Illinois School Report Card Highlights: Liberty and Lincoln Middle Schools

November 13, 2025 

Dear District #7 Families,  

As part of our ongoing series highlighting the results of the 2025 Illinois Report Card by school level, this week we are proud to spotlight both Liberty and Lincoln Middle Schools, which earned a Commendable designation. This means that neither school had any underperforming student groups, and both demonstrated strong academic performance that continues to move our schools closer to the state’s top performing schools. Our goal is for all District #7 schools to achieve an Exemplary designation, and both Liberty and Lincoln demonstrated notable growth this year, coming much closer to that level than in previous years. 

The progress we’ve seen reflects the collective dedication of our students, staff, families, and community to maintaining our long-standing tradition of excellence in academics, activities, and character. 

Understanding the Indicators: 

The Growth Indicator looks at student-level progress in English Language Arts (ELA) and Math between consecutive years of state testing (grades 3–8). It uses a Student Growth Percentile (SGP) model, which compares a student’s growth to other Illinois students who had similar prior test scores. 

• Strong Growth: Anything above 60th percentile. 

• Average Growth: Between 40th and 60th percentile. 

• Low Growth: 40th percentile and lower. 

Chronic Absenteeism is defined as any student who has missed more than 10% of the school year.  On average, students that are chronically absent have missed at least 17 days of school.    

How our schools performed this year: 

Liberty Middle School 

Glows (Successes): 

• Students demonstrated solid growth in math, with a Growth Indicator of 54.6 percentile. 

• Parent engagement remains strong, with the 5Essentials survey participation rate at 36.8%, well above the state average of 18.5%. 

Grows (Opportunities for Growth): 

• Continued focus on ELA growth (50 percentile) to support all learners. 

• Chronic absenteeism at 13% is below the state average of 25.4%, with continued efforts to reduce it further.  

• Ongoing work to close achievement gaps identified in the School Report Card. 

  

Lincoln Middle School 

Glows (Successes): 

• Students demonstrated steady growth in math, with a Growth Indicator of 49.7 percentile. 

• Parent engagement continues to be strong, with the 5Essentials survey participation rate at 60.3%, well above the state average of 18.5%. 

Grows (Opportunities for Growth): 

• Continued focus on ELA growth (46.6 percentile) to support all learners. 

• Chronic absenteeism at 15% is below the state average of 25.4%, with ongoing efforts to reduce it further. 

• Ongoing work to close achievement gaps identified in the School Report Card. 

There is much to celebrate in how our students performed compared to schools across the Metro East and the state of Illinois. Both Liberty and Lincoln Middle Schools demonstrate the dedication and collaboration of students, staff, families, and the community. While we take pride in this growth, we remain committed to continuous improvement and addressing areas for growth, while finding new ways to empower every student to achieve personal success. 

Dr. Allen Duncan Jr. 
Acting Superintendent