By WILL BRUMLEVE
will@fordcountychronicle.com
GIBSON CITY — With Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley High School leading the way, all three of Ford County’s public high schools were ranked among the top 50 percent of public high schools in Illinois in U.S. News and World Report’s 2022 rankings.
Among 673 public high schools in the state, GCMS High School was ranked 124th, followed by Paxton-Buckley-Loda High School at 267th and Tri-Point High School at 300th.
Nationally, GCMS was ranked 3,279th among 17,843 public high schools, while PBL and Tri-Point were ranked 8,235th and 9,597th, respectively.
The GCMS school district’s superintendent, Jeremy Darnell, said he was pleased with GCMS High School’s ranking, which trailed only Champaign Central High School (117th), Normal Community High School (99th), Tri-Valley High School (72nd) and Mahomet-Seymour High School (63rd) among schools in East Central Illinois.
“GCMS continues to strive to maximize our resources and opportunities to serve kids,” Darnell said in an email to the Ford County Chronicle. “Our students and community invest heavily into each other, and it shows. It is our people that make GCMS an amazing place. Students, staff, parents and community with a common cause. I am Falcon proud!”
The 2022 rankings were based on data from the 2016-17 through 2018-19 school years and graduation rates from 2019-20. Each school was assigned an overall rank and score based on their rankings in six categories:
— College readiness (the proportions of 12th-graders who took and earned a qualifying score on at least one Advanced Placement or IB exam).
— State assessment proficiency (aggregated scores on state assessments that students may be required to pass to graduate).
— State assessment performance (how aggregated scores on state assessments compare with U.S. News’ expectations given the proportions of students who are Black, Hispanic and from low-income households).
— Underserved student performance (scores on state assessments aggregated just among students who are Black, Hispanic and from low-income households).
— College curriculum breadth (the proportions of 12th-graders who took and earned a qualifying score on AP and IB exams in multiple areas).
— Graduation rate (the proportion of entering ninth-graders who graduated four academic years later).
Ranked tops in Illinois and No. 5 nationally was Walter Payton College Preparatory High School in Chicago. The full rankings can be viewed at www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/illinois/rankings.
GCMS High School
GCMS High School received an overall score of 81.62 out of 100.
The school’s graduation rate of 90 percent tied for 11,404th best nationally and 344th best in the state.
With 29 percent of its 283 students being college-ready, its college readiness rank was 4,421st nationally and 186th in the state, while its college curriculum breadth rank was tied for 4,672nd in the nation and 191st in the state.
GCMS High School’s state assessment proficiency rank was tied for 3,364th nationally and was 120th in the state, while its state assessment performance rank was tied for 3,721st nationally and 128th in the state. The percentages of its students proficient in math, reading and science were 42, 47 and 36 percent, above the state averages of 30 percent in all three subjects.
Forty-four percent of GCMS High School’s students took at least one Advanced Placement exam, with 24 percent passing at least one.
The school’s minority enrollment was 9 percent.
PBL High School
PBL High School received an overall score of 53.85 out of 100.
The school’s graduation rate of 87 percent was 13,459th best nationally and tied for 448th best in the state.
With 8.3 percent of its 425 students being college-ready, its college readiness rank was 10,496th nationally and 390th in the state, while its college curriculum breadth rank was tied for 10,572nd in the nation and was 390th in the state.
PBL High School’s state assessment proficiency rank was tied for 6,075th nationally and was 224th in the state, while its state assessment performance rank was tied for 5,397th nationally and 185th in the state. The percentages of its students proficient in math, reading and science were 31, 34 and 34 percent, above the state averages of 30 percent in all three subjects.
Thirteen percent of PBL High School’s students took at least one Advanced Placement exam, with 7 percent passing at least one.
The school’s minority enrollment was 12 percent.
Tri-Point High School
Tri-Point High School received an overall score of 46.21 out of 100.
The school’s graduation rate of 96 percent was tied for 5,771st best nationally and tied for 121st best in the state.
There were no college readiness or college curriculum breadth ranks listed for the school.
Tri-Point High School’s state assessment proficiency rank was 9,984th nationally and 371st in the state, while its state assessment performance rank was 4,348th nationally and 150th in the state. The percentages of its students proficient in math, reading and science were 19, 27 and 24 percent, below the state averages of 30 percent in all three subjects.
With a total enrollment of 117, the school’s minority enrollment was 13 percent.
