Enrollment
766
Illinois · 2024-25 NCES data
Middle school (grades 6-8) · Markham, IL
Prairie-Hills Junior High School
Federal NCES profile for Prairie-Hills Junior High School, including enrollment, faculty, free-lunch eligibility, demographics, and resource indicators - Resource Investment Index 17/100.
2024-25 NCES dataMiddle school (grades 6-8)NCES 172472002673
👥 S:T ratio 10
🌟 Gifted program 30
🎓 Counselors 23
📋 Attendance 5
Scored 0–100 from federal NCES and CRDC indicators, resource allocation, not test scores. Full methodology →
The verdict
Prairie-Hills Junior High School earns 17/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 98% of Illinois schools.
- #4 of 5
- public schools in Markham · Resource Index
- 17
- Resource Index · Lower
- 22.5:1
- large classes for Illinois
- 766
- students enrolled
Prairie-Hills Junior High School has class sizes larger than 98% of Illinois schools. Computed live against every Illinois school reporting to NCES.
By Resource Investment Index, Prairie-Hills Junior High School ranks #4 of 5 public schools in Markham, IL.
School address
District: Prairie-Hills Esd 144 · Illinois
NCES ID 172472002673 Verify on NCES CCD record →
Teachers (FTE)
34.0
Federal CCD staff survey
Students per teacher
22.5:1
vs 14:1 Illinois avg
+61% vs state
Student-teacher ratio in context
How Prairie-Hills Junior High School compares with Illinois and U.S. medians
What stands out at Prairie-Hills Junior High School
Prairie-Hills Junior High School is a large middle school in Markham, Illinois, enrolling 766 students.
Class loads run heavy: 22.5:1 is larger than about 98% of Illinois schools and 61% above the 14:1 state mean, so each teacher carries more students than is typical.
Enrollment of 766 puts it in the larger third of Illinois schools by headcount.
Its Resource Investment Index trails 98% of the 3,845 Illinois schools with a score on record, one of the lower results on this measure.
Its student body is led by African American (77%) and Hispanic or Latino (19%) (diversity index 37/100).
Counselor availability sits well past the ASCA benchmark, roughly 383 students sharing each counselor, though short of the most stretched campuses.
Chronic absenteeism is elevated: 38.1% of students missed 10% or more of school days (2021-22 Civil Rights Data Collection).
Its district draws 16.3% of revenue from federal sources, an above-typical federal share that tends to track a higher-need student population.
The federal civil-rights collection also records 1 expulsion at this campus for 2021-22.
Prairie-Hills Esd 144 also operates Mae Jemison School (368 students) and Highlands Elem School (311 students) alongside Prairie-Hills Junior High School.
Sourced from NCES CCD, CRDC, and F-33 (federal records, not a quality verdict). How we source and compute this.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics Common Core of Data + CRDC + F-33 · 2024-25
How Prairie-Hills Junior High School compares
Prairie-Hills Junior High School on the metrics families compare, against Illinois and U.S. means.
| Metric | This school | vs Illinois | Illinois avg | U.S. avg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher | 22.5:1 | ▲ 61% | 14:1 | 15.7:1 |
| Enrollment | 766 | top 12% | - | - |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data School-level CCD + state/national means from Public School Universe · 2024-25
22.5:1
Leaner classes than 9% of US schools, heavier class loads than most.
766
Bigger than 84% of US schools by enrollment, a large campus nationally.
Equity indicators (what these measure)
Staffing depth
22.5:1
students per teacher
- 61% above state mean
Top 98% in Illinois - lower ratio than 2% of state schools
Above 20:1, running heavier than the typical U.S. public school; staffing is comparatively stretched.
Engagement
38.1%
chronically absent (missed 10%+ of school days)
At or above 20%, the commonly used threshold for "high" chronic absenteeism, signaling significant barriers to regular attendance.
Funding equity
$15,973
per pupil, district-wide
- below Illinois avg of $17,042
Close to the U.S. public-school average per-pupil spend.
Support staff
Counselors2.0 FTE
Per 383 students, the combined health-and-guidance staffing load for this school.
Discipline context
6
in-school suspensions + 6 out-of-school
Suspension rate: 0.8 per 100 students. Combined in-school and out-of-school rate: 1.6 per 100 students. Reported via the Civil Rights Data Collection. Includes 1 expulsion.
Overview
- Common Core of Data (June 2026): enrollment, staffing, and the student-teacher ratio above.
- Civil Rights Data Collection: discipline counts and program access (AP, gifted, special education).
- F-33 School District Finance Survey: the district-wide per-pupil spending figures below.
Three separate federal collections, each on its own reporting cadence - which is why this school's numbers line up on a consistent basis against every other school and state on this site, rather than mixing figures pulled from different survey years.
