The top reported proficiency rate is 71% in English language arts. The lowest is 27% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on United High School
United High School is a small public high school serving grades 9–12 in Monmouth, Illinois. With an enrollment distributed across the four grades, it draws from Warren County's rural and small-town environment. The school sits in a county that includes only one other school district, making it the primary secondary option for its area.
State testing data available for the school shows uneven performance across subjects and grade levels. In English language arts, seventh-grade students demonstrate strength, with a substantial majority meeting proficiency. Eighth-grade English results are solid. Mathematics presents a steeper challenge: seventh-grade math proficiency is low, and eighth-grade math proficiency is notably weak. Eighth-grade science results are mixed. The data comes with a caveat: state testing standards changed in the most recent school year, affecting year-to-year trend comparability. Graduation rate and chronic absenteeism data were not available.
Among Warren County's districts, United High School sits above the midpoint in overall proficiency when averaging results across tested subjects and grades. This comparative position reflects modest but not trailing performance in the county landscape.
Monmouth itself is a working-class small city with a college-town atmosphere, home to Monmouth College and anchored by a historic public square downtown. The area's largest employers include a major food-processing plant and the college. Housing values in the area are modest relative to state and national benchmarks, and affordability—measured as the ratio of home prices to household income—is favorable. The community maintains an active park system, library, and civic presence. Population has declined slightly in recent years, though the city has invested in new housing projects, downtown infrastructure improvements, and vacant-lot remediation to support new residential construction.
A significant change took effect in 2024–25: the district reorganized its grade structure, creating a new intermediate school that houses all fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-grade students in what was previously the junior-senior high school building. This shift reorganized daily logistics and facility use across the district. United High School now focuses exclusively on grades 9–12, separating high school students from younger grades for the first time in the building's previous configuration.
The school's enrollment skews heavily toward white students, with small populations of Hispanic and other students of color. Free or reduced-price lunch rates and special education or English learner enrollment counts were not reported. The school does not carry a Title I designation, and no charter or magnet status applies.
A parent evaluating this school should note the pronounced gap in mathematics proficiency and seek direct conversation with the school about remediation approaches, course sequencing, and supports available to students struggling in that area. English language arts performance is stronger and worth understanding as an anchor in the school's academic profile. The recent facility reorganization is now in place, and touring the building and asking how the high school is adjusting to its new, focused grade band would help complete the picture of day-to-day operations and staff capacity.
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