University High School

Normal · IL · ISU Laboratory Schools · Public

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Similar nearby schools

Most similar nearby schools

McClean Co Detention Center → Calvary Christian Academy → Eugene Field School → Normal Community West High School → Bloomington Area Career Center → Bloomington High School → YBMC Charter Sch → Safe School Program →

📚AP rigor: 80th percentile nationally 📖13 AP courses

📋 At a glance

Programs & features

📚 13 AP courses offered — Elite
✅ Dual-enrollment program (college credit while in HS)
🔢 1 calculus classes · 1 physics · 9 chemistry

Academic signals

🎓 AP rigor: 80th percentile nationally
📝 SAT/ACT participation: 69th percentile by test-taker volume

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

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How University High School compares for families

Stronger-than-average college-prep profile.

▸ StatewideAP rigor in the top 20% nationally with 13 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: McClean Co Detention Center, Calvary Christian Academy, Eugene Field School and 5 more. See the sidebar to compare side-by-side.

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🎓 Academic rigor

AP + advanced-course offerings

Elite — exceptional AP + advanced course breadth

80th percentile nationally

Less rigorMore rigorMost rigor

AP courses offered

Math ✓ · Science ✓

Advanced math classes

1 calculus · 5 advanced

Lab science classes

1 physics · 9 chemistry

Other rigor signals

✅ Dual-enrollment program

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

69th percentile by test-taker volume

SAT/ACT test-takers

148

11th-12th graders who took 1+ college admissions test

Test-taking intensity

23.7

takers per 100 students in grades 9-12

Compared against

18,426

US high schools reporting SAT/ACT participation

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)

6.8%

Strong: experienced corps. New teachers rotate through but most have ≥3 years in.

% chronic teacher absence (≥10 days/yr)

13.6%

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.

Chronic absenteeism

Share of students absent 15+ days

3.0%

Below 10% — strong attendance culture. Chronic absence is a leading indicator of dropout and disengagement; a low rate signals families staying connected to the school.

Students absent 15+ days

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: A low chronic-absence rate is the cleanest school-level signal of strong family connection, classroom culture, and student engagement — all upstream drivers of enrollment stability. 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.

Counselor capacity

Student : Counselor

208:1

Below the ASCA 250:1 recommendation — strong capacity for college planning, course selection, and student supports.

Counselor FTE

3.0

Full-time-equivalent school counselors on staff.

Teacher FTE

Full-time-equivalent classroom teachers.

Source: U.S. Department of Education, Civil Rights Data Collection 2020-2021. Counselor ratio = the school's most recent total enrollment ÷ counselor FTE. The American School Counselor Association (ASCA) recommends a 250:1 maximum; the US national median across schools with on-staff counselors is roughly 430:1.

Enrollment trend & projection

Grade 12 went from 149 in 2021 to 164 in 2024 — over 3 years.

+10.1%

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

If the recent trend holds…

At its recent rate of +1.0%/year, projecting from 2024's 624 students:

2025

630

2027

644

2029

657

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

Nearby high schools — the local competition

The closest high schools families here also consider, and where their enrollment is heading.

School	Type	Miles	HS enrollment	Trend
McClean Co Detention Center Normal	Public	0.6	—	—
Calvary Christian Academy Normal	Private	0.6	197	+13.9%
Eugene Field School Normal	Public	0.9	4	—
Normal Community West High School Normal	Public	1.5	1,590	-4.4%
Bloomington Area Career Center Bloomington	Public	2.3	—	—
Bloomington High School Bloomington	Public	2.3	1,369	-12.2%
YBMC Charter Sch Normal	Public · charter	2.4	16	—
Safe School Program Bloomington	Public	2.6	—	—