian Middle School Macon | 195 | 42.6% | 36.7% |
| Brown County Middle School Mount Sterling | 179 | 40.2% | 39.1% |
| Lena-Winslow Jr High School Lena | 173 | 40.5% | 58.9% |
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 Southwestern Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Illinois | In Macoupin County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 39.7% | #333 of 578 | #5 of 6 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 26.8% | #397 of 640 ▲ 39 | #5 of 6 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 57.8% | #315 of 640 ▲ 109 | #4 of 6 no change |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 171 | #595 of 691 | #5 of 7 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 42.1% | #368 of 581 | #4 of 6 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -25.3% | #44 of 440 | #2 of 6 |
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
171
-40 (-19%) vs 2020
-37% since 1990-91, when it was 270
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 | 171 | 14.1 | 12.1:1 | 42% (72) |
| 2023-24 | 174 | 14.4 | 12.1:1 | 44% (76) |
| 2022-23 | 189 | 15.5 | 12.2:1 | 38% (71) |
| 2020-21 | 211 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 229 | 15.4 | 14.8:1 | 39% (89) |
| 2015-16 | 242 | 15 | 16.1:1 | 36% (86) |
| 2010-11 | 266 | 15 | 17.7:1 | 30% (81) |
| 2000-01 | 320 | 16 | 20.0:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 270 | 14 | 19.3:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Southwestern Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students down 25% (229 to 171); teachers down 9% (15.4 to 14.1).
About Southwestern Middle School
Southwestern Middle School is a public middle-grades school in Piasa, Illinois. The school serves grades 7 through 8. Enrollment is 171 students. By comparison, middle schools in Illinois enroll about 462 students on average.
The district, Southwestern CUSD 9, has 1,149 students enrolled across 5 schools.
Of every 100 students at Southwestern Middle School, about 94 are White. The remaining students are 2% Hispanic and 2% multiracial. Census estimates put Macoupin County at about 94% White, close to the school's figure. On a 0 to 100 scale, the school's diversity index is 11, compared with 70 nationally.
Southwestern Middle School has 14.1 full-time-equivalent teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of about 12.1:1. The school's 12.1:1 compares with an average of 13.0:1 for middle schools in Illinois. Eligibility for free or reduced-price lunch, often used to gauge student poverty, is 42%.
On the allk12 Grade, Southwestern Middle School lands at C, ahead of 30% of Illinois public middle schools.
The BeatsExpectations prediction for Southwestern Middle School is 47.2%, and its average proficiency rate across its state test results is 39.7%.
Census data for Macoupin County show the median household earns about $70,805 a year, roughly 20% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 10%. Public schools in Macoupin County number 28, with about 7,221 students.
Southwestern Middle School is less than a tenth of a mile from Southwestern High School, its nearest public school. Around the school, 3 other public schools are within five miles. Among its closest neighbors with test data, Southwestern Middle School is 6th of 7 on proficiency.
Locale: Rural: Distant. In NCES terms, the school is in rural territory some distance from an urban area.
The 2020-21-to-2024-25 change in enrollment was a 19% decrease, from 211 to 171.
This page is a place to ask questions and share updates about fundraisers, report cards, and school supplies at Southwestern Middle School. Members of the school community can share what they know.
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
- Southwestern High SchoolHigh · 370 students
- Brighton North Primary SchoolElementary · 293 students
- Medora Intermediate SchoolMiddle · 160 students
- Shipman Elementary SchoolElementary · 155 students
Other Southwestern Middle schools
4 other US public schools in 4 states are named Southwestern Middle. Southwestern Middle School is the 5th largest of the 5.
- SOUTHWESTERN MIDDLE SCHOOLDELAND, FL · 664 students
- Southwestern Middle SchoolLafayette, IN · 491 students
- Southwestern Middle SchoolHanover, IN · 280 students
- SOUTHWESTERN MIDDLE SCHOOLJAMESTOWN, NY · 266 students
Nearby schools
- Southwestern High School0.0 mi · 370
- 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 Middle SchoolHow many students attend Southwestern Middle School?
Southwestern Middle School enrolls approximately 171 students in grades 07-08.
What grades does Southwestern Middle School serve?
Southwestern Middle School serves grades 07-08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Southwestern Middle School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Southwestern Middle School is approximately 12.1:1 (14 FTE teachers).
What is the student diversity at Southwestern Middle School?
Student demographics at Southwestern Middle School are roughly 94% White, 2% Hispanic, 1% Black, 2% Two or more.
What district is Southwestern Middle School in?
Southwestern Middle School is part of Southwestern CUSD 9.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.