Is Colin Powell Middle School a good school?

Colin Powell Middle School ranks in the bottom 11.8% of Illinois middle schools.

How many students attend Colin Powell Middle School?

In the 2023-24 school year, 571 students attended Colin Powell Middle School.

What is the racial makeup of Colin Powell Middle School?

Students at Colin Powell Middle School are 85% African American, 10% Hispanic, 4% Two or more races, 1% White.

Colin Powell Middle School

Summary:

Colin Powell Middle School is a public middle school located in Matteson, Illinois, serving grades 6-8 with a total enrollment of 586 students. The school is part of the Education Service District 159, which is ranked 729 out of 813 districts in Illinois and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Colin Powell Middle School consistently ranks in the bottom 25% of Illinois middle schools, with a ranking between 849-1202 out of 1363-1369 schools over the past 8 years. The school's performance on standardized tests is significantly below the state and district averages, with only 19.1% of students proficient or better in English Language Arts and 4.3% proficient or better in Mathematics, compared to state averages of 41.2% and 28.4%, respectively. The school's performance is particularly low for Hispanic and English Language Learner students, ranking in the bottom 25% and bottom 10% of Illinois middle schools in these subgroups. Additionally, the school has experienced a significant increase in chronic absenteeism, rising from 4.9% in 2019-2020 to 32.9% in 2021-2022, which is well above the state average.

While the nearby schools, such as Central Middle School, Walker Intermediate School, and Arbor Park Middle School, generally perform better academically than Colin Powell Middle School, the school's African American students perform relatively better, ranking in the top 25% of Illinois middle schools for this subgroup in recent years. However, the stark disparities in performance for Hispanic and English Language Learner students are concerning and warrant further investigation and targeted interventions.

Detail:

Public 6-8

20600 Matteson Ave
Matteson, IL 60443-2920

(708) 283-9600

District: Education Service District 159

SchoolDigger Rank:
1202^nd of 1,363 Illinois Middle Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $25,413

Student/teacher ratio: 12.9

Number of students: 571

Racial breakdown:

African American:

85.3%

Hispanic:

9.6%

Two or more races:

3.5%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 65.3%

See top rated Illinois middle schools

Compare Colin Powell Middle School to nearby middle schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Colin Powell Middle School ranks worse than 88.2% of middle schools in Illinois. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 16. (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 (85.3%), Hispanic (9.6%), two or more races (3.5%). (See more...)

Compare Details 65.3% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Colin Powell Middle School is 12.9. (See more...)

Compare Colin Powell Middle School employs 44.2 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Colin Powell Middle School is $25,413.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Colin Powell Middle School:

SchoolDigger ranks Colin Powell Middle School 1202^nd of 1363 Illinois public middle schools. (See Colin Powell Middle School 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:

Hispanic students:

Education Service District 159:

SchoolDigger ranks Education Service District 159 729^th of 813 Illinois school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Colin Powell Middle School

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Rank History for all students at Colin Powell Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2007	35.22	938^th	1287	27.1%
2008	39.17	887^th	1293	31.4%
2009	32.24	994^th	1318	24.6%
2010	44.10	869^th	1327	34.5%
2011	47.04	812^th	1344	39.6%
2012	47.50	833^rd	1365	39.0%
2013	25.70	1073^rd	1367	21.5%
2014	29.15	986^th	1322	25.4%
2015	43.63	653^rd	1302	49.8%
2016	25.37	995^th	1294	23.1%
2017	30.21	900^th	1293	30.4%
2018	32.57	850^th	1293	34.3%
2019	29.61	951^st	1356	29.9%
2021	23.00	969^th	1241	21.9%
2022	33.51	849^th	1369	38.0%
2023	30.85	901^st	1367	34.1%
2024	16.00	1202^nd	1363	11.8%

See the entire list of Illinois Middle School Rankings!

