The top reported proficiency rate is 45% in English language arts. The lowest is 30% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on North Mac Intermediate
North Mac Intermediate serves grades three through five in Girard, a small central Illinois village in Macoupin County with a historic downtown and aging housing stock. The school's enrollment of about two hundred students sits in a majority-white community with modest family incomes and economic constraints; information on free and reduced-price lunch eligibility was not available.
The school's state assessment results, administered via the Illinois Assessment of Readiness and the Illinois Science Assessment in the most recent school year, show mixed patterns across grades and subjects. In English language arts, third-grade proficiency sits below what the school achieves in higher grades—a gap that reverses as students progress. Fourth-grade ELA performance rises to near half, while fifth-grade ELA proficiency reaches substantially higher levels, suggesting instruction or student readiness improves across the primary-intermediate bridge. Math proficiency is lower and flatter. Third graders show proficiency at roughly one-quarter, fourth graders inch to about one-third, and fifth graders dip slightly below that. Science testing occurred only in fifth grade, where proficiency sits at about two-fifths. Across the school's tested subjects and grades, proficiency averaged in the bottom quartile relative to the ten districts in Macoupin County, suggesting a parent may want to look into the school's academic support and instructional strategies further with the district or school directly.
The school is one unit of North Mac CUSD 34, which operates four schools split between Girard and Virden. North Mac Intermediate and North Mac Middle School share a campus along Illinois Route 4 (Third Street) near downtown Girard; the elementary and high schools sit together about a short drive north in Virden. The district recently completed a substantial athletic facility addition at the high school, including a new gymnasium, weight room, and related spaces, as part of broader capital investment in the secondary campus.
Girard itself is a quiet, small-town setting with limited commercial activity outside its historic square. Most housing was built before or just after World War II; median home values are low and considerably below state and national benchmarks. The population has been slowly declining. No major residential development is underway. Most families own their homes, incomes lag state averages, and the poverty rate is elevated. Employment is diffuse across small sectors including education, retail, and manufacturing. Many residents commute by car to Springfield or nearby towns. The town has no public transit system but sits on the Sangamon Valley Trail and near Route 66 landmarks, which provide some recreational draw.
For families choosing this school, the setting is stable, rural-feeling, and family-oriented, with a peer population that is mostly white and economically constrained. The intermediate grades are a transition point in which ELA gains ground while math performance remains modest. A parent considering this school should speak directly with the building or district about current reading and math interventions, class composition by grade, and any recent shifts in instructional approach, given the proficiency profile.
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