Is MacArthur High School a good school?

MacArthur High School ranks in the bottom 23.7% of Illinois high schools.

How many students attend MacArthur High School?

In the 2023-24 school year, 1,042 students attended MacArthur High School.

What is the racial makeup of MacArthur High School?

Students at MacArthur High School are 51% African American, 28% White, 14% Two or more races, 6% Hispanic.

What schools feed into MacArthur High School?

MacArthur High School is fed by the following schools: Elementary : Dennis Lab School Elementary : Franklin Grove Elementary School Elementary : Hope Academy Elementary : Michael E Baum Elementary School Elementary : Muffley Elementary School Elementary : Parsons Elementary School Elementary : South Shores Elementary School Middle : Stephen Decatur Middle School

MacArthur High School

Summary:

MacArthur High School is a public high school in Decatur, Illinois, serving 1,105 students in grades 9-12. The school is part of the Decatur School District 61, which is ranked 806 out of 813 districts in Illinois and has a 0-star rating from SchoolDigger. MacArthur High School has consistently been ranked in the bottom half of Illinois high schools, with a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

MacArthur High School faces significant challenges in terms of academic performance, graduation rates, and chronic absenteeism, which are well below state averages. Only 5% of 11th-grade students were proficient or better in SAT Mathematics, compared to the state average of 26.1%, and 12.6% were proficient or better in SAT English Language Arts, compared to the state average of 31.1%. The school's four-year graduation rate has ranged from 72.6% to 80.5%, lower than the state average, and its dropout rate has been higher, ranging from 2% to 5.9% in recent years. Additionally, MacArthur High School has experienced high rates of chronic absenteeism, ranging from 25.9% to 73.8% over the past five years, significantly higher than the state average.

When comparing MacArthur High School to nearby schools, such as Eisenhower High School (also in the Decatur School District 61), Cerro Gordo Junior and Senior High School, and Argenta-Oreana High School, MacArthur consistently performs worse academically and has lower graduation rates and higher dropout rates. While the school's spending per student has increased from $11,453 in the 2019-2020 school year to $14,476 in the 2022-2023 school year, this increased spending has not translated into significant improvements in student outcomes.

Detail:

Public 9-12

300 E Eldorado St
Decatur, IL 62523-1037

(217) 362-3152

District: Decatur School District 61

SchoolDigger Rank:
532^nd of 697 Illinois High Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $14,990

Feeder schools for MacArthur High School:

Elementary:	Dennis Lab School
	Franklin Grove Elementary School
	Hope Academy
	Michael E Baum Elementary School
	More...
	Muffley Elementary School
	Parsons Elementary School
	South Shores Elementary School
Middle:	Stephen Decatur Middle School

Student/teacher ratio: 19.6

Number of students: 1,042

Racial breakdown:

African American:

51.2%

White:

28.0%

Two or more races:

13.9%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 55.5%

See top rated Illinois high schools

Compare MacArthur High School to nearby high schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details MacArthur High School ranks worse than 76.3% of high schools in Illinois. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 21.61. (See more...)

The four-year cohort graduation rate measures the percentage of students at MacArthur High School who earn a standard high school diploma within four years of starting ninth grade.

The high school dropout rate measures the percentage of students who do not complete their high school education.

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 Student population at MacArthur High School is diverse. Racial makeup is: African American (51.2%), White (28%), two or more races (13.9%). (See more...)

Compare Details 55.5% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at MacArthur High School is 19.6. (See more...)

Compare MacArthur High School employs 53 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at MacArthur High School is $14,990.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

MacArthur High School:

SchoolDigger ranks MacArthur High School 532^nd of 697 Illinois public high schools. (See MacArthur High School in the ranking list.)

High School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Multi-racial students:

Special Education students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Disabled students:

Male students:

African American students:

Hispanic students:

White students:

Decatur School District 61:

SchoolDigger ranks Decatur School District 61 806^th of 813 Illinois school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for MacArthur High School

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Rank History for all students at MacArthur High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2003	42.63	402^nd	586	31.4%
2004	38.87	427^th	592	27.9%
2005	33.24	465^th	590	21.2%
2006	24.73	484^th	596	18.8%
2007	36.17	442^nd	612	27.8%
2008	26.74	500^th	624	19.9%
2009	39.71	435^th	632	31.2%
2010	47.82	402^nd	643	37.5%
2011	37.46	458^th	655	30.1%
2012	24.78	530^th	665	20.3%
2013	15.51	557^th	670	16.9%
2014	22.42	536^th	670	20.0%
2015	16.82	535^th	614	12.9%
2016	13.85	586^th	643	8.9%
2017	19.24	532^nd	642	17.1%
2018	20.46	529^th	647	18.2%
2019	23.36	544^th	701	22.4%
2021	21.54	541^st	688	21.4%
2022	26.84	517^th	699	26.0%
2023	21.48	557^th	699	20.3%
2024	21.61	532^nd	697	23.7%

See the entire list of Illinois High School Rankings!

