Is DeKalb High School a good school?

DeKalb High School ranks 391 st of 697 Illinois high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

How many students attend DeKalb High School?

In the 2023-24 school year, 2,070 students attended DeKalb High School.

What is the racial makeup of DeKalb High School?

Students at DeKalb High School are 36% White, 33% Hispanic, 24% African American, 5% Two or more races, 1% Asian.

What schools feed into DeKalb High School?

DeKalb High School is fed by the following schools: Elementary : Cortland Elementary School Elementary : Founders Elementary School Elementary : Gwendolyn Brooks Elementary School Elementary : Jefferson Elementary School Elementary : Lincoln Elementary School Elementary : Littlejohn Elementary School Elementary : Malta Elementary School Elementary : Tyler Elementary School Middle : Clinton Rosette Middle School Middle : Huntley Middle School

DeKalb High School

Summary:

DeKalb High School is a public high school located in DeKalb, Illinois, serving grades 9-12 with a total enrollment of 2,083 students. The school is part of the DeKalb CUSD 428 district, which is ranked 747 out of 813 districts in Illinois and has a 0-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Over the past 10 years, DeKalb High School's statewide ranking has fluctuated, ranging from a high of 224 out of 701 Illinois high schools in 2018-2019 to a low of 491 out of 614 in 2014-2015. The school's current ranking for the 2023-2024 school year is 391 out of 697 Illinois high schools, with a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger. DeKalb High School's four-year graduation rate has ranged from a high of 83.9% in 2019-2020 to a low of 73.5% in 2021-2022, which is lower than the state average. The school's dropout rate has fluctuated, ranging from a low of 3.4% in 2020-2021 to a high of 6.2% in 2022-2023, and its current dropout rate for 2023-2024 is 5.1%, which is higher than the state average. Additionally, DeKalb High School has experienced a significant increase in chronic absenteeism, rising from 27.5% in 2019-2020 to 46.0% in 2021-2022, and its current chronic absenteeism rate for 2023-2024 is 35.1%, which is substantially higher than the state average.

When comparing DeKalb High School to nearby schools, such as Indian Creek High School, Central High School, and Kaneland Senior High School, it becomes evident that DeKalb High School is underperforming in several key areas, including graduation rates, academic performance, and chronic absenteeism. The school's performance also varies significantly across different student subgroups, suggesting the need for targeted interventions and support. However, one area of strength for DeKalb High School is its performance in supporting English Language Learner (ELL) students, with the school's ranking for ELL students improving from 134 out of 248 Illinois high schools in 2023-2024 to 21 out of 205 in 2021-2022, with a 5-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Detail:

Public 9-12

501 W Dresser Rd
Dekalb, IL 60115-8227

(815) 754-2100

District: DeKalb CUSD 428

SchoolDigger Rank:
391^st of 697 Illinois High Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $18,089

Feeder schools for DeKalb High School:

Elementary:	Cortland Elementary School
	Founders Elementary School
	Gwendolyn Brooks Elementary School
	Jefferson Elementary School
	More...
	Lincoln Elementary School
	Littlejohn Elementary School
	Malta Elementary School
	Tyler Elementary School
Middle:	Clinton Rosette Middle School
	Huntley Middle School

Student/teacher ratio: 15.4

Number of students: 2,070

Racial breakdown:

White:

36.4%

Hispanic:

32.7%

African American:

23.7%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 61.4%

See top rated Illinois high schools

Compare DeKalb High School to nearby high schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details DeKalb High School ranks worse than 56.1% of high schools in Illinois. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 39.79. (See more...)

The four-year cohort graduation rate measures the percentage of students at DeKalb 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 DeKalb High School is diverse. Racial makeup is: White (36.4%), Hispanic (32.7%), African American (23.7%). (See more...)

Compare Details 61.4% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at DeKalb High School is 15.4. (See more...)

Compare DeKalb High School employs 134.1 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at DeKalb High School is $18,089.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

DeKalb High School:

SchoolDigger ranks DeKalb High School 391^st of 697 Illinois public high schools. (See DeKalb High School in the ranking list.)

High School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Multi-racial students:

English Language Learner students:

Special Education students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Homeless students:

Female students:

Disabled students:

Male students:

African American students:

Hispanic students:

White students:

DeKalb CUSD 428:

SchoolDigger ranks DeKalb CUSD 428 747^th of 813 Illinois school districts. (See district ranking list.)

