The top reported proficiency rate is 52% in English language arts. The lowest is 34% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Hamilton County Jr/sr High School
Hamilton County Jr/Sr High School is a combined grades 7-12 school serving the county seat of McLeansboro, a small, slowly shrinking rural town in southern Illinois. The school enrolls roughly 470 students across all six grades, with the ninth and tenth grades the largest cohorts.
The school's academic performance, based on available state testing data, shows mixed results in the middle grades with some improvement in eighth grade. In seventh-grade math, proficiency sits below half. Eighth-grade math performance is notably lower, with proficiency below one third. Reading outcomes look more favorable: seventh-grade ELA proficiency is at about one half, and eighth-grade ELA reaches above one half. Eighth-grade science proficiency is in the mid-to-upper-40s range. State testing data for grades 3 through 6 and for grades 9 through 12 was not available, which is consistent with the school's structure as a combined junior and senior high; the state's main accountability testing does not reach these grades.
The school's enrollment is overwhelmingly white, with a small handful of students from other backgrounds. No free-or-reduced-price-lunch rate, special education rate, English learner enrollment, or staffing information was provided in the available data. No course offerings, AP programs, dual-credit pathways, or discipline climate data were available to assess.
McLeansboro itself offers the character of a small county seat organized around a historic courthouse square with late 19th-century civic buildings and a consolidated downtown cluster of shops, restaurants, and the McCoy Memorial Library. Housing is affordable, with median home values substantially below the state average and a stock dominated by older single-family homes. The town is car-dependent; while the downtown square is walkable, many amenities lie beyond a walk. The local job base centers on healthcare and senior care, retail, agribusiness, and utility operations. Population has declined over the past several decades, and recent housing development has focused on senior independent living rather than growth-stage family units. Life is rural and slow-paced.
Hamilton Co CUSD 10 is the only district in its county, and no recent strategic changes, curriculum shifts, or property-tax referenda clearing the lasting parent-impact threshold were identified in available sources.
Without high school test results, graduation data, or information on programs, course depth, student support, or school climate, the picture of what this school offers beyond the middle grades remains incomplete. Parents may want to contact the school directly to discuss high school course offerings, post-secondary pathways, and student outcomes beyond state testing.
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