The top reported proficiency rate is 53% in English language arts. The lowest is 38% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Gallatin Elementary School
Gallatin Elementary School serves students from Pre-K through Grade 4 in Junction, a very small rural village in Gallatin County in southeastern Illinois. The school is part of Gallatin Community Unit School District 7, which operates a single educational complex on Highway 13 between the villages of Equality and Junction.
The school's student body is small and predominantly white. The enrollment across all grade levels is under a few hundred students, with roughly comparable cohorts in Pre-K through Grade 4. Racial and ethnic diversity is minimal; the school's population is overwhelmingly white, with very few students from other backgrounds represented in the enrollment.
The academic picture shows mixed proficiency results. In Grade 3, reading proficiency on the Illinois Assessment of Readiness was in the low-to-mid range; math proficiency for the same grade was slightly lower. Grade 4 shows a notably different pattern: reading proficiency climbs to a higher level, while math proficiency drops modestly compared to Grade 3. The shift upward in reading between Grade 3 and Grade 4 is pronounced enough that a parent may want to look into what instructional approaches or supports are driving that change. Because the school serves Pre-K through Grade 4, state testing data is available only for Grades 3 and 4; earlier grades are not assessed statewide.
The school sits in a context of ongoing rural depopulation. Junction itself has fewer than 60 residents and only a handful of businesses. Gallatin County as a whole has been losing population for years. The county's median property value is quite low, reflecting the economic challenges of the region. There is no meaningful downtown or pedestrian street life in Junction; the school campus is the educational and civic anchor for the immediate area, along with county government offices. The nearest significant economic activity is tied to educational services, health care, retail, and light manufacturing at the county scale.
Data on free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, special education enrollment, English learners, staffing, chronic absenteeism, and discipline were not available for this school. The school's website information was not accessible from the data provided.
Gallatin Elementary is the only tested school entity serving this grade band in Gallatin County, so direct peer comparison with other district elementary schools is not possible. A parent considering this school should recognize it as a small, rural elementary school in a declining population area, with moderate reading proficiency results that improve noticeably by Grade 4 and lower math proficiency that may warrant closer conversation with the school about supports and instructional direction.
See more original research from School Decision →