Rank History for Multi-racial students at MacArthur High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2019	16.50	143^rd	165	13.3%
2021	7.04	155^th	160	3.1%
2022	18.84	136^th	170	20.0%
2023	18.38	136^th	163	16.6%
2024	11.47	168^th	182	7.7%

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

Rank History for Special Education students at MacArthur High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	27.23	248^th	374	33.7%
2019	29.55	306^th	473	35.3%
2021	29.28	270^th	453	40.4%
2022	54.05	128^th	493	74.0%
2023	42.18	210^th	476	55.9%
2024	35.21	256^th	482	46.9%

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

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at MacArthur High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	20.54	503^rd	585	14.0%
2019	20.78	529^th	639	17.2%
2021	25.12	479^th	611	21.6%
2022	22.75	509^th	626	18.7%
2023	22.21	524^th	644	18.6%
2024	22.51	512^th	639	19.9%

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

Rank History for Female students at MacArthur High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	21.40	503^rd	620	18.9%
2019	23.71	509^th	665	23.5%
2021	20.00	507^th	639	20.7%
2022	34.23	436^th	658	33.7%
2023	20.25	530^th	656	19.2%
2024	22.11	499^th	664	24.8%

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

Rank History for Disabled students at MacArthur High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	31.76	263^rd	428	38.6%
2024	44.73	165^th	429	61.5%

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

Rank History for Male students at MacArthur High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	19.41	512^th	619	17.3%
2019	22.87	527^th	675	21.9%
2021	22.50	505^th	653	22.7%
2022	18.96	548^th	664	17.5%
2023	22.94	527^th	668	21.1%
2024	21.78	520^th	668	22.2%

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

Rank History for African American students at MacArthur High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	31.66	167^th	253	34.0%
2019	28.02	213^th	299	28.8%
2021	30.01	194^th	281	31.0%
2022	31.01	191^st	294	35.0%
2023	32.05	190^th	301	36.9%
2024	26.68	230^th	299	23.1%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at MacArthur High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2019	39.73	167^th	317	47.3%
2021	65.08	78^th	317	75.4%
2022	68.58	73^rd	335	78.2%
2023	13.45	312^th	333	6.3%
2024	28.89	239^th	336	28.9%

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

Rank History for White students at MacArthur High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	21.39	461^st	548	15.9%
2019	25.72	426^th	552	22.8%
2021	24.08	430^th	553	22.2%
2022	41.53	322^nd	560	42.5%
2023	19.53	496^th	557	11.0%
2024	30.91	371^st	554	33.0%

See the entire list of Best Illinois High 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 MacArthur High School

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1988	904	472	6	5	4	n/a	n/a	0	1391
1989	872	474	8	7	2	n/a	n/a	0	1363
1990	855	434	6	8	2	n/a	n/a	0	1305
1991	837	424	8	7	0	n/a	n/a	0	1276
1992	860	436	11	8	0	n/a	n/a	0	1315
1993	821	440	2	3	0	n/a	n/a	0	1266
1994	789	419	1	4	2	n/a	n/a	0	1215
1995	779	413	2	2	2	n/a	n/a	0	1198
1996	779	413	2	2	2	n/a	n/a	0	1198
1997	760	430	2	5	3	n/a	n/a	0	1200
1998	734	399	3	9	1	n/a	n/a	0	1146
1999	702	404	4	9	2	n/a	n/a	0	1121
2000	665	389	6	8	1	n/a	n/a	0	1069
2001	873	430	10	13	4	n/a	n/a	0	1330
2002	765	480	14	15	2	n/a	n/a	0	1276
2003	765	480	14	15	2	n/a	n/a	0	1276
2004	756	538	17	24	1	n/a	n/a	0	1336
2005	709	548	13	24	0	n/a	n/a	18	1312
2006	667	597	15	25	1	n/a	n/a	22	1327
2007	638	588	12	20	2	n/a	n/a	32	1292
2008	646	546	9	17	3	n/a	n/a	40	1261
2009	542	518	15	19	2	n/a	n/a	51	1147
2010	568	551	15	20	2	n/a	n/a	65	1221
2011	530	541	14	25	3	1	83	0	1197
2012	505	547	9	30	4	0	84	0	1179
2013	485	542	14	31	1	0	93	0	1166
2014	432	499	9	33	2	1	109	0	1085
2015	401	511	15	41	3	1	101	0	1073
2016	409	518	12	34	3	1	108	0	1085
2017	415	535	12	46	2	1	102	0	1113
2018	404	524	12	50	3	1	99	0	1093
2019	416	520	8	62	3	1	109	0	1119
2020	407	595	15	60	3	3	8	0	1091
2021	402	547	8	68	2	0	149	0	1176
2022	381	573	6	65	0	1	158	0	1184
2023	327	569	4	62	1	0	142	0	1105
2024	292	533	4	64	3	1	145	0	1042

