Schools in Bloomington · McLean County Unit School District 5, Bloomington School District 87
Bloomington’s public schools beat 60% of Illinois districts
The public schools Bloomington’s kids attend, from kindergarten through graduation, outperform 60% of Illinois’s districts on state tests and graduation. Among towns with similar incomes, they rank near the top.
#217Best public schools of 38469%beats similar-income towns
Reading proficiency
32%
▲ 1 pts vs IL 31%
2020–21
Math proficiency
30%
▲ 4 pts vs IL 26%
2020–21
Graduate on time
92%
▲ 5 pts vs IL 87%
class of 2018
Spent per student
$16.9K
▼ 22% vs IL $21.6K
FY2024
Students per teacher
13.3
IL 13.6 · smaller classes
Schools
23
7,976 students
The School Grade
How Bloomington compares
B Test scoresB− Graduation
Illinois school districts we grade (853)Better than 60%
Lower resultsHigher results
Illinois towns with similar household incomes (1,471)Better than 69%
Towns in McLean County (31)Better than 23%
High confidence. Built on 6,108 tested students and a graduating class of 890; ordinary year-to-year swings are unlikely to change it.
How the School Grade works
- Results, not inputs. Math and reading proficiency on Illinois’s state tests against the state average, plus the four-year graduation rate. Spending and class size are shown but don’t count. Tests: 2020–21; graduation: class of 2018.
- The whole path. A town’s grade follows its kids through every district that serves it, weighted by students tested. Tests count 60%, graduation 40%.
- Graded within the state. Each state writes its own tests, so districts are compared with the rest of Illinois only. A+ is the top 5%, A the next 10%, A− the next 10%, the B range the next 30%, the C range the next 30%, D the rest.
- What a grade can’t tell you. Test results track family income, so we also compare towns with similar incomes. Visit, ask other parents, and read neighbor reviews. It’s our own summary of U.S. Department of Education data, not an official rating.
Where will my kid go?
Pick a grade. These are the public schools that serve Bloomington (some depend on your address).
11 schools teach K in Bloomington’s district. Which one depends on your address: Benjamin Elem School, Northpoint Elementary School, Oakland Elementary School and Cedar Ridge Elem School and more.
11 schools teach 1st grade in Bloomington’s district. Which one depends on your address: Benjamin Elem School, Northpoint Elementary School, Oakland Elementary School and Cedar Ridge Elem School and more.
11 schools teach 2nd grade in Bloomington’s district. Which one depends on your address: Benjamin Elem School, Northpoint Elementary School, Oakland Elementary School and Cedar Ridge Elem School and more.
11 schools teach 3rd grade in Bloomington’s district. Which one depends on your address: Benjamin Elem School, Northpoint Elementary School, Oakland Elementary School and Cedar Ridge Elem School and more.
11 schools teach 4th grade in Bloomington’s district. Which one depends on your address: Benjamin Elem School, Northpoint Elementary School, Oakland Elementary School and Cedar Ridge Elem School and more.
11 schools teach 5th grade in Bloomington’s district. Which one depends on your address: Benjamin Elem School, Northpoint Elementary School, Oakland Elementary School and Cedar Ridge Elem School and more.
The path, start to finish
K–511 elementary schoolsDepends on your address
6–82 middle schoolsDepends on your address
9–12Bloomington High SchoolBloomington School District 87
Two districts serve Bloomington
Each district’s own page has its spending, test scores, enrollment and every school.
McLean County Unit School District 5Grades PK–12 · 26 schools · 12,407 students
$16,899IL $21,567
B+Bloomington School District 87Grades PK–12 · 9 schools · 4,809 students
$19,416IL $21,567
C+Test scores · 2020–21
Well below the state in reading
Reading · PK–12, Bloomington School District 8719%
State average 30.7%
Reading · PK–12, McLean County Unit School District 532%
State average 30.7%
Math · PK–12, Bloomington School District 8714%
State average 25.8%
Math · PK–12, McLean County Unit School District 530%
State average 25.8%
Bloomington vs. its neighbors
Bloomington’s schools rank 7th of 7 among the towns that share its borders. School Grade, by percentile among Illinois districts.
Every school in Bloomington
23 schools. Grades are ours, from state tests and graduation. Stars are from neighbors.
Elementary
Benjamin Elem School
A607 students18:1Rate it →
Northpoint Elementary School
A472 students15:1Rate it →
Oakland Elementary School
C446 students14:1Rate it →
Cedar Ridge Elem School
D418 students12:1Rate it →
Bent Elem School
C−389 students14:1Rate it →
Washington Elem School
B−379 students16:1Rate it →
Sheridan Elem School
D314 students11:1Rate it →
Irving Elementary School
C−303 students12:1Rate it →
Stevenson Elem School
C299 students9:1Rate it →
Fox Creek Elementary School
C292 students13:1Rate it →
Pepper Ridge Elementary School
B+287 students11:1Rate it →
Brigham Elementary
313 students17:1Rate it →
Sarah A Raymond Sch of Early Educ
260 students22:1Rate it →
Middle
Bloomington Jr High School
C+1,050 students13:1Rate it →
Evans Junior High School
B778 students14:1Rate it →
High
Bloomington High School
B+1,369 students14:1Rate it →
Bloomington Area Career Center
Rate it →
Regional Alop School
Rate it →
Safe School Program
Rate it →
Private & other
Parents talk
What Bloomington families are saying about school.
Parents weigh in
Live in Bloomington? Is a B for its schools right?
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Start the conversation
Within reach
Colleges →Colleges near Bloomington
There’s no college in Bloomington, but 4 are within 30 miles. The closest is Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington, 1.5 miles away.
Illinois Wesleyan UniversityUniversity or college · Private nonprofit · Bloomington
1.5 mi1,576 students
Illinois State UniversityUniversity or college · Public · Normal
2.6 mi19,834 students
Heartland Community CollegeCommunity college · Public · Normal
4.6 mi3,727 students
Eureka CollegeUniversity or college · Private nonprofit · Eureka
22.8 mi521 students
Straight-line distance from the center of Bloomington. Degree-granting colleges with students on campus · College Scorecard · IPEDS.
School data: U.S. Department of Education (NCES, EDFacts, F-33 school finance). The School Grade is our own summary of state test results and graduation rates, graded within Illinois. Stars are from neighbors.