Is Jack Benny Middle School a good school?

Jack Benny Middle School ranks in the bottom 8.1% of Illinois middle schools.

How many students attend Jack Benny Middle School?

In the 2023-24 school year, 506 students attended Jack Benny Middle School.

What is the racial makeup of Jack Benny Middle School?

Students at Jack Benny Middle School are 77% Hispanic, 10% African American, 5% Asian, 5% White, 3% Two or more races, 1% American Indian.

What high school do graduates of Jack Benny Middle School attend?

Students who attend Jack Benny Middle School usually go on to attend Waukegan High School

Jack Benny Middle School

Summary:

Jack Benny Middle School is a public middle school in Waukegan, Illinois, serving 529 students in grades 6-8 and part of the Waukegan CUSD 60 district, which is ranked 745 out of 813 districts in the state.

Despite spending $16,061 per student, which is higher than the state average, Jack Benny Middle School consistently underperforms the state and district averages in English Language Arts and Mathematics proficiency on the Illinois Assessment of Readiness exams. The school's ELA proficiency rate was just 13% in 2023-2024, compared to 17% for the district and 41.2% for the state. Similarly, the school's Mathematics proficiency rate was only 5.7%, far below the district's 10.8% and the state's 28.4%. Additionally, Jack Benny Middle School has struggled with high chronic absenteeism, reaching 26.1% in 2023-2024, significantly higher than the state average.

When compared to other nearby middle schools in the Waukegan CUSD 60 district, such as John R. Lewis Middle School, which outperformed Jack Benny Middle School in both ELA and Mathematics proficiency, it becomes clear that the school is underperforming. Additionally, the disparities in performance across different student subgroups at Jack Benny Middle School, with some groups ranking in the bottom tiers of Illinois middle schools, indicate potential equity issues that the school and district should investigate and address.

Detail:

Public 6-8

1401 Montesano Ave
Waukegan, IL 60087-4818

(224) 303-2470

District: Waukegan CUSD 60

SchoolDigger Rank:
1252^nd of 1,363 Illinois Middle Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $21,039

Students who attend Jack Benny Middle School usually attend:

High:

Waukegan High School

Feeder schools for Jack Benny Middle School:

Elementary:	H R McCall Elementary School
	John S Clark Elementary School
	Little Fort Elementary School

Student/teacher ratio: 28.1

Number of students: 506

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

76.9%

African American:

9.7%

Asian:

4.7%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 64.2%

See top rated Illinois middle schools

Compare Jack Benny Middle School to nearby middle schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Jack Benny Middle School ranks worse than 91.9% of middle schools in Illinois. It also ranks 4^th among 5 ranked middle schools in the Waukegan CUSD 60 School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 13.81. (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: Hispanic (76.9%), African American (9.7%), Asian (4.7%). (See more...)

Compare Details 64.2% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. This is the lowest percentage in the Waukegan CUSD 60 School District. (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Jack Benny Middle School is 28.1, which is the highest among 5 middle schools in the Waukegan CUSD 60 School District! (See more...)

Compare Jack Benny Middle School employs 18 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Jack Benny Middle School is $21,039, which is the lowest among 5 middle schools in the Waukegan CUSD 60 School District!

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Jack Benny Middle School:

SchoolDigger ranks Jack Benny Middle School 1252^nd of 1363 Illinois public middle schools. (See Jack Benny Middle 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:

Asian students:

African American students:

Hispanic students:

Waukegan CUSD 60:

SchoolDigger ranks Waukegan CUSD 60 745^th of 813 Illinois school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Jack Benny Middle School

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Rank History for all students at Jack Benny Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2003	15.22	995^th	1185	16.0%
2004	9.63	1068^th	1204	11.3%
2005	10.62	1055^th	1209	12.7%
2006	11.66	1133^rd	1272	10.9%
2007	16.14	1102^nd	1287	14.4%
2008	19.46	1084^th	1293	16.2%
2009	16.64	1135^th	1318	13.9%
2010	25.46	1066^th	1327	19.7%
2011	20.63	1145^th	1344	14.8%
2012	19.46	1172^nd	1365	14.1%
2013	17.59	1179^th	1367	13.8%
2014	16.30	1156^th	1322	12.6%
2015	15.79	1153^rd	1302	11.4%
2016	18.54	1121^st	1294	13.4%
2017	22.42	1025^th	1293	20.7%
2018	21.69	1024^th	1293	20.8%
2019	26.49	994^th	1356	26.7%
2021	24.29	934^th	1241	24.7%
2022	20.62	1090^th	1369	20.4%
2023	15.11	1228^th	1367	10.2%
2024	13.81	1252^nd	1363	8.1%

