Thompson Jr High School, Oswego IL

Original Research by School Decision on Thompson Jr High School

Thompson Jr High School serves grades six through eight in Oswego, a fast-growing village in Kendall County that has more than doubled in size over recent decades. The school enrolls a medium-sized student body that is substantially Hispanic and Black, with a smaller share of white students and representation across other racial and ethnic groups.

On state testing, Thompson's performance shows an uneven picture. In English language arts, proficiency rates are stronger in grades six, seven, and eight, clustering around or above midway points. Math proficiency is noticeably lower and declines sharply in eighth grade, where fewer than one in four students scored at the proficient level. Science proficiency in eighth grade sits around two in five students. The school shows strong test participation, above 97 percent across all subjects and grades tested.

Compared to other districts in Kendall County, Thompson's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile. A parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand what support structures exist for students struggling with math, particularly in the upper grades, and what progress trajectories look like for cohorts moving through the school.

Oswego itself is a mixed suburban and commercial landscape. A historic downtown anchors civic life along the Fox River, with parks and pedestrian-friendly streets in that core, but most residential growth is occurring in subdivisions and business parks spread across Route 34 and the Orchard Road corridors. The village continues rapid residential development with major projects underway; housing costs are above the state benchmark but align with suburban Kendall County patterns. The school district is the largest employer in the county and is planning substantial facility upgrades over the next several years. In 2022, the district adopted new project-based and problem-based math curriculum for junior high grades, reflecting a shift in pedagogical approach that defines daily instruction here.

The district also placed a bond referendum on the November 2026 ballot to address aging infrastructure across schools built during the early-2000s growth wave. For families considering the area, this is a material decision point: existing long-term debt is being retired concurrently, which officials publicly project will offset some of the tax increase from the new bond, though the exact impact depends on ballot outcome and home value.

Thompson sits within a district undergoing both instructional innovation and facility planning, serving a growing, demographically diverse community.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 629%

School 29% · District 38% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Grade 738%

School 38% · District 43% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▲ 9 pts above state median

Grade 822%

School 22% · District 38% · ▼ 16 pts below district

▼ 1 pts below state median

English language arts

Grade 646%

School 46% · District 58% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▼ 4 pts below state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

Grade 747%

School 47% · District 55% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▼ 4 pts below state median

Grade 848%

School 48% · District 60% · ▼ 13 pts below district

▼ 6 pts below state median

Science

Grade 839%

School 39% · District 52% · ▼ 13 pts below district

even with state median

This schoolCUSD 308, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.