The top reported proficiency rate is 55% in English language arts. The lowest is 37% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Monroe Elem School
Monroe Elementary serves pre-kindergarten through sixth grade in Casey, a small rural city in east-central Illinois. The school draws from a community in quiet demographic decline, but operates as a regular public school in a stable district with steady enrollment.
The school's enrollment sits at roughly mid-sized for its grade band, with roughly even distribution across grades. The student body is overwhelmingly white, with very small counts of students from other racial or ethnic backgrounds. Free-or-reduced-price lunch status and special education enrollment data were not available, so a parent should ask the school directly about the share of students qualifying for lunch support or receiving special education services.
State assessment results on the Illinois Assessment of Readiness show uneven performance across grades and subjects. Third-grade proficiency is mixed: about half meet grade-level benchmarks in math, and a comparable share in English language arts. Fourth grade performs noticeably stronger, with math proficiency in the low sixties and English language arts higher still. Fifth grade shows a sharp decline in math, with proficiency in the low teens, though English language arts sits in the mid-to-upper thirties. Sixth grade recovers somewhat, with math proficiency in the low-to-mid forties and English language arts in the low sixties. Science proficiency in fifth grade was roughly one-third. Grades seven and eight do not appear in the data because Monroe does not serve those grades.
When proficiency rates across tested subjects and grades are averaged together, Monroe sits above the midpoint among the three districts in Clark County. The school's overall proficiency index is stronger than the county median, suggesting relatively stable academic standing within its immediate county peer set, though the grade-to-grade variability and notably low fifth-grade math results warrant conversation with school leadership about what drives that pattern and how students in the elementary years are supported as they progress.
State testing data reflected a shift in cut scores for the Illinois Assessment of Readiness, so year-over-year trend comparisons are not safe to compute. A parent interested in whether achievement is moving up or down should request that context from the school itself.
Casey-Westfield CUSD 4C approved a meaningful property tax levy increase for the 2024 levy year, raising both corporate and special purpose property taxes by a portion over the prior year. For families considering a move into the district, this represents a lasting impact on household tax bills. Housing values in Casey's area are modest relative to state and national benchmarks, with median home values well below the Illinois state median, making property tax burden an important factor to weigh against lower base prices.
The town of Casey itself is small and has experienced population decline. Civic life centers on Fairview Park in the southeast section, which houses recreation facilities and the USA Softball Hall of Fame, and on a walkable historic downtown grid. Economic activity has shifted toward tourism tied to roadside attractions; the school athletic facilities operate from Fairview Park rather than in the downtown core. The community is rural with no fixed-route public transit, and new housing construction has been sparse. The most recent civic attention has focused on tourism promotion and downtown revitalization rather than residential expansion.
Monroe Elementary is a traditional, neighborhood public school serving a place where steady-state operations and incremental community focus are the norm. It is not a school in a growth market, nor one with specialized programs or options. It is the elementary anchor for families staying in or new to Casey proper.
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