Is Charleston Middle School a good school?

Charleston Middle School ranks 693 rd of 1363 Illinois middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Charleston Middle School?

In the 2023-24 school year, 395 students attended Charleston Middle School.

What is the racial makeup of Charleston Middle School?

Students at Charleston Middle School are 81% White, 7% Two or more races, 6% African American, 5% Hispanic, 1% Asian.

What high school do graduates of Charleston Middle School attend?

Students who attend Charleston Middle School usually go on to attend Charleston High School

Charleston Middle School

Summary:

Charleston Middle School is a public middle school serving grades 7-8 in Charleston, Illinois, with 399 students. The school is part of the Charleston CUSD 1 district, which is ranked 616 out of 813 districts in Illinois and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Charleston Middle School has consistently underperformed compared to state averages in both English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics proficiency. In the 2023-2024 school year, only 44.5% of students were proficient or better in ELA, compared to the state average of 41.2%, and only 16% were proficient or better in Mathematics, significantly lower than the state average of 28.4%. The school has also struggled with high chronic absenteeism rates, reaching 34.3% in the 2022-2023 school year, which is significantly higher than the state average. Additionally, the school's performance varies significantly across different student subgroups, with some subgroups, such as African American students and students with disabilities, performing much lower than others.

When compared to nearby schools, such as Cumberland Middle School and Mattoon Middle School, Charleston Middle School generally underperforms in both ELA and Mathematics proficiency, as well as in overall statewide rankings. Despite an increase in per-student spending, from $9,577 in 2019-2020 to $12,238 in 2022-2023, the school's academic outcomes have not improved, suggesting that the school may need to re-evaluate how it allocates its resources. Additionally, the school has a relatively high percentage of students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, with 50.88% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch in the 2022-2023 school year, which likely contributes to the school's academic challenges.

Detail:

Public 7-8

920 Smith Dr
Charleston, IL 61920-2913

(217) 639-6000

District: Charleston CUSD 1

SchoolDigger Rank:
693^rd of 1,363 Illinois Middle Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $14,203

Students who attend Charleston Middle School usually attend:

High:

Charleston High School

Feeder schools for Charleston Middle School:

Elementary:	Ashmore Elementary School
	Carl Sandburg Elementary School
	Mark Twain Elementary School

Student/teacher ratio: 13.8

Number of students: 395

Racial breakdown:

White:

81.0%

Two or more races:

7.1%

African American:

5.6%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 54.7%

See top rated Illinois middle schools

Compare Charleston Middle School to nearby middle schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Charleston Middle School ranks worse than 50.8% of middle schools in Illinois. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 43.75. (See more...)

Chronic absenteeism in a school refers to a situation where students repeatedly miss school, with the threshold often defined as missing 10% or more of school days for any reason, excused or unexcused.

Student Body

Compare Details Racial makeup is: White (81%), two or more races (7.1%), African American (5.6%). (See more...)

Compare Details 54.7% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Charleston Middle School is 13.8. (See more...)

Compare Charleston Middle School employs 28.5 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Charleston Middle School is $14,203.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Charleston Middle School:

SchoolDigger ranks Charleston Middle School 693^rd of 1363 Illinois public middle schools. (See Charleston Middle School in the ranking list.)

Middle School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Multi-racial students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Male students:

African American students:

White students:

Charleston CUSD 1:

SchoolDigger ranks Charleston CUSD 1 616^th of 813 Illinois school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Charleston Middle School

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Rank History for all students at Charleston Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2003	66.90	422^nd	1185	64.4%
2004	72.43	349^th	1204	71.0%
2005	71.34	385^th	1209	68.2%
2006	83.35	133^rd	1272	89.5%
2007	80.33	190^th	1287	85.2%
2008	84.49	106^th	1293	91.8%
2009	79.19	226^th	1318	82.9%
2010	80.29	194^th	1327	85.4%
2011	80.38	187^th	1344	86.1%
2012	74.09	330^th	1365	75.8%
2013	66.76	429^th	1367	68.6%
2014	70.32	372^nd	1322	71.9%
2015	65.51	353^rd	1302	72.9%
2016	62.44	405^th	1294	68.7%
2017	58.43	472^nd	1293	63.5%
2018	59.23	467^th	1293	63.9%
2019	48.65	638^th	1356	52.9%
2021	27.90	870^th	1241	29.9%
2022	38.53	773^rd	1369	43.5%
2023	45.45	680^th	1367	50.3%
2024	43.75	693^rd	1363	49.2%

See the entire list of Illinois Middle School Rankings!

