15 public K-12 schools in Decatur from NCES Common Core of Data: enrollment, grade span, demographics, and Civil Rights Data Collection statistics for every active campus.
15 public schools ranked by quality score. NCES CCD 2024-25 data.
The highest-ranked of Decatur's 15 public schools is Macarthur High School, scoring 25/100, against a city average of 19.8/100. Computed live across every Decatur campus reporting to NCES.
How the Decatur Public-School Landscape Breaks Down
Decatur, IL enrolls 7,840 students across 15 public schools reporting to the National Center for Education Statistics. Of those, 1 are charter schools, giving families genuine alternatives to the traditional neighbourhood assignment model. The average student-teacher ratio across the city is 21.6:1, and the composite quality score, derived from student-teacher ratio, counselor access, gifted-program availability, and CRDC attendance data, averages 19.8/100. Schools must report at least five campuses in a city to appear in this listing, which is why very small towns may redirect to the broader county or state view.
The most-resourced campus in Decatur on this index is Macarthur High School, at 25/100 on the Resource Investment Index with 1,059 enrolled students. What the index does and doesn't measure; click any school below for its full component breakdown.
Decatur spans 1 district, each filing its own NCES F-33 return, per-pupil spending can vary between neighbouring campuses. Sort the table below by enrollment, level, or district; click any school for its full profile.
Decatur school enrollment varies 3.4× across entities
Decatur school enrollment ranges from 313 students (lowest) to 1,059 students (highest), a spread of 746 students. That relatively narrow ratio reflects an unusually homogeneous school portfolio for a city this size. Per-school staffing, programme depth, and capital-renovation cycles often diverge inside the same city based on enrollment shape, a 200-student magnet runs a different operational model than a 2,000-student comprehensive high school.
Decatur operates only 1 school district — one of the single most consolidated governance structures in the country
Most Decatur school districts are a single unified district covering the whole city, a structural feature that simplifies inter-school comparison but concentrates policy authority, and the count here is near the floor observed nationally. Consolidation produces narrower variance because resources pool across a large population, but it can also mask intra-school district inequities — sub-school district differences within a single school district are not visible at this aggregation level. Consolidated systems typically rely more heavily on top-down funding formulas than on local revenue variability.
Decatur student-teacher ratio is 21.6:1 — high (typically associated with larger urban scale or staffing constraints that have widened the headcount gap)
student-teacher ratio is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: the ratio counts FTE classroom teachers against total enrollment, push-in specialists, English-language aides, special-education co-teachers, and counselors are not included in most reporting Higher values may reflect larger urban scale or recent resource constraints that have widened the gap.
Most racially and ethnically mixed schools in Decatur
Ranked by the Simpson student-body diversity index (0-100) from NCES race and ethnicity data, where higher means a more evenly mixed student body. It measures mix, not quality.
The highest-ranked school in Decatur is Macarthur High School with a quality score of 25/100. There are 15 public schools in Decatur with 7,840 total students.
How many schools are in Decatur, IL? ▼
Decatur has 15 public schools with a total enrollment of 7,840 students. 1 are charter schools. Average student-teacher ratio: 21.6:1.
Data from NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 and Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) 2021-22. Quality scores based on student-teacher ratio,
counselor access, gifted programs, and attendance. Schools must have 5+ in the city to be listed.
Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from the NCES Common Core of Data (CCD). Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.
Read our methodology, which explains how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.
