The top reported proficiency rate is 67% in English language arts. The lowest is 23% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Marissa Jr & Sr High School
Marissa Jr & Sr High School serves grades seven through twelve in a consolidated district that covers a small, economically stressed village in southern Illinois. The school itself is a regular public school with a small enrollment of about two hundred fifty students spread across six grade levels, reflecting the modest population of the area.
State testing data is available only for grades seven and eight, since the school does not serve tested elementary grades. In those two grades, the picture is mixed. Seventh grade English language arts proficiency is solid, and eighth grade ELA is notably higher. However, seventh grade mathematics proficiency is low, and eighth grade math is even lower. Eighth grade science proficiency sits at a moderate level. No graduation rate is reported, which is typical for schools that do not operate as separate high school entities but rather as combined junior-senior schools. State testing data for grades nine through twelve and the district's graduation numbers were not available.
When compared to the county's other districts, this school's overall proficiency index sits above the midpoint, a meaningful position that reflects strength relative to its peers despite the low math numbers in the younger grades. The achievement pattern suggests that students show stronger literacy than quantitative reasoning in the tested middle grades.
The school sits in Marissa, a village shaped by the collapse of the coal industry. Population has declined substantially from its historical peak. The defining local employer is the Prairie State Energy Campus, a power facility that operates a coal mine and is required to cease operations by state law, creating long-term economic uncertainty. Housing values are modest and stable within the regional context. The village itself centers on historic Main Street, though downtown retail has contracted. Most residents drive; no fixed-route public transit serves the area.
The school's student body is predominantly white, with small Black and Hispanic populations and a small multiracial contingent. Free and reduced price lunch eligibility data was not reported. Special education and English learner enrollment counts were also not available. The district brief found no recent major shifts in curriculum, pedagogy, or local priorities that cleared the bar for parent relevance, suggesting this is a stable, traditional school environment.
A parent may want to discuss directly with the school how seventh and eighth grade mathematics instruction is structured and what support exists for students struggling in that subject, given the proficiency figures. Otherwise, the data presents a small-town school with solid English language arts performance in the grades where state testing occurs, modest mathematics proficiency, and a peer standing that is above the midpoint in its county context.
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