Average Rating:

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Rank History for DeKalb High School

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Rank History for all students at DeKalb High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2003	72.42	147^th	586	74.9%
2004	71.22	161^st	592	72.8%
2005	55.23	302^nd	590	48.8%
2006	66.30	200^th	596	66.4%
2007	61.58	249^th	612	59.3%
2008	51.30	356^th	624	42.9%
2009	56.53	304^th	632	51.9%
2010	52.69	357^th	643	44.5%
2011	69.57	219^th	655	66.6%
2012	57.16	324^th	665	51.3%
2013	49.75	377^th	670	43.7%
2014	47.70	391^st	670	41.6%
2015	22.41	491^st	614	20.0%
2016	54.47	242^nd	643	62.4%
2017	54.68	274^th	642	57.3%
2018	40.14	405^th	647	37.4%
2019	61.76	224^th	701	68.0%
2021	53.82	268^th	688	61.0%
2022	49.15	358^th	699	48.8%
2023	35.07	467^th	699	33.2%
2024	39.79	391^st	697	43.9%

See the entire list of Illinois High School Rankings!

Rank History for Multi-racial students at DeKalb High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	16.15	130^th	154	15.6%
2019	12.44	152^nd	165	7.9%
2021	44.74	79^th	160	50.6%
2022	25.38	123^rd	170	27.6%
2023	21.50	127^th	163	22.1%
2024	16.53	153^rd	182	15.9%

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

Rank History for English Language Learner students at DeKalb High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	26.39	126^th	151	16.6%
2019	29.57	141^st	183	23.0%
2021	32.79	86^th	189	54.5%
2022	72.75	21^st	205	89.8%
2023	60.79	50^th	217	77.0%
2024	35.81	134^th	248	46.0%

See the entire list of Best Illinois High Schools for English Language Learner Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at DeKalb High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	39.74	180^th	374	51.9%
2019	36.22	246^th	473	48.0%
2021	40.72	201^st	453	55.6%
2022	41.68	211^th	493	57.2%
2023	34.45	262^nd	476	45.0%
2024	42.32	210^th	482	56.4%

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

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

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	35.83	396^th	585	32.3%
2019	50.57	290^th	639	54.6%
2021	41.48	323^rd	611	47.1%
2022	44.01	338^th	626	46.0%
2023	26.74	494^th	644	23.3%
2024	35.67	392^nd	639	38.7%

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

Rank History for Homeless students at DeKalb High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	38.93	51^st	104	51.0%
2024	51.56	40^th	125	68.0%

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

Rank History for Female students at DeKalb High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	39.90	388^th	620	37.4%
2019	59.90	239^th	665	64.1%
2021	44.48	332^nd	639	48.0%
2022	46.23	354^th	658	46.2%
2023	34.34	431^st	656	34.3%
2024	37.56	398^th	664	40.1%

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

Rank History for Disabled students at DeKalb High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	35.61	233^rd	428	45.6%
2024	33.59	231^st	429	46.2%

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

Rank History for Male students at DeKalb High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	38.62	389^th	619	37.2%
2019	61.14	214^th	675	68.3%
2021	59.92	227^th	653	65.2%
2022	49.99	325^th	664	51.1%
2023	34.45	444^th	668	33.5%
2024	41.10	368^th	668	44.9%

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

Rank History for Asian students at DeKalb High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2022	21.57	117^th	141	17.0%

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

Rank History for African American students at DeKalb High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	40.41	129^th	253	49.0%
2019	49.62	112^th	299	62.5%
2021	32.23	179^th	281	36.3%
2022	39.46	148^th	294	49.7%
2023	34.89	173^rd	301	42.5%
2024	31.55	196^th	299	34.4%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at DeKalb High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	34.37	190^th	291	34.7%
2019	39.37	170^th	317	46.4%
2021	45.07	138^th	317	56.5%
2022	42.98	179^th	335	46.6%
2023	29.31	244^th	333	26.7%
2024	31.05	223^rd	336	33.6%

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

Rank History for White students at DeKalb High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	41.44	298^th	548	45.6%
2019	77.05	106^th	552	80.8%
2021	57.27	199^th	553	64.0%
2022	63.14	171^st	560	69.5%
2023	34.16	361^st	557	35.2%
2024	53.75	210^th	554	62.1%

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

Review counts

All ratings (Avg rating: 1)

100%

Reviews:

by a student
Wednesday, July 4, 2018

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Enrollment information for DeKalb High School

