The top reported proficiency rate is 48% in Science. The lowest is 30% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Kingsley Jr High School
Kingsley Jr High School serves grades six through eight in Normal, Illinois, drawing from the McLean County USD 5 district. The school enrolls a cohort of mid-sized total, distributed fairly evenly across its three grade bands. The student body is racially and ethnically mixed, with roughly equal shares of white students and students of color, including Black and Hispanic students each representing a meaningful portion of enrollment, along with Asian students and students identifying as multiracial. Free-or-reduced-price-lunch data was not available for this school.
State testing results on the Illinois Assessment of Readiness for grades six through eight show proficiency rates well below the district median and among the lowest in McLean County. In mathematics, sixth graders achieved proficiency at a rate in the low-twenties, seventh graders about four in ten, and eighth graders just under three in ten. English language arts proficiency was somewhat stronger, with sixth grade around four in ten, seventh grade about four in ten, and eighth grade just over half proficient. Science results for eighth grade sit near one in two students proficient. These gaps are substantial and may warrant conversation with school leadership about what supports are in place for students who are not yet meeting grade-level standards. State testing for grades three through five, which do not belong at this middle school, appears in the data but should not apply here; test participation in the grades that do attend was near complete across both subjects.
The school's overall proficiency index across tested subjects and grades places it in the bottom quartile among its county peers. Parents may want to look into further detail with the school about academic supports, intervention structures, reading and math instruction design, and any recent program or staffing changes that may bear on these results.
Kingsley sits in Normal, a college-town setting anchored by Illinois State University and shaped by recent rapid growth from Rivian's electric vehicle manufacturing. Normal's character blends residential neighborhoods with Uptown, a walkable redeveloped downtown next to campus, the Constitution Trail bike path system, and a mix of university, manufacturing, and service-sector employment. The broader Bloomington-Normal metro contains State Farm Insurance, healthcare systems, and other anchors. Housing in the area is moderately affordable relative to national benchmarks, though rental and purchase markets have tightened due to job growth. Schools are central to near-term planning in Normal because the district undertook a comprehensive boundary study in 2025-2026 with adjustments to take effect in 2027-28, affecting hundreds of students; families currently enrolled would be grandfathered at their current school, but the reshuffling of attendance zones may affect future enrollments and where new families choose to live.
McLean County USD 5 itself has recently undergone significant funding changes. Voters approved a property tax rate increase in April 2023 after an initial defeat, which averted planned cuts to athletics, field trips, and music at the junior high level. In April 2025, county voters also approved a county-wide school facilities sales tax, generating revenue for both facility improvements and property tax relief. These shifts have stabilized the district's budget and expanded its capacity to address deferred maintenance and school safety infrastructure, though they also signal that the district faced real resource pressure in the years just before.
Kingsley Jr High School is a standard public junior high in a town with strong civic investment in schools and recent enrollment planning. Its academic results, particularly in mathematics, are a central question for any parent considering enrollment. A visit to the school, conversation with teachers and the principal about instructional approaches and support services, and clear understanding of what academic help is available would be important before committing to the school for a student who may need additional academic support.
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