Is Prairie-Hills Junior High School a good school?

Prairie-Hills Junior High School ranks in the bottom 18.8% of Illinois middle schools.

How many students attend Prairie-Hills Junior High School?

In the 2023-24 school year, 820 students attended Prairie-Hills Junior High School.

What is the racial makeup of Prairie-Hills Junior High School?

Students at Prairie-Hills Junior High School are 80% African American, 16% Hispanic, 2% White.

Prairie-Hills Junior High School

Summary:

Prairie-Hills Junior High School is a public middle school located in Markham, Illinois, serving 825 students in grades 6-8. The school is part of the Prairie-Hills Education Service District 144, which is ranked 766 out of 813 districts in Illinois and has a 0-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Prairie-Hills Junior High School has consistently ranked in the bottom 20% of Illinois middle schools over the past 10 years, with a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger, indicating it is among the lowest-performing schools in the state. The school's performance is particularly low for certain student subgroups, such as English Language Learners, Special Education students, and Low Socioeconomic Status students, who rank in the bottom 30-40% of Illinois middle schools. In contrast, the school's African American and Hispanic student subgroups perform slightly better, ranking in the bottom 40-50% of Illinois middle schools. The school's proficiency rates in English Language Arts (23.6%), Mathematics (5.9%), and Science (32.8%) are significantly below the state averages, and it has struggled with high chronic absenteeism rates ranging from 16.9% to 96.2% over the past 5 years.

Nearby schools, such as Arbor Park Middle School, Southwood Middle School, and Brooks Middle School, also perform below the state averages in academic achievement, but generally outperform Prairie-Hills Junior High School in both ELA and Mathematics proficiency rates. These nearby schools also have lower chronic absenteeism rates and higher per-student spending, suggesting that Prairie-Hills Junior High School may face unique challenges that contribute to its low performance, such as serving a community with significant socioeconomic challenges and having a fluctuating student-teacher ratio.

Detail:

Public 6-8

16315 Richmond
Markham, IL 60428

(708) 210-2860

District: Prairie-Hills Education Service District 144

SchoolDigger Rank:
1107^th of 1,363 Illinois Middle Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $19,005

Feeder schools for Prairie-Hills Junior High School:

Elementary:	Chateaux School
	Fieldcrest Elementary School
	Highlands Elementary School
	Mae Jemison School
	More...
	Markham Park Elementary School
	Nob Hill Elementary School

Student/teacher ratio: 15.7

Number of students: 820

Racial breakdown:

African American:

80.0%

Hispanic:

16.5%

White:

2.0%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 95.4%

See top rated Illinois middle schools

Compare Prairie-Hills Junior High School to nearby middle schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Prairie-Hills Junior High School ranks worse than 81.2% of middle schools in Illinois. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 19.41. (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 (80%), Hispanic (16.5%), White (2%). (See more...)

Compare Details 95.4% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Prairie-Hills Junior High School is 15.7. (See more...)

Compare Prairie-Hills Junior High School employs 52.2 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Prairie-Hills Junior High School is $19,005.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Prairie-Hills Junior High School:

SchoolDigger ranks Prairie-Hills Junior High School 1107^th of 1363 Illinois public middle schools. (See Prairie-Hills Junior High School in the ranking list.)

Middle School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

English Language Learner students:

Special Education students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Disabled students:

Male students:

African American students:

Hispanic students:

Prairie-Hills Education Service District 144:

SchoolDigger ranks Prairie-Hills Education Service District 144 766^th of 813 Illinois school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Prairie-Hills Junior High School

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Rank History for all students at Prairie-Hills Junior High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2003	19.39	950^th	1185	19.8%
2004	24.15	934^th	1204	22.4%
2005	18.97	985^th	1209	18.5%
2006	20.15	1056^th	1272	17.0%
2007	25.78	1026^th	1287	20.3%
2008	23.26	1056^th	1293	18.3%
2009	20.90	1091^st	1318	17.2%
2010	17.31	1149^th	1327	13.4%
2011	12.54	1227^th	1344	8.7%
2012	21.27	1155^th	1365	15.4%
2013	13.51	1227^th	1367	10.2%
2014	5.24	1286^th	1322	2.7%
2015	25.42	975^th	1302	25.1%
2016	16.27	1159^th	1294	10.4%
2017	17.49	1098^th	1293	15.1%
2018	17.82	1089^th	1293	15.8%
2019	19.86	1112^th	1356	18.0%
2021	19.54	1035^th	1241	16.6%
2022	17.68	1167^th	1369	14.8%
2023	16.23	1198^th	1367	12.4%
2024	19.41	1107^th	1363	18.8%

