Von Steuben Middle School, Peoria IL

Original Research by School Decision on Von Steuben Middle School

Von Steuben Middle School serves grades five through eight in Peoria, Illinois, with an enrollment of about 240 students. The school's student body is predominantly Black, with smaller shares of white, multiracial, Hispanic, Asian, and Native Hawaiian or American Indian students. State testing data for the most recent school year shows proficiency rates that are markedly low across the board.

In English language arts, proficiency ranges from just above one-fifth of students in grades five and six to nearly one-third of eighth graders. Math proficiency is substantially lower, with only single-digit percentages of students meeting grade-level standards in grades five, six, and eight, and just 15 percent in grade seven. Science proficiency, assessed in grades five and eight, is similarly weak, at around 12 to 17 percent. Participation rates in state assessments are high and consistent, above 96 percent across grade levels, so these results reflect actual performance rather than assessment gaps. The school's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile when compared to other districts in Peoria County.

This is a moment of significant district change. In spring 2026, Peoria School District 150 approved a comprehensive overhaul of its K-5 reading curriculum, moving to a science-of-reading aligned program. The shift is explicitly designed to address the fact that a substantial share of third through eighth graders across the district are not reading at grade level, a condition that directly affects Von Steuben. The new materials emphasize phonics and evidence-based literacy instruction and represent a pedagogical shift that will shape reading instruction for years ahead. For families considering the school, this curriculum change is a direct factor: the district has made a deliberate commitment to literacy instruction that suggests awareness of and action on the reading proficiency challenge.

Von Steuben is situated in Peoria, a mid-sized Illinois city in slow-growth, redevelopment mode. The housing market is characterized by low inventory. The city has focused recent investment on downtown and Warehouse District adaptive reuse projects, with smaller amounts of new construction. Median home values in the area are modest, and monthly rent is relatively affordable. The area is home to major employers including OSF Healthcare and Caterpillar, along with Bradley University and Illinois Central College. CityLink provides public transit across the region. Neighborhoods vary in walkability, with downtown and the Warehouse District engineered for pedestrian life, while much of the city outside those areas remains car-dependent.

Specific program offerings and detailed staffing data for Von Steuben were not available. Similarly, data on free or reduced price lunch eligibility, special education enrollment, English learner enrollment, attendance rates, discipline data, and information about AP or dual-credit pathways are not shown in the available sources. A parent or resident interested in those details, or in the school's specific instructional approach beyond the district's reading curriculum initiative, would benefit from reaching out to the school or district directly.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 53%

School 3% · District 16% · ▼ 13 pts below district

▼ 27 pts below state median · ▼ 29 pts below county median

Grade 64%

School 4% · District 14% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

Grade 715%

School 15% · District 20% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 15 pts below county median

Grade 81%

School 1% · District 13% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▼ 21 pts below state median · ▼ 15 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 522%

School 22% · District 29% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▼ 31 pts below state median · ▼ 26 pts below county median

Grade 626%

School 26% · District 27% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 24 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

Grade 723%

School 23% · District 25% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 28 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

Grade 831%

School 31% · District 35% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 22 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

Science

Grade 513%

School 13% · District 18% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 24 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

Grade 817%

School 17% · District 21% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 22 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

This schoolPeoria SD 150, 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.