Meridian Middle School, Macon IL

Original Research by School Decision on Meridian Middle School

Meridian Middle School is a small, regular public middle school serving sixth through eighth grades in Macon, a rural city in central Illinois about a short drive south of Decatur. The school enrolls roughly two hundred students, distributed fairly evenly across its three grades. The enrollment is predominantly white, with minimal racial and ethnic diversity; Black, Hispanic, and multiracial students together make up a modest portion of the student body. Data on free or reduced price lunch eligibility and on special education and English learner populations were not available.

State assessment results from the most recent year show weaker performance in math and science, but comparatively stronger results in English language arts. In sixth-grade math, about a third of students reached proficiency. Performance declined further in seventh and eighth grade math, falling to around a quarter of students proficient by eighth grade. Eighth-grade science similarly shows proficiency near the lower end. Reading and language arts tell a different story. Sixth graders showed proficiency near the midpoint; seventh graders sat somewhat lower, and eighth graders rebounded notably, with proficiency above half the class. Across these tested grades and subjects, Meridian's overall proficiency sits in the bottom quartile among the ten districts in Macon County. A parent may want to look into what instructional approaches the school is using in math and whether targeted support is available, particularly for students who are not yet meeting grade-level standards.

The school sits within Macon's small village footprint on South Wall Street, making it walkable for residents of the town. Macon itself is experiencing slow population decline over recent years, a context that shapes the stability and predictability of school enrollment and community resources. The housing market in the area is modest relative to state and national benchmarks, keeping home costs accessible to families on typical middle-class incomes. The broader Meridian district, which also includes the elementary school in nearby Blue Mound and the high school in Macon, settled a teacher contract in late 2024 after a period without agreement. That resolution locked in a new salary schedule intended to support teacher retention, providing stability in staffing going forward.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 629%

School 29% · District 29%

▲ 5 pts above state median · ▲ 21 pts above county median

Grade 726%

School 26% · District 26%

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

Grade 823%

School 23% · District 23%

even with state median · ▲ 15 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 648%

School 48% · District 48%

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▲ 22 pts above county median

Grade 738%

School 38% · District 38%

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

Grade 855%

School 55% · District 55%

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▲ 14 pts above county median

Science

Grade 838%

School 38% · District 38%

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

This schoolMeridian CUSD 15, 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.