The top reported proficiency rate is 17% in Science. The lowest is 11% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Miguel Juarez Middle School
Miguel Juarez Middle School serves grades six through eight in Waukegan, a mid-sized industrial port city on Lake Michigan about 36 miles north of downtown Chicago and the county seat of Lake County. The school enrolls a mid-sized student population drawn from a community whose workforce concentrates in manufacturing, healthcare, retail, and transportation. The city blends a walkable historic downtown with lakefront and harbor districts, and the school sits within a broader district that is currently undergoing significant restructuring of its high school configuration, a change that will shape the secondary pathway for every family with older students.
The student body at Miguel Juarez is predominantly Hispanic, with a substantial share of Black students and small numbers of white, Asian, and multiracial students. The demographic composition reflects the neighborhood it serves within Waukegan CUSD 60. State testing data on free-and-reduced-price lunch eligibility and counts of students receiving special education or English learner services were not available.
Academic performance at Miguel Juarez, based on Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) results in math and English language arts and Illinois Science Assessment (ISA) results in science, shows consistent and sizable challenges in proficiency. In mathematics, proficiency rates in grades six, seven, and eight fall well below state benchmarks, ranging from a low in eighth grade through somewhat higher but still low rates in sixth grade. English language arts proficiency is similarly low across the middle grades, with sixth and eighth grades showing slightly better performance than seventh grade. In science, eighth-grade proficiency is also low. The one point of relative strength in the data is eighth-grade ELA proficiency, which, while still low in absolute terms, is higher than math and science results. Participation rates across all tested subjects and grades are consistently very high, well above the state standard, indicating that the school is administering assessments to substantially all students as required.
When placed against other districts in Lake County, Miguel Juarez's overall proficiency index falls in the bottom quartile. This means performance is below the median of comparable schools in the county and significantly below the strongest performers. Given the proficiency challenges evident in the data, a parent may want to speak directly with the school about the academic support strategies in place, how the school is working to improve outcomes, and what individual student interventions and resources are available. State testing data for grades three, four, and five were not available, as this is a middle school serving only grades six through eight.
The school does not report graduation rates or chronic absenteeism metrics, which is appropriate because it does not serve a grade level at which state graduation data is collected. The school is part of Waukegan CUSD 60, which is currently restructuring its comprehensive high school, including changes to which campus students will attend and shifts in grade-level placement. This affects the experience every family will have when their student transitions to high school.
Housing in the Waukegan area is moderately priced relative to state and national benchmarks, with a housing market characterized by modest inventory and steady pricing. The rental market reflects affordability that is below the national average for renters, though ownership affordability is close to the national benchmark. The area has a regional employment base anchored by major manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies including Abbott and AbbVie, Naval Station Great Lakes to the south, and healthcare and education employers, providing a mix of middle-skill and professional career pathways for residents.
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