Is School of Fine Arts a good school?

School of Fine Arts ranks in the bottom 3.4% of Illinois middle schools.

How many students attend School of Fine Arts?

In the 2023-24 school year, 182 students attended School of Fine Arts.

What is the racial makeup of School of Fine Arts?

Students at School of Fine Arts are 94% African American, 4% Hispanic, 1% White, 1% Two or more races.

What high school do graduates of School of Fine Arts attend?

Students who attend School of Fine Arts usually go on to attend Thornridge High School

School of Fine Arts

Summary:

The School of Fine Arts is a public middle school located in Calumet City, Illinois, serving grades 7-8 with a total enrollment of 175 students. The school is part of the Dolton School District 149, which is ranked 793 out of 813 districts in Illinois and has a 0-star rating from SchoolDigger.

The School of Fine Arts has consistently ranked in the bottom 10% of Illinois middle schools, with a ranking of 1316 out of 1363 schools in the 2023-2024 school year and a 0-star rating from SchoolDigger. This poor performance is reflected across various student subgroups, including female students, male students, African American students, special education students, and students from low socioeconomic backgrounds. The school has experienced extremely high chronic absenteeism rates, reaching as high as 48.9% in the 2021-2022 school year, which is significantly higher than the state average and the surrounding schools in the Dolton School District 149. Academically, the School of Fine Arts consistently underperforms compared to the state and district averages in standardized test scores, with only 11.6% of students proficient or better in English Language Arts in the 2023-2024 school year, compared to 41.2% statewide and 14.5% in the Dolton School District 149.

Interestingly, the School of Fine Arts performs significantly worse than the other middle schools in the Dolton School District 149, such as Creative Communications Academy and S T E M Academy, which have higher academic performance, lower chronic absenteeism rates, and better overall rankings. Additionally, the School of Fine Arts has relatively high spending per student, with $18,434 spent per student in the 2022-2023 school year, which is higher than the state average, but the school's academic performance remains poor, suggesting that simply increasing funding may not be the sole solution to improving student outcomes.

Detail:

Public 7-8

292 Torrence Ave
Calumet City, IL 60409-1941

(708) 868-7565

District: Dolton School District 149

SchoolDigger Rank:
1316^th of 1,363 Illinois Middle Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $20,613

Students who attend School of Fine Arts usually attend:

High:

Thornridge High School

Feeder schools for School of Fine Arts:

Elementary:	Berger-Vandenberg Elementary School
	Carol Moseley Braun School
	Caroline Sibley Elementary School
	Diekman Elementary School
	More...
	New Beginnings Learning Academy

Student/teacher ratio: 23.7

Number of students: 182

Racial breakdown:

African American:

94.0%

Hispanic:

3.8%

White:

1.1%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 100%

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Performance Trends

Compare Details School of Fine Arts ranks worse than 96.6% of middle schools in Illinois. It also ranks last among 3 ranked middle schools in the Dolton School District 149. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 10.98. (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: African American (94%), Hispanic (3.8%), two or more races (1.1%). (See more...)

Compare Details 100% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at School of Fine Arts is 23.7, which is the lowest among 3 middle schools in the Dolton School District 149! (See more...)

Compare School of Fine Arts employs 7.6 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at School of Fine Arts is $20,613. 1 middle schools in the Dolton School District 149 spend more per student.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

School of Fine Arts:

SchoolDigger ranks School of Fine Arts 1316^th of 1363 Illinois public middle schools. (See School of Fine Arts in the ranking list.)

Middle School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Special Education students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Disabled students:

Male students:

African American students:

Dolton School District 149:

SchoolDigger ranks Dolton School District 149 793^rd of 813 Illinois school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for School of Fine Arts

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Rank History for all students at School of Fine Arts

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2015	11.04	1240^th	1302	4.8%
2016	10.58	1249^th	1294	3.5%
2017	16.81	1114^th	1293	13.8%
2018	16.48	1127^th	1293	12.8%
2019	14.18	1216^th	1356	10.3%
2021	14.43	1141^st	1241	8.1%
2022	13.65	1276^th	1369	6.8%
2023	14.71	1241^st	1367	9.2%
2024	10.98	1316^th	1363	3.4%

See the entire list of Illinois Middle School Rankings!

Rank History for Special Education students at School of Fine Arts

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	24.64	570^th	602	5.3%
2019	24.58	756^th	792	4.5%
2022	35.00	481^st	781	38.4%
2023	27.79	591^st	805	26.6%
2024	19.40	748^th	802	6.7%

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

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at School of Fine Arts

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	25.15	940^th	1161	19.0%
2019	20.65	1046^th	1217	14.1%
2021	22.40	881^st	1019	13.5%
2022	18.88	1111^th	1221	9.0%
2023	21.26	1066^th	1234	13.6%
2024	14.73	1158^th	1219	5.0%

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

Rank History for Female students at School of Fine Arts

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	21.23	990^th	1226	19.2%
2019	17.24	1085^th	1276	15.0%
2021	12.79	958^th	1017	5.8%
2022	16.20	1131^st	1286	12.1%
2023	20.91	1017^th	1275	20.2%
2024	11.15	1202^nd	1251	3.9%

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

Rank History for Disabled students at School of Fine Arts

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	40.39	348^th	674	48.4%
2024	26.61	520^th	639	18.6%

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

Rank History for Male students at School of Fine Arts

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	11.10	1182^nd	1223	3.4%
2019	11.25	1248^th	1296	3.7%
2021	12.82	1009^th	1048	3.7%
2022	11.46	1265^th	1286	1.6%
2023	9.82	1279^th	1292	1.0%
2024	11.16	1227^th	1264	2.9%

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

Rank History for African American students at School of Fine Arts

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	39.82	287^th	511	43.8%
2019	35.97	356^th	565	37.0%
2021	32.74	266^th	385	30.9%
2022	30.28	432^nd	573	24.6%
2023	33.50	372^nd	569	34.6%
2024	23.94	462^nd	548	15.7%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Middle Schools for African American 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 School of Fine Arts

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	Two or More Races	Total
2013	0	231	0	6	0	237
2014	0	224	0	4	0	228
2015	0	214	2	6	0	222
2016	1	194	0	6	1	202
2017	0	197	0	4	3	204
2018	0	197	0	4	2	203
2019	0	184	0	4	0	188
2020	0	198	0	5	1	204
2021	1	201	0	3	3	208
2022	2	171	0	3	2	178
2023	4	163	0	8	0	175
2024	2	171	0	7	2	182

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 School of Fine Arts

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
2013	237	15.4	15.3	98.7
2014	228	10.0	22.8	98.7
2015	222	11.0	20.1	98.2
2016	202	9.0	22.4	100
2017	204	11.3	18.0	98.5
2018	203	11.3	17.8	99.5
2019	188	9.0	20.8	99.5
2020	204	10.6	19.1	98.5
2021	208	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	178	10.0	17.8	99.4
2023	175	8.6	20.1	99.4
2024	182	7.6	23.7	100

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 School of Fine Arts

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
2013	237	15.4	15.3	98.7
2014	228	10.0	22.8	98.7
2015	222	11.0	20.1	98.2
2016	202	9.0	22.4	100
2017	204	11.3	18.0	98.5
2018	203	11.3	17.8	99.5
2019	188	9.0	20.8	99.5
2020	204	10.6	19.1	98.5
2021	208	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	178	10.0	17.8	99.4
2023	175	8.6	20.1	99.4
2024	182	7.6	23.7	100

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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