Marseilles Elementary School, Marseilles IL

Original Research by School Decision on Marseilles Elementary School

Marseilles Elementary School is a pre-K through 8th grade school serving the small Illinois River city of Marseilles in LaSalle County. The school enrolls students across a broad age range in a building located at 201 Chicago Street, with a total enrollment of around mid-sized population for a rural Illinois district.

The school's state assessment results show weak performance across tested grades and subjects. In math, proficiency rates range from just above a tenth of tested students in grades 7 and 8 to roughly a third in the elementary grades. English language arts proficiency is similarly low across the board, with most grades hovering in the low to mid-range, though 5th grade performs noticeably better at around forty percent proficient. Science proficiency, assessed in grades 5 and 8, sits in the mid-to-upper-thirties percent range. Illinois changed its proficiency cut scores across subjects in 2024-25, making direct year-to-year comparisons difficult, but the current snapshot shows proficiency well below state norms. In the context of the twenty-nine districts serving LaSalle County, Marseilles Elementary's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile, meaning a substantial majority of county districts perform higher.

The student body is predominantly white, with a smaller Latino population and very small representation of other racial and ethnic groups. Enrollment is fairly stable across grade levels, with no sharp drops that would suggest major attrition. The school serves the town directly; high school students travel to nearby districts for grades 9-12.

Marseilles itself is a community of roughly two thousand residents with a working-class economic base centered on manufacturing, health care, and education. Most residents own homes. The broader housing market in LaSalle County shows a seller's advantage, with median listing prices in the low two-hundred thousands and inventory that, while modest, continues to move. The town sits between the Illinois River and a historic bluff, with a walkable downtown anchored by Main Street and served by the Marseilles Public Library. Growth has been gradual and deliberate; the city is extending infrastructure toward Interstate 80 to the north but remains small-town in character.

A parent considering Marseilles Elementary should understand that test results are substantially below both state and county averages. This reflects a school serving a population with economic constraints and likely limited access to supplemental academic resources outside school. The school's span from pre-K through 8th grade means it is responsible for educating the full elementary and middle school population in town. A parent seeking a school with strong academic outcomes on state measures may want to look into what the school is doing to address the performance gap and what family support systems exist. Families who prioritize staying rooted in a small community with walkable downtown amenities and stable housing may find the town's character appealing; those seeking robust academic attainment and competitive peer environments would need to explore alternatives outside the district.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 335%

School 35% · District 35%

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

Grade 433%

School 33% · District 33%

▼ 3 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 532%

School 32% · District 32%

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Grade 624%

School 24% · District 24%

even with state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Grade 710%

School 10% · District 10%

▼ 18 pts below state median · ▼ 24 pts below county median

Grade 818%

School 18% · District 18%

▼ 4 pts below state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 317%

School 17% · District 17%

▼ 27 pts below state median · ▼ 39 pts below county median

Grade 427%

School 27% · District 27%

▼ 22 pts below state median · ▼ 20 pts below county median

Grade 545%

School 45% · District 45%

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 622%

School 22% · District 22%

▼ 29 pts below state median · ▼ 33 pts below county median

Grade 720%

School 20% · District 20%

▼ 31 pts below state median · ▼ 25 pts below county median

Grade 837%

School 37% · District 37%

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

Science

Grade 534%

School 34% · District 34%

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Grade 838%

School 38% · District 38%

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

This schoolMarseilles ESD 150, 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.