The top reported proficiency rate is 36% in English language arts. The lowest is 20% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Quincy Jr High School
Quincy Jr High School serves the three middle grades (sixth through eighth) in Quincy, Illinois, a small Mississippi River city in west-central Illinois that functions as the commercial and medical hub for a regional population drawn from surrounding counties. The school enrolls a student body that is predominantly white, with a substantial minority population including Black students, students of two or more races, and Hispanic students. The enrollment spans across the three grades in roughly equal proportions.
On state assessments administered in 2024-25, the school's proficiency results show a clear pattern of challenge, particularly in mathematics. In sixth-grade math, roughly one in five students reached proficiency. Seventh-grade math saw a similar outcome at about one in four students. Eighth-grade math dropped further, to about one in six students proficient. English language arts results are noticeably stronger: sixth-grade ELA shows about two in five students proficient, with seventh grade holding steady at a similar level and eighth grade slightly lower at about one in three. In eighth-grade science, roughly one in three students achieved proficiency. The school's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile among the county's districts. These results reflect consistent academic headwinds, particularly in mathematics as students progress through the grades.
The underlying participation rates are solid, averaging in the low-to-mid 90s across subjects and grades, indicating that the absences and opt-outs are not the primary driver of these outcomes. Parents may want to look into what the school is doing to identify and support students who are not meeting grade-level standards, as the proficiency gaps suggest that a substantial share of the student population is trailing behind state benchmarks.
The district serving this school, Quincy SD 172, made a substantive instructional shift in the 2024-25 school year, adopting new core curricula for kindergarten through fifth grade: Benchmark Workshop for literacy and Reveal Math for math, replacing the district's prior approach. This change affects the elementary pathway that feeds into Quincy Jr High. It is too early in the school year data cycle to assess whether this elementary curriculum work will influence middle-school outcomes, but parents with younger children in the district should understand that the instructional model their children experience in early grades will be markedly different from prior years.
The school sits in a community experiencing active development and retail growth. Downtown Quincy has seen significant recent investment, including a rebuilt promenade and a wave of new businesses, and the broader city is in an active housing development phase driven by tight supply. The housing market is affordable relative to state and national benchmarks, and property tax rates within the Quincy Public Schools district have trended downward, remaining well below the cap pledged with a recent building referendum. This affordability context, combined with the city's regional employer base and civic investment, may appeal to families seeking a smaller-city setting with managed cost of living.
For families considering this school, the central question is how to support a child's academic growth in an environment where the majority of peers are not meeting grade-level proficiency benchmarks. The school's solid attendance participation suggests that attendance support is not the constraint. Understanding the school's tutoring, intervention, and enrichment offerings, as well as how teachers and families communicate about progress, would be important next steps for a parent evaluating fit.
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