Aviston Elem School, Aviston IL - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Aviston Elem School

Aviston Elementary School serves about a mid-sized enrollment spanning prekindergarten through eighth grade in the small rural village of Aviston, in Clinton County, Illinois. The school sits on the village's south side and functions as the sole public school serving the Aviston School District 21 community.

Academically, the school demonstrates solid proficiency in elementary grades and a gradual decline in middle grades. In third and fourth grade, proficiency rates in math approach or exceed eight-eighths across the student body. Reading proficiency in third grade is similarly strong. By fifth grade, performance softens: math proficiency in fifth grade is around two-thirds, and science proficiency in fifth grade is notably lower, at roughly three-fifths. In the middle grades, math proficiency continues to decline, settling around two-thirds in sixth through eighth grades. Reading holds more steadily, with seventh-grade proficiency near four-fifths and eighth-grade proficiency approaching nine-tenths. Science in eighth grade recovers to about three-quarters. All tested grades report full participation. The school's overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades places it in the top quartile among the county's districts.

The student population is predominantly white, with a very small Hispanic presence. Data on free-or-reduced-price-lunch eligibility and special-education and English-learner populations are not publicly reported for this school. The enrollment is distributed fairly evenly across grades, with slightly smaller cohorts in the upper middle grades.

The housing market in Aviston has been marked by growth. The median home value exceeds the county median, and the village has added several subdivisions in recent years as part of what officials describe as rapid expansion. The economic baseline in the county is stable, with unemployment moderate and median household income solid.

The district has undertaken significant facilities work. In early 2024, construction began on a major addition comprising five new classrooms, a cafeteria expansion, and space for special services, funded by bonds sold in early 2023. This project raised the district's debt service tax rate materially and is expected to complete by year's end. Beyond this capital work, the district has pursued operating-budget relief through repeated property-tax referenda, most recently in March 2024, seeking to raise its maximum education fund rate. Multiple attempts in recent years, including one that failed by a single vote in April 2023, signal ongoing tension between district spending needs and voter approval at the property-tax level. The district reported in the 2022-23 school year that it was funded well below its state adequacy target, underscoring the fiscal pressure driving these appeals.

For families considering the school, the profile is a small-town, growing-community setting with strong early-elementary proficiency, a real-estate market in motion, and a school district navigating deliberate capacity expansion alongside recurring questions about operating funding. The decline in math proficiency from upper elementary into middle grades is visible in the data, and a parent may want to look into the school's approach to math instruction and support in those grades. The newly expanded facilities will provide more physical resources, though the operational funding challenges suggest families should stay informed about the district's budget outlook.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 390%

School 90% · District 90%

▲ 44 pts above state median · ▲ 27 pts above county median

Grade 488%

School 88% · District 88%

▲ 51 pts above state median · ▲ 25 pts above county median

Grade 572%

School 72% · District 72%

▲ 42 pts above state median · ▲ 19 pts above county median

Grade 662%

School 62% · District 62%

▲ 38 pts above state median · ▲ 14 pts above county median

Grade 768%

School 68% · District 68%

▲ 39 pts above state median · ▲ 16 pts above county median

Grade 865%

School 65% · District 65%

▲ 43 pts above state median · ▲ 17 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 388%

School 88% · District 88%

▲ 44 pts above state median · ▲ 30 pts above county median

Grade 475%

School 75% · District 75%

▲ 26 pts above state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

Grade 574%

School 74% · District 74%

▲ 22 pts above state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

Grade 673%

School 73% · District 73%

▲ 23 pts above state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 784%

School 84% · District 84%

▲ 33 pts above state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

Grade 887%

School 87% · District 87%

▲ 34 pts above state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

Science

Grade 559%

School 59% · District 59%

▲ 22 pts above state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

Grade 874%

School 74% · District 74%

▲ 34 pts above state median · ▲ 10 pts above county median

This schoolAviston SD 21, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.