Vandalia Junior High School, Vandalia IL

Original Research by School Decision on Vandalia Junior High School

Vandalia Junior High School serves grades four through eight in a small Fayette County community that sits roughly 60 miles northeast of Greater St. Louis. The school is part of Vandalia Community Unit School District No. 203, which has been working to weave career and college pathways into its offerings, aiming to help students graduate with recognized industry credentials and dual-credit ties through the local vocational center.

The school's academic performance shows a split pattern. In English language arts, students in grades five, six, and seven perform near or above the midpoint, with grade five and seven both showing roughly half the tested students meeting proficiency. Grade four ELA proficiency is somewhat lower, and grade eight drops noticeably. Math proficiency is notably weaker across all grades. In grade four, fewer than half the students meet proficiency in math, and the rate continues to decline through the upper grades, with grades six through eight all below one in five. Science results, available for grades five and eight, sit in a similar range: grade five at roughly two in five, grade eight at roughly one in three. The school's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile relative to other districts in Fayette County. A parent may want to discuss these math results directly with the school and ask what supports and interventions are underway.

The enrollment is stable at around that size for its grade band, with roughly similar numbers of students in each grade and a student body that is predominantly white, with a small share of students identifying as multiracial and very small counts of Hispanic, Asian, and Native American students. Free or reduced price lunch data was not available, so information on economic need is incomplete. State testing data for grade three were not available, as is typical since grade three is not universally tested in Illinois. Special education and English learner counts were not reported.

Vandalia itself is a small county-seat city with a preserved historic downtown anchored by the Vandalia State House, a one-mile walking trail threading through parks, and a local economy built around state and county employment, healthcare, corrections, and retail. Housing is well below state and national medians, and the market has been relatively flat, reflecting modest local growth rather than rapid expansion. The school sits on its own campus rather than in the downtown core. For families considering the area, the housing affordability is a draw, the community has maintained its civic anchors and public spaces, and the school district is building out recognized career pathways that could give students concrete credentials and employment links beyond high school. The academic results in math warrant close attention and clarification with the school before deciding.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 439%

School 39% · District 39%

▲ 3 pts above state median

Grade 525%

School 25% · District 25%

▼ 5 pts below state median

Grade 616%

School 16% · District 16%

▼ 8 pts below state median

Grade 719%

School 19% · District 19%

▼ 10 pts below state median

Grade 815%

School 15% · District 15%

▼ 7 pts below state median

English language arts

Grade 443%

School 43% · District 43%

▼ 5 pts below state median

Grade 559%

School 59% · District 59%

▲ 7 pts above state median

Grade 651%

School 51% · District 51%

▲ 1 pts above state median

Grade 758%

School 58% · District 58%

▲ 7 pts above state median

Grade 835%

School 35% · District 35%

▼ 18 pts below state median

Science

Grade 542%

School 42% · District 42%

▲ 5 pts above state median

Grade 833%

School 33% · District 33%

▼ 7 pts below state median

This schoolVandalia CUSD 203, 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.