See the entire list of Illinois Middle School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Prairie-Hills Junior High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2021	50.90	79^th	277	71.5%
2022	26.99	430^th	454	5.3%
2023	38.77	273^rd	480	43.1%
2024	33.88	336^th	486	30.9%

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

Rank History for Special Education students at Prairie-Hills Junior High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	24.79	496^th	602	17.6%
2019	24.69	700^th	792	11.6%
2021	28.40	442^nd	548	19.3%
2022	29.79	602^nd	781	22.9%
2023	22.68	707^th	805	12.2%
2024	21.63	702^nd	802	12.5%

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

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Prairie-Hills Junior High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	26.40	919^th	1161	20.8%
2019	29.94	905^th	1217	25.6%
2021	29.81	740^th	1019	27.4%
2022	26.23	958^th	1221	21.5%
2023	23.31	1024^th	1234	17.0%
2024	27.86	905^th	1219	25.8%

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

Rank History for Female students at Prairie-Hills Junior High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	18.11	1029^th	1226	16.1%
2019	23.76	987^th	1276	22.6%
2021	18.49	871^st	1017	14.4%
2022	17.35	1107^th	1286	13.9%
2023	15.61	1128^th	1275	11.5%
2024	18.81	1037^th	1251	17.1%

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

Rank History for Disabled students at Prairie-Hills Junior High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	24.12	581^st	674	13.8%
2024	28.89	483^rd	639	24.4%

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

Rank History for Male students at Prairie-Hills Junior High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	17.81	1048^th	1223	14.3%
2019	17.37	1113^th	1296	14.1%
2021	18.64	905^th	1048	13.6%
2022	19.27	1065^th	1286	17.2%
2023	17.76	1114^th	1292	13.8%
2024	20.92	1006^th	1264	20.4%

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

Rank History for African American students at Prairie-Hills Junior High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	40.44	285^th	511	44.2%
2019	45.58	263^rd	565	53.5%
2021	37.50	223^rd	385	42.1%
2022	33.71	381^st	573	33.5%
2023	30.49	413^th	569	27.4%
2024	33.89	368^th	548	32.8%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at Prairie-Hills Junior High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	42.41	324^th	590	45.1%
2019	32.82	447^th	639	30.0%
2021	40.55	288^th	517	44.3%
2022	29.57	485^th	662	26.7%
2023	36.57	406^th	661	38.6%
2024	36.31	392^nd	643	39.0%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Middle Schools for Hispanic 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 Prairie-Hills Junior High School

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1988	259	452	9	8	n/a	n/a	n/a	0	728
1989	221	472	7	12	3	n/a	n/a	0	715
1990	194	505	13	15	n/a	n/a	n/a	0	727
1991	161	567	9	15	0	n/a	n/a	0	752
1992	110	607	4	17	2	n/a	n/a	0	740
1993	106	623	7	11	0	n/a	n/a	0	747
1994	72	666	3	9	0	n/a	n/a	0	750
1995	23	524	3	6	0	n/a	n/a	0	556
1996	23	524	3	6	0	n/a	n/a	0	556
1997	28	525	2	9	0	n/a	n/a	0	564
1998	30	572	4	11	0	n/a	n/a	0	617
1999	28	601	2	13	0	n/a	n/a	0	644
2000	26	536	4	12	0	n/a	n/a	0	578
2001	33	525	3	15	0	n/a	n/a	0	576
2002	28	624	4	9	0	n/a	n/a	0	665
2003	28	624	4	9	0	n/a	n/a	0	665
2004	14	638	3	18	1	n/a	n/a	0	674
2005	27	573	2	23	4	n/a	n/a	0	629
2006	22	602	5	27	0	n/a	n/a	0	656
2007	14	639	3	39	0	n/a	n/a	0	695
2008	11	669	3	45	0	n/a	n/a	3	731
2009	15	667	1	48	0	n/a	n/a	2	733
2010	14	601	2	47	0	n/a	n/a	0	664
2011	15	543	2	45	0	0	2	0	607
2012	18	531	1	41	0	0	1	0	592
2013	27	805	3	83	0	0	1	0	919
2014	28	858	2	91	0	0	0	0	979
2015	17	775	0	100	0	0	0	0	892
2016	15	736	1	99	0	1	3	0	855
2017	11	767	4	100	1	1	0	0	884
2018	12	804	3	80	3	1	3	0	906
2019	12	822	4	95	3	0	2	0	938
2020	16	808	8	108	4	0	3	0	947
2021	16	799	10	126	5	0	1	0	957
2022	20	728	8	126	4	1	2	0	889
2023	13	673	7	128	1	2	0	1	825
2024	16	656	5	135	1	1	5	1	820

