The top reported proficiency rate is 40% in English language arts. The lowest is 26% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on West Carroll Primary
West Carroll Primary serves children from prekindergarten through fifth grade in Savanna, a small Mississippi River city in Carroll County with a mixed character: a historic downtown with shops and restaurants alongside a residential, largely car-dependent setting. The school sits within a district experiencing long-term population decline and significant structural change. Beginning in 2025-26, the district moved its high school out of Savanna to Mount Carroll and consolidated middle school into the primary building, ending Savanna's role as the site of secondary education.
The school enrolls a student body that is predominantly white, with a modest Hispanic presence and very small numbers of Asian, Black, and multiracial students. Enrollment is modest overall, with particularly small fifth-grade cohorts and a single sixth-grader. The school does not report free-or-reduced-price lunch eligibility, English learner identification, or special education enrollment counts, so the economic profile and service population remain opaque from the available data.
State assessment results show a school with persistent proficiency challenges. In math, third and fourth graders show proficiency rates in the mid-range, but fifth grade math proficiency is quite low. English language arts results are similarly mixed, with fourth grade performing somewhat better than third and fifth grades. Science proficiency in fifth grade is notably low. Because the school serves only early grades, it does not report results for the full span of state-tested grades, so the trend data does not allow comparison over time; Illinois also adjusted cut scores for state assessments starting this year, which limits year-to-year trend comparisons. Student participation in testing is consistently high, with most students tested in reported grades.
Positioned against other districts in Carroll County, West Carroll Primary's overall proficiency index falls below the midpoint. The school does not report graduation rates, chronic absenteeism, or demographic detail on special populations, gaps that reflect the school's grade band and the limits of what Illinois publicly reports for primary buildings.
Housing values in the Savanna area are modest relative to state and national benchmarks, and the town itself is navigating long-term economic headwinds following the closure of the Savanna Army Depot decades ago. The community is attempting to reorient toward light industry, tourism, and outdoor recreation, with modest employment growth from 2023 to 2024. Median age has risen, and population decline has been steady. A parent considering West Carroll Primary should understand that test proficiency is weak across tested grades, that the school lacks public information on economically disadvantaged students and English learners, and that the broader district is in the early stages of a significant restructuring that has already shifted the high school out of Savanna. A conversation with the school about its academic support strategies and the underlying causes of low proficiency would help clarify whether the results reflect population changes, resource constraints, or instructional approaches that the school is working to address.
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