Northlawn Jr High School, Streator IL

Original Research by School Decision on Northlawn Jr High School

Northlawn Jr High School is a small, conventional public junior high in Streator, a post-industrial city in north-central Illinois. The school enrolls about a few hundred students across grades five through eight and sits within Streator ESD 44, a mid-sized district serving the area.

The school's academic profile is one area where parents will want to understand clearly what they are looking at. State testing data from the most recent school year shows proficiency outcomes that fall well below the county median across subjects and grades. In English language arts, sixth-grade proficiency was near half, and seventh grade in the mid-40s, but fifth and eighth grades landed in the low-to-mid 30s. Mathematics results were considerably lower: fifth grade at around 16 percent, sixth and seventh grades in the low teens, and eighth grade at about 15 percent. Science proficiency for fifth and eighth grades was in the low 30s. Participation rates across all tested grades were high, consistently above 96 percent, which tells you testing actually happened at scale. The school compares to other junior highs tested in LaSalle County, and its overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile among county districts. This is a factual starting point, not a judgment, but a parent should engage the school directly about what these numbers reflect: student population shifts, staffing, curriculum focus, or other factors that shape these outcomes.

The student body reflects Streator's working-class, ethnically diverse character. About three-fifths of enrollment is white, with a substantial share identifying as Hispanic. African American and multiracial students each represent a smaller but meaningful share. A very small number of Asian American and Native American students attend. Data on free- or reduced-price lunch eligibility and English learner enrollment were not available, which is a gap in understanding economic need and language support within the school.

Streator itself is a small city with a long industrial past rooted in coal, glass, and manufacturing. The economy today mixes St. Mary's Hospital, Vactor Manufacturing (heavy municipal equipment), the remaining Owens-Illinois glass plant, and food distribution, anchored by healthcare and manufacturing. The city has seen population roughly flatten, with no major new residential development activity surfaced. Housing values in the area are below state and national benchmarks, putting Streator in an affordability range accessible to working and working-middle-class families. Downtown Streator retains a walkable historic core with locally owned shops and gathering spaces, though life outside the core remains car-dependent. The city has focused development effort on industrial recruitment, downtown revitalization, and remediation of abandoned properties rather than large-scale new construction.

The school serves an area of modest economic vitality. No major parent-relevant changes to the district were identified in recent searching. The state assessment framework did change in the year these results were collected, which can affect trend comparisons, but the proficiency picture itself is straightforward in the data shown. Families considering this school might look into the school's specific curriculum and support strategies, talk with families already there, and understand that the current test results reflect something real about student achievement that warrants attention from the school and district alike.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 516%

School 16% · District 16%

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

Grade 613%

School 13% · District 13%

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▼ 15 pts below county median

Grade 711%

School 11% · District 11%

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 23 pts below county median

Grade 815%

School 15% · District 15%

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 532%

School 32% · District 32%

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 20 pts below county median

Grade 650%

School 50% · District 50%

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

Grade 745%

School 45% · District 45%

▼ 6 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 836%

School 36% · District 36%

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

Science

Grade 532%

School 32% · District 32%

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

Grade 834%

School 34% · District 34%

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

This schoolStreator ESD 44, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.