Harold B Dawson Middle School, West Peoria IL

Original Research by School Decision on Harold B Dawson Middle School

Harold B Dawson Middle School serves grades five through eight in West Peoria, a small residential city immediately west of Peoria proper. The school's enrollment runs at a modest scale for its grade band, housed on Rohmann Avenue in the heart of older residential neighborhoods.

The student body is predominantly Black, with the remainder split among white, multiracial, Hispanic, and smaller counts of Asian and Native American students. No data on free-or-reduced-price lunch status, special education enrollment, or English learner status was available, leaving part of the economic and support-service picture unclear.

State testing results from the most recent year present a serious academic challenge. Proficiency rates across math and English language arts are extremely low across all grades. In math, students testing proficient or above ranged from roughly three percent at grades five, six, and eight, to around six percent at grade seven. In English language arts, the pattern was somewhat better but still deeply concerning: around thirteen percent at grade five, roughly twenty-six percent at grade six, under ten percent at grade seven, and about one-third at grade eight. Science results, tested only at grades five and eight, showed proficiency rates around four percent and thirteen percent respectively. These numbers sit well below what comparable schools in Peoria County show, placing the school in the bottom quartile for overall proficiency among county districts.

Participation rates in testing were generally strong, typically above ninety-six percent, indicating that absences or refusals were not a primary driver of the low scores. The district recently adopted a major new science-of-reading curriculum, approved in April 2026, which aims to shift literacy instruction back to evidence-based, phonics-grounded methods; publicly reported data indicated that roughly two-thirds of third through eighth graders in the district were not reading at grade level, a systemic signal that touches this school directly.

West Peoria itself is a stable, older community of modest size with a flat-to-declining population trajectory. Housing is predominantly owner-occupied, built between the mid-twentieth century and earlier, with no meaningful new construction. Home values are below state and national benchmarks and have appreciated modestly in recent years. The area functions as a residential suburb adjacent to Bradley University and the broader Peoria metropolitan economy, with healthcare and university employment anchoring the regional job market. Daily life is car-dependent despite the walkable street grid; public transit via CityLink serves the area but is limited. The community has a quiet, neighborhood-feel character rather than a growth-oriented one.

A parent considering this school should understand that it faces significant literacy and numeracy challenges across all grade levels, not isolated to one cohort. The district's substantial curriculum investment in reading instruction signals awareness and commitment to change, but results will take time to manifest. A parent may want to look into further with the school what targeted support exists for students performing below grade level, what the school's approach to intervention looksystems are in place, and what trajectory of improvement the school anticipates given the new curriculum adoption.

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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 63%

School 3% · District 14% · ▼ 11 pts below district

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

Grade 76%

School 6% · District 20% · ▼ 14 pts below district

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

Grade 83%

School 3% · District 13% · ▼ 9 pts below district

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

English language arts

Grade 513%

School 13% · District 29% · ▼ 16 pts below district

▼ 39 pts below state median · ▼ 35 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 710%

School 10% · District 25% · ▼ 15 pts below district

▼ 41 pts below state median · ▼ 30 pts below county median

Grade 834%

School 34% · District 35%

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

Science

Grade 54%

School 4% · District 18% · ▼ 13 pts below district

▼ 32 pts below state median · ▼ 25 pts below county median

Grade 813%

School 13% · District 21% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▼ 27 pts below state median · ▼ 17 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.