Rank History for Multi-racial students at Charleston Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2021	15.15	88^th	97	9.3%
2022	14.33	180^th	195	7.7%
2023	27.55	135^th	194	30.4%
2024	27.38	120^th	184	34.8%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Middle Schools for Multi-racial Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at Charleston Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	27.71	462^nd	602	23.3%
2019	40.14	387^th	792	51.1%
2021	28.59	434^th	548	20.8%
2022	26.83	734^th	781	6.0%
2023	22.50	713^th	805	11.4%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Middle Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Charleston Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	43.14	627^th	1161	46.0%
2019	38.91	740^th	1217	39.2%
2021	24.75	836^th	1019	18.0%
2022	32.91	822^nd	1221	32.7%
2023	38.86	737^th	1234	40.3%
2024	36.52	758^th	1219	37.8%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Middle Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at Charleston Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	58.69	463^rd	1226	62.2%
2019	51.52	580^th	1276	54.5%
2021	23.84	791^st	1017	22.2%
2022	34.70	784^th	1286	39.0%
2023	43.88	658^th	1275	48.4%
2024	46.30	616^th	1251	50.8%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Middle Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Disabled students at Charleston Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	29.31	495^th	674	26.6%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Middle Schools for Disabled Students!

Rank History for Male students at Charleston Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	54.54	495^th	1223	59.5%
2019	42.61	680^th	1296	47.5%
2021	27.75	754^th	1048	28.1%
2022	42.67	652^nd	1286	49.3%
2023	46.64	605^th	1292	53.2%
2024	41.88	650^th	1264	48.6%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Middle Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for African American students at Charleston Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2019	47.48	246^th	565	56.5%
2021	33.88	253^rd	385	34.3%
2023	37.40	334^th	569	41.3%
2024	27.37	423^rd	548	22.8%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Middle Schools for African American Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Charleston Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	29.58	485^th	661	26.6%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Middle Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for White students at Charleston Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	40.04	538^th	889	39.5%
2019	29.61	649^th	905	28.3%
2021	15.34	732^nd	813	10.0%
2022	21.52	749^th	898	16.6%
2023	30.30	641^st	895	28.4%
2024	27.76	649^th	875	25.8%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Middle Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: Illinois State Board of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Data source: Illinois State Board of Education

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Enrollment information for Charleston Middle School

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1989	464	6	2	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	0	472
1990	509	8	3	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	0	520
1991	470	6	5	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	481
1992	483	5	6	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	494
1993	533	6	6	3	0	n/a	n/a	0	548
1994	520	9	9	2	0	n/a	n/a	0	540
1995	478	10	3	3	0	n/a	n/a	0	494
1996	478	10	3	3	0	n/a	n/a	0	494
1997	499	12	7	1	0	n/a	n/a	0	519
1998	515	15	7	4	2	n/a	n/a	0	543
1999	520	10	6	4	1	n/a	n/a	0	541
2000	479	9	4	5	0	n/a	n/a	0	497
2001	453	8	4	6	0	n/a	n/a	0	471
2002	448	13	4	5	0	n/a	n/a	0	470
2003	448	13	4	5	0	n/a	n/a	0	470
2004	430	14	2	9	0	n/a	n/a	0	455
2005	419	18	4	9	0	n/a	n/a	2	452
2006	398	16	7	7	1	n/a	n/a	0	429
2007	403	16	4	6	2	n/a	n/a	2	433
2008	377	21	4	6	1	n/a	n/a	2	411
2009	391	11	6	6	0	n/a	n/a	4	418
2010	404	11	5	8	1	n/a	n/a	3	432
2011	360	11	5	5	1	0	3	0	385
2012	365	10	6	6	1	0	7	0	395
2013	379	11	9	8	11	0	1	0	419
2014	369	14	7	9	9	0	7	0	415
2015	366	12	4	8	6	0	8	0	404
2016	362	14	3	11	0	0	8	0	398
2017	383	16	9	10	1	0	15	0	434
2018	360	16	4	13	1	0	11	0	405
2019	325	19	4	17	1	1	13	0	380
2020	306	17	6	17	0	1	21	0	368
2021	316	26	5	18	0	0	30	0	395
2022	335	23	5	11	0	0	29	0	403
2023	318	27	5	24	1	0	24	0	399
2024	320	22	5	20	0	0	28	0	395