See the entire list of Illinois Middle School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Jack Benny Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	40.37	157^th	285	44.9%
2019	37.79	236^th	339	30.4%
2021	40.56	162^nd	277	41.5%
2022	32.03	365^th	454	19.6%
2023	28.83	411^th	480	14.4%
2024	26.70	431^st	486	11.3%

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

Rank History for Special Education students at Jack Benny Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	24.79	496^th	602	17.6%
2019	28.83	615^th	792	22.3%
2021	30.34	413^th	548	24.6%
2022	28.67	627^th	781	19.7%
2023	20.00	756^th	805	6.1%
2024	20.57	722^nd	802	10.0%

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

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Jack Benny Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	28.75	869^th	1161	25.2%
2019	32.83	853^rd	1217	29.9%
2021	33.99	680^th	1019	33.3%
2022	26.85	938^th	1221	23.2%
2023	19.90	1088^th	1234	11.8%
2024	19.29	1072^nd	1219	12.1%

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

Rank History for Female students at Jack Benny Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	19.75	1005^th	1226	18.0%
2019	26.72	956^th	1276	25.1%
2021	25.37	764^th	1017	24.9%
2022	21.07	1031^st	1286	19.8%
2023	15.27	1137^th	1275	10.8%
2024	14.95	1125^th	1251	10.1%

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

Rank History for Disabled students at Jack Benny Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	22.34	628^th	674	6.8%
2024	21.63	595^th	639	6.9%

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

Rank History for Male students at Jack Benny Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	24.09	941^st	1223	23.1%
2019	26.90	933^rd	1296	28.0%
2021	19.66	890^th	1048	15.1%
2022	21.62	1010^th	1286	21.5%
2023	16.36	1147^th	1292	11.2%
2024	13.49	1187^th	1264	6.1%

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

Rank History for Asian students at Jack Benny Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2022	2.09	197^th	198	0.5%
2024	0.43	184^th	184	0.0%

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

Rank History for African American students at Jack Benny Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	30.19	380^th	511	25.6%
2019	33.81	377^th	565	33.3%
2021	42.42	188^th	385	51.2%
2022	35.32	366^th	573	36.1%
2023	25.08	489^th	569	14.1%
2024	15.02	545^th	548	0.5%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at Jack Benny Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	26.21	478^th	590	19.0%
2019	33.65	433^rd	639	32.2%
2021	30.19	388^th	517	25.0%
2022	21.00	581^st	662	12.2%
2023	15.67	627^th	661	5.1%
2024	16.47	590^th	643	8.2%

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

Rank History for White students at Jack Benny Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	22.07	739^th	889	16.9%
2019	17.95	785^th	905	13.3%
2022	24.40	714^th	898	20.5%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Middle 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 Jack Benny Middle School

