The top reported proficiency rate is 38% in English language arts. The lowest is 25% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Carthage Primary School
Carthage Primary School serves prekindergarten through fourth grade in a small county-seat town in western Illinois. The school enrolls a small cohort of students, drawn from Carthage and the surrounding Hancock County agricultural area. The student body is predominantly white, with a small Latino population and minimal racial or ethnic diversity overall. Free-or-reduced-price lunch eligibility data and special education enrollment figures were not made available, so a parent may want to inquire about the school's economic and special-needs profile directly.
The school sits on South Adams Street in Carthage itself, a place anchored by the downtown Courthouse Square and surrounded by rural farmland. The broader Carthage ESD 317 district spans multiple small towns in Hancock County and operates in a context of slow, stable growth. The county economy rests on healthcare—chiefly Memorial Hospital—agriculture-related services, and the public sector. Housing is affordable relative to state and national benchmarks, with homeownership widespread. Carthage functions as a service hub rather than a growth engine, and the school reflects that: modest size, stable enrollment, and a community orientation toward rural and small-town life.
State testing results for Carthage Primary show proficiency below the midpoint among Hancock County's other districts. In third-grade math, fewer than one quarter of students met proficiency. Fourth-grade math and English language arts ran slightly higher but still well below state or county medians. Fourth-grade English proficiency was nearly half. The school is not reporting fifth-grade and higher results, which is consistent with its grade structure—it serves only through fourth grade, and those few fifth through eighth graders recorded in the enrollment appear to be edge cases rather than part of the regular cohort. Science data was suppressed, likely due to small tested numbers. A parent considering this school should understand that reading and math proficiency rates are substantially below the county average and may want to discuss the school's instructional approach and student support systems with administration.
The district recently added an on-campus behavioral health resource through a partnership with Memorial Medical Clinic Mobile, bringing school-based mental health counseling for anxiety, depression, ADHD, and emotional support to students ages four through eighteen. Appointments require no referral and financial aid is available, a practical addition for working families in a rural area where mental health access can be limited.
This is a traditional public elementary school operating in a rural, economically modest setting. It fits families seeking a small, community-embedded school in a tight-knit agricultural town where most residents own homes and know their neighbors. It is not a growth-oriented school or a place with extensive specialized programming. Prospective parents should evaluate it primarily on fit with their child's learning needs and the school's instructional capacity to address the proficiency gaps evident in state testing data.
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