The top reported proficiency rate is 45% in English language arts. The lowest is 25% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Stark County Junior High School
Stark County Junior High School sits in Toulon, a small rural county-seat city in the Peoria metropolitan area with a predominantly residential character and an agricultural surround. The school serves grades six through eight and enrolls a small student body drawn from the surrounding county. The enrollment is predominantly white, with a meaningful Hispanic student population, small numbers of Black and multiracial students, and no Asian or Native American enrollment reported. The free or reduced price lunch rate was not available in the data provided.
The school is housed in a facility that underwent major renovation as part of a district construction project completed in the fall of the 2022-23 school year. That modernization included substantial junior high school renovations alongside a new high school and new library, providing students with an updated learning environment.
Test results from the most recent state assessment cycle paint a mixed picture. In English Language Arts, the school shows stronger proficiency in the upper grades. Grade six students achieved proficiency at just under half the level tested, while grade seven students reached proficiency at just below half and grade eight students reached just above two-fifths proficiency. The school reports full participation in ELA testing at grades six and eight, with near-universal participation at grade seven.
Mathematics results are weaker. Grade six students achieved proficiency at less than one-fifth the tested level, grade seven at roughly one-third, and grade eighth at just above one-fifth. Grade six and eight participation was complete; grade seven participation was high but not universal. Science proficiency in grade eight, the only tested grade for which data was available, sat just under two-fifths, with universal participation.
When measured by overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades, the school's index places it above the midpoint relative to other districts in Stark County. That said, a parent may want to look further into the particularly low math proficiency at the sixth and eighth grade levels and the gap between ELA and math performance.
The district has no current data available on chronic absenteeism, discipline, English learner populations, or special education enrollment. Program offerings and staffing details were not provided in the available materials.
Toulon itself is a quiet, inexpensive housing market with a small, close-knit population that is aging and has been flat to slowly declining. The town has a traditional compact downtown centered on the Stark County Courthouse and the public library, and residents are primarily car-dependent for daily travel. The Rock Island Trail State Park, a paved 26-mile rail-trail with its northern terminus in town, provides a walking and biking resource. Local employment is small-scale and driven by county government, the school district, health care, construction, and agriculture. The city has undertaken downtown revitalization rather than major new housing development.
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