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1988	1085	47	34	27	n/a	n/a	n/a	0	1193
1989	981	44	36	34	3	n/a	n/a	0	1098
1990	929	38	36	36	n/a	n/a	n/a	0	1039
1991	891	53	36	37	0	n/a	n/a	0	1017
1992	935	45	34	49	0	n/a	n/a	0	1063
1993	921	59	33	52	0	n/a	n/a	0	1065
1994	940	70	31	49	0	n/a	n/a	0	1090
1995	953	69	37	70	1	n/a	n/a	0	1130
1996	953	69	37	70	1	n/a	n/a	0	1130
1997	1045	82	33	84	1	n/a	n/a	0	1245
1998	1082	84	29	89	1	n/a	n/a	0	1285
1999	1089	79	28	101	1	n/a	n/a	0	1298
2000	1026	91	18	119	0	n/a	n/a	0	1254
2001	1147	105	33	149	1	n/a	n/a	0	1435
2002	1184	122	36	171	7	n/a	n/a	0	1520
2003	1184	122	36	171	7	n/a	n/a	0	1520
2004	1215	131	42	183	7	n/a	n/a	0	1578
2005	1212	145	45	176	8	n/a	n/a	3	1589
2006	1274	138	35	209	4	n/a	n/a	1	1661
2007	1288	139	30	240	3	n/a	n/a	9	1709
2008	1256	149	26	247	3	n/a	n/a	13	1694
2009	1222	162	26	247	4	n/a	n/a	21	1682
2010	1133	180	34	260	5	n/a	n/a	40	1652
2011	1103	177	38	278	7	0	51	0	1654
2012	1108	191	36	319	9	0	60	0	1723
2013	1054	190	31	325	7	0	62	0	1669
2014	1000	203	27	318	12	1	67	0	1628
2015	995	214	26	332	11	1	62	0	1641
2016	996	244	27	394	17	3	67	0	1748
2017	982	268	25	438	13	1	64	0	1791
2018	972	281	26	484	8	2	67	0	1840
2019	888	282	30	525	0	0	64	0	1789
2020	857	328	35	543	1	0	76	0	1840
2021	858	393	36	557	3	1	83	0	1931
2022	845	485	29	617	7	2	88	0	2073
2023	800	482	29	663	9	2	95	3	2083
2024	754	490	30	676	9	3	104	4	2070

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 DeKalb High School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	1193	63.0	18.9	n/a
1989	1098	62.8	17.4	n/a
1990	1039	61.2	16.9	n/a
1991	1017	62.6	16.2	n/a
1992	1063	63.8	16.6	n/a
1993	1065	63.8	16.7	n/a
1994	1090	64.4	16.9	n/a
1995	1130	66.1	17.1	n/a
1996	1130	66.1	17.1	n/a
1997	1245	72.9	17.1	n/a
1998	1285	75.0	17.1	n/a
1999	1298	76.6	16.9	n/a
2000	1254	78.6	16.0	n/a
2001	1435	86.2	16.6	n/a
2002	1520	92.8	16.4	22
2003	1520	92.8	16.4	22
2004	1578	94.4	16.7	21.5
2005	1589	93.0	17.1	21.5
2006	1661	92.0	18.1	24.1
2007	1709	87.0	19.6	23.9
2008	1694	83.0	20.4	26.9
2009	1682	93.0	18.1	27.2
2010	1652	94.0	17.5	36.7
2011	1654	93.0	17.7	41.2
2012	1723	91.4	18.8	42.9
2013	1669	149.9	11.1	43.9
2014	1628	92.4	17.6	44.1
2015	1641	93.0	17.6	48.7
2016	1748	82.0	21.3	48.2
2017	1791	103.9	17.2	50.4
2018	1840	108.3	16.9	49
2019	1789	111.5	16.0	51.4
2020	1840	115.2	15.9	51.3
2021	1931	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	2073	121.8	17.0	54.9
2023	2083	123.7	16.8	56.5
2024	2070	134.1	15.4	61.4

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 DeKalb High School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	1193	63.0	18.9	n/a
1989	1098	62.8	17.4	n/a
1990	1039	61.2	16.9	n/a
1991	1017	62.6	16.2	n/a
1992	1063	63.8	16.6	n/a
1993	1065	63.8	16.7	n/a
1994	1090	64.4	16.9	n/a
1995	1130	66.1	17.1	n/a
1996	1130	66.1	17.1	n/a
1997	1245	72.9	17.1	n/a
1998	1285	75.0	17.1	n/a
1999	1298	76.6	16.9	n/a
2000	1254	78.6	16.0	n/a
2001	1435	86.2	16.6	n/a
2002	1520	92.8	16.4	22
2003	1520	92.8	16.4	22
2004	1578	94.4	16.7	21.5
2005	1589	93.0	17.1	21.5
2006	1661	92.0	18.1	24.1
2007	1709	87.0	19.6	23.9
2008	1694	83.0	20.4	26.9
2009	1682	93.0	18.1	27.2
2010	1652	94.0	17.5	36.7
2011	1654	93.0	17.7	41.2
2012	1723	91.4	18.8	42.9
2013	1669	149.9	11.1	43.9
2014	1628	92.4	17.6	44.1
2015	1641	93.0	17.6	48.7
2016	1748	82.0	21.3	48.2
2017	1791	103.9	17.2	50.4
2018	1840	108.3	16.9	49
2019	1789	111.5	16.0	51.4
2020	1840	115.2	15.9	51.3
2021	1931	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	2073	121.8	17.0	54.9
2023	2083	123.7	16.8	56.5
2024	2070	134.1	15.4	61.4

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