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 MacArthur High School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	1391	60.9	22.8	n/a
1989	1363	56.3	24.2	n/a
1990	1305	55.8	23.3	n/a
1991	1276	54.8	23.2	n/a
1992	1315	54.4	24.1	n/a
1993	1266	51.4	24.6	n/a
1994	1215	53.0	22.9	n/a
1995	1198	52.0	23.0	n/a
1996	1198	52.0	23.0	n/a
1997	1200	52.8	22.7	n/a
1998	1146	51.4	22.3	n/a
1999	1121	49.2	22.8	n/a
2000	1069	48.8	21.9	n/a
2001	1330	67.7	19.6	n/a
2002	1276	47.1	27.1	39.4
2003	1276	47.1	27.1	39.4
2004	1336	54.7	24.4	38
2005	1312	53.5	24.5	43.5
2006	1327	52.4	25.3	46.5
2007	1292	60.0	21.5	n/a
2008	1261	49.0	25.7	64.1
2009	1147	60.4	19.0	n/a
2010	1221	56.7	21.5	n/a
2011	1197	54.7	21.8	62.8
2012	1179	49.9	23.6	49.4
2013	1166	105.8	11.0	64.8
2014	1085	48.0	22.5	67.8
2015	1073	61.0	17.5	69.1
2016	1085	53.0	20.4	71.4
2017	1113	58.8	18.9	48.8
2018	1093	65.0	16.8	54.9
2019	1119	49.8	22.4	59
2020	1091	56.0	19.4	66.3
2021	1176	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	1184	66.0	17.9	64.4
2023	1105	56.0	19.7	67
2024	1042	53.0	19.6	55.5

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 MacArthur High School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	1391	60.9	22.8	n/a
1989	1363	56.3	24.2	n/a
1990	1305	55.8	23.3	n/a
1991	1276	54.8	23.2	n/a
1992	1315	54.4	24.1	n/a
1993	1266	51.4	24.6	n/a
1994	1215	53.0	22.9	n/a
1995	1198	52.0	23.0	n/a
1996	1198	52.0	23.0	n/a
1997	1200	52.8	22.7	n/a
1998	1146	51.4	22.3	n/a
1999	1121	49.2	22.8	n/a
2000	1069	48.8	21.9	n/a
2001	1330	67.7	19.6	n/a
2002	1276	47.1	27.1	39.4
2003	1276	47.1	27.1	39.4
2004	1336	54.7	24.4	38
2005	1312	53.5	24.5	43.5
2006	1327	52.4	25.3	46.5
2007	1292	60.0	21.5	n/a
2008	1261	49.0	25.7	64.1
2009	1147	60.4	19.0	n/a
2010	1221	56.7	21.5	n/a
2011	1197	54.7	21.8	62.8
2012	1179	49.9	23.6	49.4
2013	1166	105.8	11.0	64.8
2014	1085	48.0	22.5	67.8
2015	1073	61.0	17.5	69.1
2016	1085	53.0	20.4	71.4
2017	1113	58.8	18.9	48.8
2018	1093	65.0	16.8	54.9
2019	1119	49.8	22.4	59
2020	1091	56.0	19.4	66.3
2021	1176	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	1184	66.0	17.9	64.4
2023	1105	56.0	19.7	67
2024	1042	53.0	19.6	55.5

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.

Immunization Rates