The top reported proficiency rate is 37% in English language arts. The lowest is 12% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Hoopeston Area Middle School
Hoopeston Area Middle School serves the three grades of middle school—sixth through eighth—in a small agricultural city in rural Illinois. The school is part of Hoopeston Area CUSD 11, an older consolidated district covering just the city itself and its immediate surroundings. The school's recent context includes a substantial facilities upgrade completed through federal pandemic-relief funding: between 2022 and 2023, the district installed air conditioning in classrooms and other spaces at the middle school along with asbestos remediation, part of a broader capital project that also addressed the high school and elementary buildings without requiring a local tax increase. That investment in learning environments is concrete and will serve families for years.
The most recent state assessment data from the test given by Illinois shows a picture of significant academic struggle across the school. In sixth-grade math, fewer than one in five students scored at proficient levels. By eighth grade, math proficiency dropped further, to single digits. English language arts results are less severe: sixth graders in English hit roughly one in three proficient, rising to roughly four in nine by eighth grade. Science results at eighth grade sit at roughly one in five proficient. These are weak numbers across the board. State testing cut scores changed this year, which means year-to-year trend comparisons would not be reliable, so it is unclear whether this represents a decline or a baseline snapshot. A parent weighing the school may want to ask the building directly about the reasons behind these numbers, what interventions are underway, and what recent or planned changes in instruction or support the school is making.
Participation in testing is consistent and above expectations, hovering near or above nine in ten students in each grade and subject where data appears, which suggests students are showing up and taking the test seriously rather than opting out. That said, the actual proficiency numbers leave a wide gap: the school sits well below the midpoint among the county's other districts on overall proficiency. One strength is that the school reports enrollment of roughly one-third of a middle-school cohort, which is typical for a rural district of this size; the student body is roughly three-quarters white, with smaller shares of Hispanic, Black, and multiracial students. The exact count of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch was not available in the data, and similarly the count of students in special education or identified as English learners was not reported, so a parent might ask the school directly about those populations.
Hoopeston itself is a declining small city in Vermilion County, built on corn growing and food canning and now oriented more toward health care and retirement services. Housing values are very low, reflecting the city's shrinking economy and older housing stock from the early-to-mid twentieth century. The city sits at a crossroads of state routes and has a working railroad, a public library, and a central park with community facilities, but most daily needs require a car. There is no public transit system. Growth is not a feature of the place; families here tend to be rooted in the community or drawn by low housing costs and an expectation of small-town life. The school itself is a neighborhood institution in a walkable town center setting, not a campus.
The academic results here show that the school is not delivering grade-level proficiency for most of its students. A family considering this school should have a direct conversation with the principal or counselor about what support exists for students who arrive below grade level, what the school's current instructional priorities are, and what progress has been made or is expected over the next school year. The facilities improvement is real, but learning gains will depend on what happens in the classroom.
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