Chester High School

Chester · IL · Chester CUSD 139 · Public

📄 Shareable scorecard →

📋 At a glance

Programs & features
  • 📚 2 AP courses offered — Strong
  • 🔢 2 calculus classes · 6 chemistry
Academic signals
  • 🎓 AP rigor: 52th percentile nationally

Composed from federal CRDC offerings, EDFacts ACGR, and other public data. Full breakdowns below.

💡

How Chester High School compares for families

Solid mid-tier academic profile.

  • StatewideAP rigor at the 52th percentile nationally with 2 AP courses.
  • LocallyIL sits right at the US average on NAEP 8th-grade math — local school quality will set your kid apart.
  • vs Similar SchoolsThe closest comparables nearby: Sparta High School, Trico Senior High School, Red Bud High School and 5 more. See the sidebar to compare side-by-side.

For Parents

📬

Follow Chester High School

Get an email when Chester High School's numbers change — new admissions results, enrollment shifts, test scores. A few updates a year, no spam.

🎓 Academic rigor

AP + advanced-course offerings

Strong — solid AP program + advanced courses

52th percentile nationally

50th 90th ↑ this school
Less rigorMore rigorMost rigor
AP courses offered
2
Science ✓
Students taking AP courses
5
≈1 per 100 students · uptake, not just offerings
Advanced math classes
5
2 calculus · 3 advanced
Lab science classes
6
0 physics · 6 chemistry
Other rigor signals
No dual-enrollment or gifted program reported

Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2020-21). CRDC reports what's offered + enrolled — it doesn't collect AP exam pass rates (College Board owns that data and doesn't release it school-level).

SAT / ACT participation

CRDC federal data · 2020-21
SAT/ACT test-takers
0
11th-12th graders who took 1+ college admissions test
Test-taking intensity
0.0
takers per 100 students in grades 9-12

Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2020-21). Volume — not score — is what's reported here. A higher count means more students at this school are entering the college admissions pipeline. Note: 2020-21 was COVID-disrupted; some districts (especially those that stayed remote longer) report unusually low or zero takers.

👩‍🏫 Teacher workforce · federal CRDC

Teacher experience & reliability

% inexperienced teachers (1st-2nd yr)
8.7%
Strong: experienced corps. New teachers rotate through but most have ≥3 years in.
% chronic teacher absence (≥10 days/yr)
34.8%
Elevated. Teacher absence directly affects classroom continuity and student outcomes.

Source: federal Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC 2017-18 — the most recent vintage that publishes per-school teacher quality fields; the 2020-21 sweep had them suppressed). "Inexperienced" = teachers in their first or second year. "Chronic absence" = teachers absent 10+ days/year.

🏛️ Federal Title I context

Title I Targeted Assistance eligible

35-39% FRPL — qualifies for Title I Targeted Assistance

39.4%
FRPL rate — % of students who qualify for the federal Free or Reduced-Price Lunch program. This is the underlying federal income-eligibility signal Title I designations are computed from (ESEA Sec. 1113).
0% (no FRPL) 35% TA · 40% Schoolwide 100% (universal FRPL)

35-39% of students qualify for free/reduced lunch. The school can receive Title I funds targeted to identified students (not schoolwide).

Source: NCES Common Core of Data, free/reduced-price lunch eligibility. The actual Title I designation is a district decision and may differ from eligibility — but the federal eligibility math is what we show here. We don't claim to assert whether the district formally chose to enroll this school in Title I.

🏛️ Your state's public flagship

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

44%
admit rate
$16,004
in-state tuition/yr · $35,124 out-of-state
1270–1510
SAT 25–75 · ACT 29–34

The in-state tuition gap is the flagship's biggest draw — most in-state families pay far less than the out-of-state sticker. Average net price after aid runs about $14,355/yr. Admission odds depend on your student's GPA and test scores, not which high school they attend.

See the full University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign profile → Estimate your odds with your scores →

Source: IPEDS admissions, tuition & enrollment + College Scorecard net price. Flagship = the state's primary public research university.

Chronic absenteeism

Share of students absent 15+ days
13.1%
Roughly average. The national post-COVID rate climbed to ~16% nationwide; this school is in the middle of the pack.
Students absent 15+ days
44
Federal definition: absent (excused or unexcused) for at least 15 of ~180 school days — about 10% of the school year.

Why this matters to enrollment: Chronic absence is the strongest early indicator of dropout, transfer-out, and family disengagement. A school's absenteeism trend forecasts its enrollment trend 1-3 years out. For school leaders: an Enrollment Trend Audit traces this dynamic forward →

Source: U.S. Department of Education, Civil Rights Data Collection 2020–2021. Rate = students chronically absent ÷ 2024 total enrollment.

Enrollment trend & projection

Grade 12 went from 90 in 2021 to 65 in 2024 — over 3 years.
-27.8%

Total enrollment + grade 12, NCES Common Core of Data (2021–2024).

If the recent trend holds…

At its recent rate of +0.2%/year, projecting from 2024's 335 students:

2025
336
2027
337
2029
338

An extrapolation of the recent trajectory, not a forecast of the school's plans; ignores one-off shocks.

Revenue upside

At $15,457 per student in district revenue, the 3 students projected to be gained by 2029 represent ≈ $46,371/year in additional funding.

District total revenue ÷ enrollment, NCES F-33. Public funding largely follows enrollment, so a shrinking class is a recurring budget hit.

Most similar nearby high schools

The schools most like this one — same type, blended on distance and size — and where their enrollment is heading. These are the schools families here weigh against each other.

SchoolTypeMilesHS enrollmentTrend
Sparta High School
Sparta
Public 15.8 309 -3.7%
Trico Senior High School
Campbell Hill
Public 13.6 220 -4.3%
Red Bud High School
Red Bud
Public 22.0 388 -1.3%
Steeleville High School
Steeleville
Public 10.0 148 +8.0%
Pinckneyville Comm High School
Pinckneyville
Public 26.2 379 -8.5%
Du Quoin High School
Du Quoin
Public 32.3 397 -14.1%
Johnston City High School
Johnston City
Public 48.9 328 -0.3%
Wesclin Sr High School
Trenton
Public 45.3 343 -11.6%

For Parents

Researching colleges for your kid at Chester High School?

Get a personalized College Plan Audit — find Reach, Target, and Safety colleges matched to your kid's GPA, test scores, intended major, and your family's budget. Free.

Start the College Plan Audit →

For School Admins looking at enrollment trends: request an Enrollment Trend Audit →