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1988	256	145	26	149	1	n/a	n/a	0	577
1989	222	153	5	206	n/a	n/a	n/a	0	586
1990	206	147	14	165	1	n/a	n/a	0	533
1991	234	158	20	147	1	n/a	n/a	0	560
1992	225	161	6	142	3	n/a	n/a	0	537
1993	258	171	21	259	0	n/a	n/a	0	709
1994	242	170	24	221	0	n/a	n/a	0	657
1995	182	220	2	192	27	n/a	n/a	0	623
1996	182	220	2	192	27	n/a	n/a	0	623
1997	181	242	34	177	0	n/a	n/a	0	634
1998	130	192	29	150	0	n/a	n/a	0	501
1999	106	190	26	172	1	n/a	n/a	0	495
2000	103	205	20	150	0	n/a	n/a	0	478
2001	111	263	14	172	0	n/a	n/a	0	560
2002	104	256	22	268	0	n/a	n/a	0	650
2003	104	256	22	268	0	n/a	n/a	0	650
2004	107	196	30	333	0	n/a	n/a	0	666
2005	84	152	29	417	1	n/a	n/a	2	685
2006	50	130	23	446	1	n/a	n/a	5	655
2007	47	152	17	436	0	n/a	n/a	4	656
2008	55	153	17	461	0	n/a	n/a	8	694
2009	54	147	20	459	2	n/a	n/a	11	693
2010	70	130	21	400	1	n/a	n/a	16	638
2011	62	100	7	424	3	10	12	0	618
2012	59	86	10	426	3	6	12	0	602
2013	53	85	10	462	2	1	15	0	628
2014	40	87	16	446	3	1	14	0	607
2015	29	86	13	464	3	1	15	0	611
2016	31	92	14	465	5	3	16	0	626
2017	32	85	14	483	4	3	14	0	635
2018	39	80	18	448	3	2	17	0	607
2019	34	78	17	440	3	1	16	0	589
2020	29	86	21	448	2	1	16	0	603
2021	30	85	26	457	3	0	18	0	619
2022	32	62	28	417	5	1	17	0	562
2023	23	52	26	403	7	1	17	0	529
2024	23	49	24	389	7	0	14	0	506

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 Jack Benny Middle School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	577	39.8	14.4	n/a
1989	586	38.8	15.1	n/a
1990	533	42.0	12.6	n/a
1991	560	41.9	13.3	n/a
1992	537	39.0	13.7	n/a
1993	709	43.5	16.3	n/a
1994	657	43.0	15.3	n/a
1995	623	41.0	15.2	n/a
1996	623	41.0	15.2	n/a
1997	634	45.0	14.1	n/a
1998	501	42.0	11.9	n/a
1999	495	30.0	16.5	n/a
2000	478	39.9	12.0	n/a
2001	560	41.0	13.7	n/a
2002	650	43.0	15.1	63.4
2003	650	43.0	15.1	63.4
2004	666	46.0	14.5	67
2005	685	49.0	14.0	72.6
2006	655	49.0	13.4	61.4
2007	656	46.0	14.3	61.3
2008	694	41.0	16.9	59.8
2009	693	50.0	13.9	60.1
2010	638	52.0	12.2	69.8
2011	618	44.0	14.0	65.9
2012	602	47.0	12.8	51.2
2013	628	44.8	14.0	n/a
2014	607	34.5	17.5	56.7
2015	611	48.0	12.7	61.4
2016	626	45.0	13.9	46
2017	635	45.0	14.1	58
2018	607	44.0	13.7	57
2019	589	32.0	18.4	54.2
2020	603	37.0	16.2	53.2
2021	619	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	562	25.2	22.2	60.7
2023	529	34.0	15.5	61.2
2024	506	18.0	28.1	64.2

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 Jack Benny Middle School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	577	39.8	14.4	n/a
1989	586	38.8	15.1	n/a
1990	533	42.0	12.6	n/a
1991	560	41.9	13.3	n/a
1992	537	39.0	13.7	n/a
1993	709	43.5	16.3	n/a
1994	657	43.0	15.3	n/a
1995	623	41.0	15.2	n/a
1996	623	41.0	15.2	n/a
1997	634	45.0	14.1	n/a
1998	501	42.0	11.9	n/a
1999	495	30.0	16.5	n/a
2000	478	39.9	12.0	n/a
2001	560	41.0	13.7	n/a
2002	650	43.0	15.1	63.4
2003	650	43.0	15.1	63.4
2004	666	46.0	14.5	67
2005	685	49.0	14.0	72.6
2006	655	49.0	13.4	61.4
2007	656	46.0	14.3	61.3
2008	694	41.0	16.9	59.8
2009	693	50.0	13.9	60.1
2010	638	52.0	12.2	69.8
2011	618	44.0	14.0	65.9
2012	602	47.0	12.8	51.2
2013	628	44.8	14.0	n/a
2014	607	34.5	17.5	56.7
2015	611	48.0	12.7	61.4
2016	626	45.0	13.9	46
2017	635	45.0	14.1	58
2018	607	44.0	13.7	57
2019	589	32.0	18.4	54.2
2020	603	37.0	16.2	53.2
2021	619	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	562	25.2	22.2	60.7
2023	529	34.0	15.5	61.2
2024	506	18.0	28.1	64.2

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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