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 Prairie-Hills Junior High School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	728	36.0	20.2	n/a
1989	715	38.0	18.8	n/a
1990	727	35.0	20.7	n/a
1991	752	37.0	20.3	n/a
1992	740	34.5	21.4	n/a
1993	747	31.5	23.7	n/a
1994	750	33.5	22.4	n/a
1995	556	29.0	19.2	n/a
1996	556	29.0	19.2	n/a
1997	564	32.0	17.6	n/a
1998	617	30.0	20.6	n/a
1999	644	35.2	18.3	n/a
2000	578	38.0	15.2	n/a
2001	576	30.0	19.2	n/a
2002	665	29.0	22.9	87.7
2003	665	29.0	22.9	87.7
2004	674	34.0	19.8	80.1
2005	629	32.9	19.1	83.3
2006	656	27.2	24.1	81.6
2007	695	25.0	27.8	87.2
2008	731	19.0	38.5	79.9
2009	733	32.6	22.5	64
2010	664	37.0	17.9	93.8
2011	607	40.0	15.1	88.8
2012	592	40.8	14.4	91.4
2013	919	57.8	15.8	89.3
2014	979	23.0	42.5	90
2015	892	62.0	14.3	93.7
2016	855	64.0	13.3	96.1
2017	884	62.3	14.1	94.6
2018	906	62.8	14.4	94.7
2019	938	n/a	n/a	96.4
2020	947	45.1	20.9	95.6
2021	957	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	889	16.5	53.8	90.6
2023	825	34.5	23.9	93
2024	820	52.2	15.7	95.4

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 Prairie-Hills Junior High School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	728	36.0	20.2	n/a
1989	715	38.0	18.8	n/a
1990	727	35.0	20.7	n/a
1991	752	37.0	20.3	n/a
1992	740	34.5	21.4	n/a
1993	747	31.5	23.7	n/a
1994	750	33.5	22.4	n/a
1995	556	29.0	19.2	n/a
1996	556	29.0	19.2	n/a
1997	564	32.0	17.6	n/a
1998	617	30.0	20.6	n/a
1999	644	35.2	18.3	n/a
2000	578	38.0	15.2	n/a
2001	576	30.0	19.2	n/a
2002	665	29.0	22.9	87.7
2003	665	29.0	22.9	87.7
2004	674	34.0	19.8	80.1
2005	629	32.9	19.1	83.3
2006	656	27.2	24.1	81.6
2007	695	25.0	27.8	87.2
2008	731	19.0	38.5	79.9
2009	733	32.6	22.5	64
2010	664	37.0	17.9	93.8
2011	607	40.0	15.1	88.8
2012	592	40.8	14.4	91.4
2013	919	57.8	15.8	89.3
2014	979	23.0	42.5	90
2015	892	62.0	14.3	93.7
2016	855	64.0	13.3	96.1
2017	884	62.3	14.1	94.6
2018	906	62.8	14.4	94.7
2019	938	n/a	n/a	96.4
2020	947	45.1	20.9	95.6
2021	957	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	889	16.5	53.8	90.6
2023	825	34.5	23.9	93
2024	820	52.2	15.7	95.4

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.

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