The top reported proficiency rate is 47% in Science. The lowest is 9% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Dongola Jr High School
Dongola Jr High School serves grades six through eight in a small, rural Union County village in far southern Illinois. The school is small, with enrollment distributed roughly evenly across the three grades. The student body is predominantly white, with very limited diversity reported. Free-and-reduced-price lunch data and counts of students with disabilities or English learners were not available, making it difficult to assess the share of students with economic need or other support requirements.
Academic results show steep challenges across both tested subjects. In mathematics, proficiency rates are very low: roughly one in ten students in sixth grade reach proficiency, one in six in seventh grade, and none in eighth grade. English language arts shows more variation by grade. Sixth graders reach proficiency at slightly higher rates, while seventh and eighth graders perform better, with nearly half of eighth graders proficient. Science proficiency in eighth grade is comparable to English language arts at that grade level. Across all tested subjects and grades combined, the school's overall proficiency index places it below the midpoint among the county's districts. Graduation rate and chronic absenteeism data do not apply because this school serves only middle grades.
The school sits in Dongola, a quiet, declining village of about 900 residents, down from higher numbers in prior decades. The community has a small commercial center along Front Street but no dominant private employer; the school district itself is one of the village's main institutional employers. Housing values are substantially below state averages, with median owner-occupied home values in the low range and affordability relatively better than state-wide. The village has no public transportation and lies at the intersection of older U.S. Highway 51 and Interstate 57. Civic anchors include the Dongola Public Library, a small lake to the west, and community recreation fields, but the population continues to decline at a modest annual rate, and no major new development projects were identified.
The state testing data for lower grade levels (three through five) was not reported by this school; this occurs when either very few students in those grades are enrolled at this site, or the data were not submitted. Staffing, course offerings, discipline records, and attendance data were not available. The district brief revealed no recent parent-relevant changes such as referenda, tax shifts, or curriculum overhauls.
Dongola Jr High represents a small, under-resourced middle grades setting in a rural, economically modest community facing significant proficiency gaps, particularly in mathematics. A parent evaluating this school may want to investigate the school's instructional approach to math, available tutoring or intervention systems, and whether broader district support or curriculum changes are in place to address these results.
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