Limestone Middle Sch, Kankakee IL

Original Research by School Decision on Limestone Middle Sch

Limestone Middle School serves grades five through eight in Kankakee and is part of Herscher CUSD 2, a small rural district about fifty miles south of Chicago. The school sits in a community shaped by healthcare, manufacturing, and education employers, with a local housing market that has stayed relatively stable relative to state and national benchmarks.

The most recent state assessment data show mixed performance across subjects and grades. In English language arts, the school posts stronger results in the sixth and eighth grades, where proficiency reaches the high 60s and low 70s, but seventh grade drops notably lower. Math performance across the school runs consistently in the 40s and 50s, with sixth grade the weakest point. Science testing, available only for grades five and eight, sits around 50 to 60 percent proficiency. The school's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile of schools in Kankakee County, a meaningful position that reflects above-median achievement across the board.

Test participation rates are very high across all grades and subjects, ranging from 98 to 100 percent, which means these results reflect the performance of nearly the entire student body. The school's enrollment is about average for its grade band, with slightly over a hundred students in each grade.

The student body is predominantly white, with smaller shares of Hispanic students and students from other racial and ethnic backgrounds. Free-or-reduced-price lunch data were not available, so families interested in the economic composition of the school may want to check directly with the district. Special education and English learner populations were not reported in the available data.

Limestone serves a community experiencing modest demographic and economic stability. Housing values in the school's zip code sit modestly below the Illinois state median and well below the national median, and rent costs remain relatively affordable. The labor market shows a stable unemployment rate. Kankakee itself has been working to attract new residential development and has recently completed affordable housing and downtown mixed-use projects, though building has remained limited over the past decade.

The district is investing in its future. Herscher CUSD 2 broke ground in October 2025 on a new intermediate school designed to replace aging facilities and is slated to open in fall 2027. This represents a commitment to modern learning infrastructure and reflects completion of health and life-safety bond requirements. The fact that the district moved forward with a new building rather than renovation signals confidence in the district's role in the community.

State testing data come from the Illinois Assessment of Reading and Mathematics and the Illinois Science Assessment. The data reflect performance from the 2024-25 school year. A note on comparability: the state adjusted proficiency cut scores for all tested subjects starting in 2024-25, so year-over-year trend analysis is limited.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 554%

School 54% · District 54%

▲ 24 pts above state median · ▲ 29 pts above county median

Grade 641%

School 41% · District 41%

▲ 18 pts above state median · ▲ 11 pts above county median

Grade 745%

School 45% · District 45%

▲ 16 pts above state median · ▲ 15 pts above county median

Grade 854%

School 54% · District 54%

▲ 31 pts above state median · ▲ 27 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 567%

School 67% · District 67%

▲ 15 pts above state median · ▲ 18 pts above county median

Grade 671%

School 71% · District 71%

▲ 21 pts above state median · ▲ 16 pts above county median

Grade 748%

School 48% · District 48%

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Grade 867%

School 67% · District 67%

▲ 13 pts above state median · ▲ 16 pts above county median

Science

Grade 551%

School 51% · District 51%

▲ 14 pts above state median · ▲ 13 pts above county median

Grade 860%

School 60% · District 60%

▲ 20 pts above state median · ▲ 11 pts above county median

This schoolHerscher CUSD 2, 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.