The top reported proficiency rate is 17% in Science. The lowest is 2% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Egyptian Jr High School
Egyptian Jr High School serves grades six through eight in the village of Tamms, Illinois, a rural community in Alexander County in the state's southeastern corner. The school enrolls a small cohort, just over a hundred students across the three grades, nearly all white, with a modest share of students from multiracial families. Demographic data on economic disadvantage and special-education enrollment were not available.
The immediate community is very small and declining. Tamms sits in an area of sparse population density, roughly a long drive or more from any mid-sized city. The village experienced significant population loss over the past generation, a decline sharply accelerated by the closure of a major correctional facility that had been a primary regional employer. The school campus itself sits outside the village proper on Diswood Road. The economic profile of the area is narrow: health care, public administration, and a handful of manufacturing operations form the local employment base. The Egyptian school district itself is one of the area's more stable employers, though the district as a whole enrolls only a small student population.
Test results show a substantial challenge in academic proficiency. State assessment data from the most recent year reported show proficiency rates that are very low across all tested grades and subjects. In math, sixth and eighth grade students showed no proficiency; seventh grade saw proficiency at only a small percentage. In English language arts, eighth grade and seventh grade proficiency were both single digits, while sixth grade proficiency was modest. In science, eighth grade proficiency was slightly higher but still well below half. These results place the school in the bottom quartile of proficiency among other school districts in Alexander County. The low proficiency across the board warrants close attention; a parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand what academic supports exist and what the school's plan is to build skills in core subjects.
State testing data for the three elementary grades served show as missing, which reflects the grade band tested by Illinois assessments rather than a gap in the school's instructional work. No graduation rate applies, since the school serves only middle grades. Free-or-reduced-price lunch data were not available in the public profile.
The school operates as a regular public school within the Egyptian Community Unit School District 5 and does not have charter or magnet designation. District-level strategic changes or curriculum initiatives affecting the school were not found in available sources, so readers should feel welcome to ask the school or district directly about priorities and any shifts underway. The housing market in the area, reflected in zip code data, shows values well below the state benchmark, with modest price year-over-year trends, and affordability remains relatively better than national averages on conventional financing. The setting is rural and car-dependent with limited local services.
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