The top reported proficiency rate is 27% in Science. The lowest is 15% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Edison Jr High School
Edison Jr High School serves seventh and eighth graders in Rock Island, a mid-sized Mississippi River city in the Illinois Quad Cities. The school enrollment is modest, with roughly equal cohorts of seventh and eighth grade students. The student body is racially and ethnically diverse: a significant share are Black, followed by sizable White and Asian populations, with smaller Hispanic and multiracial groups represented. Specific counts of students qualifying for free or reduced price meals and students with individualized education plans or English learner status were not available.
State test results for the grades Edison serves—seventh and eighth grade—show proficiency rates well below the state median. In seventh and eighth grade math, proficiency sits at the lower end, with only a small portion of students meeting the standard in each grade. English language arts proficiency is slightly higher: roughly a quarter of seventh graders and just over a quarter of eighth graders scored proficient or above. Science proficiency in eighth grade—the only grade tested in that subject—stands at roughly a quarter of students. Test participation is consistently high across all subjects and grades, indicating the school is reliably assessing its student population. A parent may want to look into the school's support systems and instructional approach to understanding how these results are being addressed.
Relative to other districts in Rock Island County, Edison's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile. This positioning reflects the grades' performance across the tested subjects and suggests the school faces stronger academic headwinds than the median peer school in the county.
The parent district, Rock Island SD 41, is undergoing substantive changes that will affect all its schools. The district has adopted science-of-reading aligned literacy curricula—CKLA for younger grades and Expeditionary Learning through eighth grade—and launched a districtwide "Reading Revolution" with structured daily reading and a curriculum management audit. These changes represent a clear pedagogical shift visible in daily instruction, and early state results show several district schools improving by at least one accountability rating. At the same time, the district is evaluating facility consolidation as part of a broader Facilities Management Plan, given that many buildings are aging. Families should expect possible boundary shifts and school closures over the next several years as this process unfolds.
The school sits in a city with slow population decline since its peak decades ago. Housing in the Rock Island zip code is relatively affordable compared to state and national medians, though specific property values and rents are subject to seasonal variation. The local economy relies on longstanding employers including Rock Island Arsenal, downtown financial companies with deep historical roots, Augustana College, and the school district itself. Downtown Rock Island has a historic river-district character with ongoing infill development, while the city's college-adjacent neighborhoods are the focus of recent investment aimed at walkability and economic activation.
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