Rank History for Multi-racial students at Colin Powell Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	35.55	103^rd	164	37.2%
2019	15.21	152^nd	179	15.1%
2022	30.54	132^nd	195	32.3%

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

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Colin Powell Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	20.85	475^th	480	1.0%

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

Rank History for Special Education students at Colin Powell Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	38.47	319^th	602	47.0%
2019	27.90	643^rd	792	18.8%
2021	46.93	204^th	548	62.8%
2022	37.42	433^rd	781	44.6%
2023	35.95	452^nd	805	43.9%
2024	28.83	573^rd	802	28.6%

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

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Colin Powell Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	42.58	643^rd	1161	44.6%
2019	41.99	687^th	1217	43.5%
2021	37.71	622^nd	1019	39.0%
2022	44.76	602^nd	1221	50.7%
2023	39.08	734^th	1234	40.5%
2024	18.88	1076^th	1219	11.7%

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

Rank History for Female students at Colin Powell Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	37.65	742^nd	1226	39.5%
2019	36.52	807^th	1276	36.8%
2021	28.62	718^th	1017	29.4%
2022	32.16	824^th	1286	35.9%
2023	30.36	854^th	1275	33.0%
2024	16.13	1100^th	1251	12.1%

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

Rank History for Disabled students at Colin Powell Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	38.84	364^th	674	46.0%
2024	40.90	313^th	639	51.0%

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

Rank History for Male students at Colin Powell Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	28.58	858^th	1223	29.8%
2019	23.95	989^th	1296	23.7%
2021	14.93	967^th	1048	7.7%
2022	35.50	772^nd	1286	40.0%
2023	31.38	844^th	1292	34.7%
2024	16.44	1119^th	1264	11.5%

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

Rank History for African American students at Colin Powell Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	66.47	112^th	511	78.1%
2019	61.28	143^rd	565	74.7%
2021	50.03	137^th	385	64.4%
2022	68.97	99^th	573	82.7%
2023	60.03	147^th	569	74.2%
2024	34.35	362^nd	548	33.9%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at Colin Powell Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	50.88	254^th	590	56.9%
2019	47.31	302^nd	639	52.7%
2022	31.43	465^th	662	29.8%
2023	27.07	512^th	661	22.5%
2024	19.94	556^th	643	13.5%

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 Colin Powell Middle School

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
2007	25	744	2	18	0	n/a	n/a	11	800
2008	24	758	2	18	0	n/a	n/a	14	816
2009	25	717	3	21	1	n/a	n/a	18	785
2010	18	731	3	23	1	n/a	n/a	17	793
2011	18	698	3	22	1	0	17	0	759
2012	23	668	2	20	1	0	15	0	729
2013	19	648	5	30	0	0	18	0	720
2014	15	593	5	37	0	0	14	0	664
2015	13	595	3	45	0	0	26	0	682
2016	13	564	2	47	1	0	26	0	653
2017	8	563	3	48	1	0	32	0	655
2018	13	546	3	53	2	0	30	0	647
2019	9	562	4	60	0	0	24	0	659
2020	8	549	3	78	0	0	24	0	662
2021	10	542	2	82	0	0	32	0	668
2022	10	484	2	74	0	0	23	0	593
2023	9	497	0	65	0	0	15	0	586
2024	7	487	2	55	0	0	20	0	571

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 Colin Powell Middle School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
2007	800	40.0	20.0	n/a
2008	816	41.0	19.9	n/a
2009	785	43.0	18.3	48
2010	793	47.0	16.8	59.1
2011	759	47.0	16.1	67.5
2012	729	45.5	16.0	64.9
2013	720	n/a	n/a	70.1
2014	664	47.5	13.9	70.3
2015	682	49.0	13.9	69.8
2016	653	46.0	14.1	76.6
2017	655	50.0	13.1	75.4
2018	647	51.4	12.5	77.3
2019	659	48.0	13.7	70.3
2020	662	51.0	12.9	71.1
2021	668	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	593	44.7	13.2	66.3
2023	586	41.1	14.2	58.5
2024	571	44.2	12.9	65.3

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 Colin Powell Middle School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
2007	800	40.0	20.0	n/a
2008	816	41.0	19.9	n/a
2009	785	43.0	18.3	48
2010	793	47.0	16.8	59.1
2011	759	47.0	16.1	67.5
2012	729	45.5	16.0	64.9
2013	720	n/a	n/a	70.1
2014	664	47.5	13.9	70.3
2015	682	49.0	13.9	69.8
2016	653	46.0	14.1	76.6
2017	655	50.0	13.1	75.4
2018	647	51.4	12.5	77.3
2019	659	48.0	13.7	70.3
2020	662	51.0	12.9	71.1
2021	668	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	593	44.7	13.2	66.3
2023	586	41.1	14.2	58.5
2024	571	44.2	12.9	65.3

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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