The top reported proficiency rate is 38% in English language arts. The lowest is 16% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Memorial Jr High School
Memorial Junior High School is a middle school serving grades six through eight in Lansing, a residential suburb in south Cook County. The school enrolls a student body with a majority Black population, a substantial Hispanic population, and smaller shares of other racial and ethnic groups. Free-or-reduced-price-lunch eligibility data was not available, limiting a full picture of economic need, though the composition of the school reflects a community of mixed economic means.
The school's academic performance, based on state testing results, shows a consistent pattern across the grades it serves. In English language arts, proficiency rates fall in the mid-range: about two in five students in grade six and seven meet state standards, with slightly lower performance by grade eight. Mathematics presents a sharper challenge. In grades six, seven, and eight, proficiency rates are substantially lower, ranging from the low to mid-teens. Eighth-grade science proficiency stands at about a quarter of students. State data on grade three, four, and five performance appears in the record but without results, reflecting that Memorial primarily enrolls grades six through eight and therefore does not assess those younger students in its building. Participation rates in testing are strong and consistently above ninety percent across subjects and grades, indicating that absences on test days are not skewing the results.
The school sits in the bottom quartile when compared against other schools in Cook County on an overall proficiency index that blends results across tested subjects and grades. A parent may want to look into this comparison further with the school and district to understand what supports are in place and what the district's trajectory has been.
Lansing School District 158 recently completed a major capital campaign that rebuilt all five of its school buildings. Memorial Junior High itself received a full renovation and expansion in recent years, part of this district-wide modernization effort. The district has also made pedagogical changes at the same time: it launched a Multi-Tiered Systems and Support initiative in 2025-26 that provides academic and behavioral interventions, and it adopted a new artificial intelligence policy in early 2026 as board members explore how to integrate AI thoughtfully into the curriculum. These shifts suggest the district is investing in infrastructure and instructional practice alongside physical plant improvements.
Funding has also shifted meaningfully. The state now provides more than half of the district's revenue through evidence-based funding formulas and property tax relief grants, reducing reliance on local property taxes from roughly two-thirds a decade ago to under half today. For homeowners, this translates to meaningful tax relief even as the district continues to operate its schools.
Lansing itself is a postwar bedroom community of mixed residential character, anchored by a walkable downtown corridor along Ridge Road and shopping centers on the western edge along Torrence Avenue. The village has invested through tax increment financing in a new concert and events venue called Fox Pointe and a facade improvement program for downtown businesses, signaling modest but deliberate efforts to stabilize the local economic base after decades of slow growth. Housing values in the area fall modestly below the state average, and rental costs are also below state norms, reflecting the village's position as an affordable suburban option for families working in nearby areas.
Memorial Jr High is a regular public school with no charter or magnet status. No information on program offerings, course variety, gifted or advanced tracks, or special services was available in the data, so a parent interested in those details should contact the school directly. Graduation rate data does not apply to a middle school serving grades six through eight.
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