The top reported proficiency rate is 35% in English language arts. The lowest is 13% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Gompers Junior High School
Gompers Junior High School serves grades six through eight in Joliet, a large suburban city southwest of Chicago in Will County. The school enrolls a student population that is overwhelmingly Hispanic, with a small number of Black and multiracial students and minimal white and Asian enrollment. The enrollment sits at a typical size for a middle school, distributed fairly evenly across the three grades.
The academic picture at Gompers shows substantial challenges in mathematics and mixed performance in English language arts. In sixth-grade math, proficiency is very low. Seventh-grade math improves modestly, and eighth-grade math sits somewhat higher, but all three grades remain well below typical district and state benchmarks. Reading and writing results are notably stronger: sixth-grade proficiency sits in the low-to-mid range, seventh grade climbs further, and eighth-grade ELA performance reaches into the upper-thirties, a meaningful difference from the math trajectory. Science results are available only for eighth grade, where proficiency is in the low-to-mid range. State testing participation is near universal across all grades.
When compared against the other districts in Will County, Gompers' overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile. This positioning reflects both the math weakness and the gap between math and reading performance. The school's results sit well below the county median across tested subjects and grades.
The school building itself carries significant context for families. Gompers was constructed in the mid-twentieth century and has served as one of Joliet's principal middle schools for decades. In April 2023, Joliet District 86 voters approved a large bond measure dedicated to facilities modernization. The plan includes replacing Gompers with a new junior high building scheduled to open for the 2026-2027 school year. This replacement represents a direct response to aging facilities and long-standing overcrowding that families have identified as a concern. The new building will be contemporaneous construction with new systems, safety features, and technology infrastructure, a shift that families weighing school choice may view as foundational change.
Gompers sits in Joliet proper, in the context of a city undergoing mixed growth. The housing market in the broader Will County area shows moderate appreciation, with median home values and listing prices in the mid-range for the region. Downtown Joliet has become a focus of recent reinvestment, anchored by the Rialto Square Theatre, a new transit hub, and downtown streetscape work, though the school itself is in a residential neighborhood away from that core. Joliet's employment base is anchored by logistics and manufacturing, with major presence from Amazon, ExxonMobil, IKEA, and other industrial employers, alongside healthcare and education jobs.
For a family considering Gompers, the immediate reality is a middle school with low mathematics proficiency but stronger reading results, situated in a district that has committed substantial capital to replace its aging junior high facilities. The new building will open within the near term, which means students enrolled now will likely experience that transition. Enrollment is diverse and urban. A parent may want to ask the school directly about the specific math curriculum, intervention supports, and teaching model in place, as well as timeline and details for the transition to the new building. State testing data, while available, changed scoring standards in recent years, so year-to-year trend comparison is limited. The academic environment is one that rewards attention to how the school is responding to the reading-math gap and what supplemental supports exist for students working below proficiency in math.
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