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Charleston Middle School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1989	472	27.0	17.4	n/a
1990	520	29.0	17.9	n/a
1991	481	29.4	16.3	n/a
1992	494	29.7	16.6	n/a
1993	548	29.9	18.3	n/a
1994	540	29.9	18.1	n/a
1995	494	29.0	17.0	n/a
1996	494	29.0	17.0	n/a
1997	519	29.0	17.9	n/a
1998	543	32.0	17.0	n/a
1999	541	33.0	16.4	n/a
2000	497	33.0	15.1	n/a
2001	471	33.0	14.3	n/a
2002	470	32.0	14.7	26
2003	470	32.0	14.7	26
2004	455	30.0	15.2	29.9
2005	452	30.0	15.1	32.4
2006	429	31.0	13.8	30.1
2007	433	25.0	17.3	27.1
2008	411	24.0	17.1	30.8
2009	418	33.0	12.7	34.5
2010	432	33.0	13.0	37.3
2011	385	28.0	13.7	45.2
2012	395	27.0	14.6	39.7
2013	419	39.7	10.5	42.2
2014	415	27.0	15.3	40
2015	404	27.0	14.9	44.8
2016	398	27.0	14.7	41.2
2017	434	25.0	17.3	40.6
2018	405	25.5	15.8	41.5
2019	380	25.7	14.7	48.7
2020	368	26.5	13.8	46.5
2021	395	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	403	27.4	14.7	51.1
2023	399	28.5	14.0	50.9
2024	395	28.5	13.8	54.7

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Charleston Middle School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1989	472	27.0	17.4	n/a
1990	520	29.0	17.9	n/a
1991	481	29.4	16.3	n/a
1992	494	29.7	16.6	n/a
1993	548	29.9	18.3	n/a
1994	540	29.9	18.1	n/a
1995	494	29.0	17.0	n/a
1996	494	29.0	17.0	n/a
1997	519	29.0	17.9	n/a
1998	543	32.0	17.0	n/a
1999	541	33.0	16.4	n/a
2000	497	33.0	15.1	n/a
2001	471	33.0	14.3	n/a
2002	470	32.0	14.7	26
2003	470	32.0	14.7	26
2004	455	30.0	15.2	29.9
2005	452	30.0	15.1	32.4
2006	429	31.0	13.8	30.1
2007	433	25.0	17.3	27.1
2008	411	24.0	17.1	30.8
2009	418	33.0	12.7	34.5
2010	432	33.0	13.0	37.3
2011	385	28.0	13.7	45.2
2012	395	27.0	14.6	39.7
2013	419	39.7	10.5	42.2
2014	415	27.0	15.3	40
2015	404	27.0	14.9	44.8
2016	398	27.0	14.7	41.2
2017	434	25.0	17.3	40.6
2018	405	25.5	15.8	41.5
2019	380	25.7	14.7	48.7
2020	368	26.5	13.8	46.5
2021	395	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	403	27.4	14.7	51.1
2023	399	28.5	14.0	50.9
2024	395	28.5	13.8	54.7

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.

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