The top reported proficiency rate is 53% in English language arts. The lowest is 15% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Christopher Elem School
Christopher Elementary School serves pre-kindergarten through eighth grade in a small southern Illinois city with a long history of population and economic decline. The school has roughly five hundred students. It is the only school operated by Christopher Unit School District 99, and it is a regular public school with no special program designation.
The academic picture is mixed, with a marked divide between elementary and middle grades. In language arts, third- and fourth-graders perform near or above the middle of comparable schools in Franklin County, with about half meeting proficiency. By sixth grade, proficiency dips substantially, then rebounds sharply in eighth grade, where about three-quarters of students demonstrate proficiency on the state assessment. Mathematics tells a different story: proficiency rates are low throughout the school, ranging from about one in four in third grade down to one in ten in fifth and sixth grades, before recovering modestly in eighth grade to about one in seven. Science results, available only for fifth and eighth grades, show modest proficiency in both years. The variation across grades and subjects suggests that eighth-grade instruction, particularly in language arts, is a relative strength, while middle-grade mathematics is a significant area of concern. The school participated fully in state testing, and recent changes to state cut scores mean trend data from prior years are not directly comparable, so a parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand whether performance has shifted or remained stable.
The student body is predominantly white, with very small counts of Black and Hispanic students and a small number identifying as two or more races. Specific enrollment counts for students receiving free or reduced-price lunch, for students with disabilities, or for English learners are not publicly reported for this school, so information on socioeconomic composition and support needs is not available. The school spans a wide age range and grade band, which is typical for a small district serving a rural area.
Christopher itself is a quiet, car-dependent city in Franklin County with a small downtown commercial strip along Market Street but overwhelmingly residential character. The town has experienced decades of population decline, beginning from a peak during the coal-mining era; median home values are modest and housing stock is primarily mid-20th century or older. The nearest significant population centers are at a distance. The local economy consists mainly of small retail and service businesses, a rural health clinic, and the school district itself; most workers commute outside the city for employment. Civic life centers on the public library and city hall downtown, while the school sits on its own campus on Bearcat Drive, slightly removed from the commercial core.
Positioning this school among the county's districts, its overall proficiency index places it above the midpoint, reflecting the relative strength in elementary and eighth-grade language arts even as middle-grade mathematics lags. The school does not report a graduation rate because it does not serve grades nine through twelve; chronic absenteeism data are also not available in the public record. For families considering Christopher Elementary, the key questions are whether the eighth-grade language arts strength reflects strong teaching that can be sustained or improved, and what explicit support is in place to address the consistent weakness in mathematics across the middle grades. The school's academic profile is workable for families seeking a small, traditional elementary-through-middle setting in a quiet rural community, but the mathematics results warrant direct conversation with the school about intervention and instructional approach.
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