Student demographics
African American 76.9%
Hispanic or Latino 19.1%
Two or More 1.8%
White 1.4%
Asian 0.7%
American Indian / Alaska Native 0.1%
Largest group: African American at 76.9% of enrollment.
Student-body diversity index 37.2/100
Simpson diversity index - at 37.2, Prairie-Hills Junior High School is about as mixed as the Illinois school average of 38.9.
Programs
Funding & spending
District-wide per-pupil expenditure for Prairie-Hills Esd 144, which includes Prairie-Hills Junior High School.
$15,973
Per student
-6%
vs Illinois
Avg $17,042
-4%
vs U.S.
Avg $16,593
Revenue mix
Local 30.7%
State 53.0%
Federal 16.3%
Source: NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey District-level finance · FY 2021-22 Per-pupil expenditure reflects the district-wide average. Individual school budgets are not reported at the federal level.
How Prairie-Hills Junior High School Compares to District-Mates
| School | Enrollment | Economic Profile | Student-Teacher Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mae Jemison School | Smaller | No free-lunch data | Lower S:T ratio |
| Highlands Elem School | Smaller | No free-lunch data | Similar S:T ratio |
| Markham Park Elem School | Smaller | No free-lunch data | Higher S:T ratio |
| Chateaux School | Smaller | No free-lunch data | Lower S:T ratio |
| Fieldcrest Elem School | Smaller | No free-lunch data | Lower S:T ratio |
Comparisons are relative to Prairie-Hills Junior High School's own figures; each column derives from NCES Common Core of Data.
Other Schools in This District
- Enrollment
- 368
- Students per teacher
- 16.7:1
- Resource Index
- 33/100
- Enrollment
- 311
- Students per teacher
- 23.9:1
- Resource Index
- 21/100
- Enrollment
- 292
- Students per teacher
- 26.5:1
- Resource Index
- 23/100
- Enrollment
- 249
- Students per teacher
- 17.8:1
- Resource Index
- 25/100
- Enrollment
- 217
- Students per teacher
- 12.8:1
- Resource Index
- 26/100
Similar middle schools statewide
Matched by enrollment size and by staffing ratio across all of Illinois, not just this city - a different peer set than the local comparisons above.
Similar enrollment (~766 students)
Next steps
Verify locally before acting on Prairie-Hills Junior High School's federal record.
- Compare Prairie-Hills Junior High School against another school. Compare schools
- Prairie-Hills Esd 144's spending and staffing shape this school. District profile
- Confirm current enrollment and boundaries with the school. Choosing guide
Federal record (CCD 2024-25, CRDC 2021-22) - PlainSchools assigns no subjective rating; the composite quality score is a transparent, reproducible index computed from this cited federal data.
Frequently asked questions about Prairie-Hills Junior High School
How many students attend Prairie-Hills Junior High School?
Prairie-Hills Junior High School has 766 students enrolled. It is a middle school in Markham, IL.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Prairie-Hills Junior High School?
The student-teacher ratio at Prairie-Hills Junior High School is 22.5:1, which is 61% higher than the Illinois average of 14:1 and 43% higher than the national average of 15.7:1.
What is the racial and ethnic makeup of Prairie-Hills Junior High School?
The largest demographic group at Prairie-Hills Junior High School is African American at 76.9% of enrollment, in Markham, IL.
What is the Resource Investment Index for Prairie-Hills Junior High School?
Prairie-Hills Junior High School has a Resource Investment Index of 17/100 (lower reported resources relative to schools nationally) based on 4 factors: student-teacher ratio, counselor availability, attendance rates. Not a test-score or academic measure (national median ~41/100, see methodology).
How does Prairie-Hills Junior High School rank among public schools in Markham?
By Resource Investment Index, Prairie-Hills Junior High School ranks #4 of 5 public schools in Markham, IL. This compares federal resource and staffing data among local peers; it is not a test-score or academic ranking. See all public schools in Markham on the city page.
Is Prairie-Hills Junior High School a good school?
Prairie-Hills Junior High School earns 17/100 on the Resource Investment Index, with class sizes larger than 98% of Illinois schools. This is a resource snapshot, not an academic rating; see the Resource Investment Index question above for what the number does and doesn't measure.
What other schools are in Prairie-Hills Esd 144?
Besides Prairie-Hills Junior High School, Prairie-Hills Esd 144 also operates Mae Jemison School (368 students), Highlands Elem School (311 students), and Markham Park Elem School (292 students). See the Prairie-Hills Esd 144 district page for the complete list.
Related tools
Every figure on PlainSchools is rendered directly from the source NCES, CRDC and F-33 federal records, no number is typed in by an editor. Each school's figures reflect its most recent NCES/CRDC submission on file. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.