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What's one thing Sycamore Middle School gets right about preparing students for what comes next?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
847
Middle
DISTRICT 531 · STATE 462
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·SYCAMORE CUSD 427·NCES 173846003923
Sycamore Middle School
150 Maplewood Dr, Sycamore, IL 60178 · (815) 899-8170 · DeKalb County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE23-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL847 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
13.6:1
62 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.8:1 · STATE 13.0:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
26%
219 students
DISTRICT 29% · STATE 56%
Community
5
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 | 280 | 33% |
| Grade 7 | 285 | 34% |
| Grade 8 | 282 | 33% |
Student demographics
38%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 38% · 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
Sycamore Middle School→Sycamore High School
Feeds from
Based on grade levels within Sycamore CUSD 427. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
IAR + ISA 2024-25 . % Proficient (Levels 4-5)English Language Arts
53.4%
IL avg 51.0% . +5.8pp since 2023
Math
36.2%
IL avg 37.9% . +7.9pp since 2023
What this means: On the IAR + ISA, Illinois's statewide test, about 53 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 36 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 6 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 8 points.
IAR + ISA results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 53.4% | 36.2% |
| 2023-24 | 47.6% | 28.3% |
% 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
46.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
56.6%
based on IL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-10.0pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 47% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 57% 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 Sycamore Middle School
Sycamore Middle School's state test result (46.6% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sycamore Middle School this school | 847 | 25.9% | 46.6% |
| Richard F Bernotas Middle School Crystal Lake | 737 | 28.0% | 46.6% |
| Lincoln Middle School Edwardsville | 736 | 25.7% | 47.8% |
| Mahomet-Seymour Jr High School Mahomet | 812 | 23.3% | 67.0% |
| Cary Jr High School Cary | 761 | 28.5% | 49.6% |
| Mascoutah Middle School Mascoutah | 973 | 21.2% | 60.8% |
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 Sycamore Middle School ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In Illinois | In DeKalb County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 46.6% | #239 of 578 | #2 of 7 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 36.2% | #277 of 640 ▼ 6 | #2 of 7 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 53.4% | #369 of 640 ▼ 49 | #3 of 7 ▲ 1 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 847 | #66 of 691 | #2 of 7 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.6:1 | #346 of 558 | #6 of 7 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 38.3% | #342 of 560 | #5 of 7 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 25.9% | #485 of 581 | #7 of 7 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -0.8% | #431 of 440 | N/A |
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
847
+9 (+1%) vs 2020
+50% since 1990-91, when it was 566
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 | 847 | 62.1 | 13.6:1 | 26% (219) |
| 2023-24 | 836 | 63.2 | 13.2:1 | 26% (217) |
| 2022-23 | 822 | 61.3 | 13.4:1 | 25% (207) |
| 2020-21 | 838 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 854 | 61.1 | 14.0:1 | 24% (201) |
| 2015-16 | 914 | 68 | 13.4:1 | 24% (222) |
| 2010-11 | 863 | 58 | 14.9:1 | 28% (241) |
| 2000-01 | 745 | 46 | 16.2:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 566 | 31 | 18.3:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Sycamore Middle School.
Since 2017-18: students down 1% (854 to 847); teachers up 2% (61.1 to 62.1).
About Sycamore Middle School
Sycamore Middle School is classified as a middle school. It is located in Sycamore, Illinois. The school serves grades 6 through 8. Enrollment is 847 students. By comparison, middle schools in Illinois enroll about 462 students on average.
The Sycamore CUSD 427 system has 7 schools and 3,720 students.
Of every 100 students at Sycamore Middle School, about 77 are White. Beyond that, enrollment is 13% Hispanic, 4% multiracial, and 4% Black. Among DeKalb County residents, the White share is about 74%. On the diversity index, which measures the chance that two random students are from different groups, Sycamore Middle School scores 38%.
Based on 62.1 full-time-equivalent teachers, Sycamore Middle School has a ratio of 13.6:1. The average ratio among middle schools in Illinois is similar, at 13.0:1. Eligibility for free or reduced-price lunch stands at 26%. Compared with the 48% average for public schools in DeKalb County, the school's rate is lower.
On a poverty-adjusted basis, Sycamore Middle School falls in the middle 80% of Illinois schools: 46.6% actual against 56.6% predicted.
For DeKalb County, Census Bureau data show median household income comes to about $70,724, about 33% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 10%. The county has 43 public schools and about 16,328 students.
Straight-line distance to the nearest public school, North Elementary School, is about 0.7 miles. Around the school, 7 other public schools are within five miles. On state test proficiency, Sycamore Middle School ranks 5th in a group of 9 nearby schools.
Under the NCES locale system, Sycamore Middle School is Suburb: Small.
There was little change in enrollment from 2020-21 (838) to 2024-25 (847).
Anyone can start a thread about fundraisers, report cards, and school supplies at Sycamore Middle School. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to post.
DeKalb County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
100,703
Census ACS
Median income
$70,724
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
33%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
10%
Below federal line
Schools in county
43
16,328 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Sycamore CUSD 427
- Sycamore High SchoolHigh · 1,161 students
- South Prairie Elementary SchoolElementary · 456 students
- North Grove Elementary SchoolElementary · 377 students
- North Elementary SchoolElementary · 309 students
- Southeast Elementary SchoolElementary · 300 students
- West Elementary SchoolElementary · 270 students
Other schools in Sycamore
- Sycamore High SchoolHigh · 1,161 students
- South Prairie Elementary SchoolElementary · 456 students
- North Grove Elementary SchoolElementary · 377 students
- North Elementary SchoolElementary · 309 students
- Southeast Elementary SchoolElementary · 300 students
- West Elementary SchoolElementary · 270 students
Other Sycamore Middle schools
2 other US public schools in 3 states are named Sycamore Middle. Sycamore Middle School is the largest of the 3.
- Sycamore Middle SchoolPleasant View, TN · 672 students
- Sycamore MiddleGridley, CA · 423 students
Nearby schools
- North Elementary School0.7 mi · 309
- West Elementary School1.2 mi · 270
- Southeast Elementary School1.4 mi · 300
- North Grove Elementary School1.5 mi · 377
- Sycamore High School1.6 mi · 1,161
- South Prairie Elementary School2.0 mi · 456
Frequently asked questions
About Sycamore Middle SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Sycamore Middle School?
Sycamore Middle School enrolls approximately 847 students in grades 06-08.
Is Sycamore Middle School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Sycamore Middle School is a middle school covering grades 06-08.
How many students per teacher at Sycamore Middle School?
Approximately 13.6:1 students per teacher at Sycamore Middle School.
How diverse is Sycamore Middle School?
Sycamore Middle School reports a student body of 77% White, 13% Hispanic, 4% Black, 2% Asian, 4% Two or more.
Is Sycamore Middle School public or private?
Sycamore Middle School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Sycamore CUSD 427.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.