The top reported proficiency rate is 58% in Science. The lowest is 13% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Paw Paw Junior High School
Paw Paw Junior High School is a small, rural junior high serving grades six through eight in a village of declining population in Lee County. The school sits in the village of Paw Paw, Illinois, surrounded by farmland, where residents rely on cars to reach larger towns and many commute an hour or more for work. There is no high school in Paw Paw; the district buses its high school students about fifteen miles to Indian Creek High School in Shabbona under a tuition contract, a structural reality stemming from the closure of the district's own high school.
The school itself has a tiny enrollment, with about a dozen students in seventh grade, fewer in eighth, and only a few in sixth. The student body is predominantly white, with a small Hispanic population; demographic detail on students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, on English learners, or on students in special education is not available. State assessment data is spotty. Illinois testing results are available for two grades in which the school has sizable enough cohorts to report: in sixth-grade English language arts, about four in ten students scored at proficiency levels three or four; in eighth-grade English, about two-thirds met proficiency. Mathematics proficiency is much lower. Sixth graders scored at proficient levels at a rate in the single digits, and eighth graders at low double digits. In eighth-grade science, about three-fifths of students reached proficiency. The pattern shows strength in eighth-grade English, moderate strength in science, and marked weakness across mathematics. Grade seven and sixth-grade math testing results are not reported, a gap likely reflecting the small cohort size in sixth grade, but readers interested in how their child might fare in math in the year ahead would benefit from asking the school directly about seventh-grade performance.
Relative to other districts in Lee County, Paw Paw Junior High ranks in the bottom quartile on an overall proficiency index that averages across all subjects and grades where data exist. This reflects the low math results dragging down the composite. The school sits in a village experiencing population decline, with no new housing development and a modest housing market anchored by older homes. The Paw Paw Public Library, shared with Village offices in the downtown, serves as the civic center. A health and life safety capital project in 2025-2026 will replace electrical systems and add air conditioning to parts of the school building, addressing aging infrastructure.
For a family moving to or considering Paw Paw, this junior high is the only in-district option for grades six through eight. The small size means limited course variety and an intimate peer environment where students know one another, but it also means less anonymity and tighter oversight. The pronounced mathematics challenge is evident in the state data and warrants direct conversation with the school about what instructional support exists for students who struggle in that subject. English language arts and science instruction appear stronger.
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