The top reported proficiency rate is 16% in Math. The lowest is 12% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Gard Elementary School
Gard Elementary School is a kindergarten through fourth-grade school located at the north campus of Beardstown Community Unit School District 15, in a small Illinois River city that has transformed over the past three decades through immigration tied to meatpacking employment. The school is part of a two-building district structure following a 2023 consolidation that closed Grand Avenue School and opened a new Pre-K wing at Gard.
The student body of about that size for an early-elementary school reflects the diversity of modern Beardstown. About a third of students identify as Hispanic, roughly a quarter as white, and a substantial share as Black or two-or-more races, with smaller representations of Asian and Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander students. The school does not report free-or-reduced-price-lunch counts or English learner or special education enrollment percentages, so a parent looking for detail on economic need and language support would want to contact the school directly.
Academic performance on the state's 2024-25 IAR assessment shows low proficiency. In third-grade math and English language arts, proficiency rates are in the low teen range. Fourth-grade performance is similar across both subjects. State test data do not exist for fifth grade and above because Gard serves only through fourth grade; students move to the middle and high school building for higher grades. The proficiency rates shown in the data are the raw results; when this school's overall proficiency index is placed against the other districts in Cass County, Gard sits in the bottom quartile. Across the handful of districts in that county comparison, median proficiency runs higher. No trend data is available to show whether performance has shifted year to year. A parent interested in tutoring, literacy support, or remediation should inquire about what the school offers in response to these results.
Beardstown itself is a place where property values on a median basis fall below state and national mediums, and the housing market has been softening recently. The district implemented a double-digit property tax increase for the 2024 levy year, a cost-of-living factor worth noting for any household considering moving to the area or staying. That property tax jump sits alongside the consolidation of facilities, which streamlined operations but altered the enrollment geography: families with young children now attend school at a single north-campus location rather than having the choice of either Grand Avenue or Gard.
The school's location and peer composition matter to families differently. It sits on a school campus separate from Beardstown's civic downtown, which centers on the historic riverfront district with its opera house and Lincoln Museum. The student population is notably diverse and young, reflecting a community that has rebuilt itself through immigration and now welcomes students speaking over a dozen home languages, a character quite different from many rural Illinois schools. For families drawn to that kind of multicultural environment or already part of it, Gard may fit well. For families prioritizing strong early-grade proficiency or seeking intensive reading and math support, the current test results suggest the school faces substantial headwinds that parents may want to explore in depth with administration.
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