Brimfield Grade School, Brimfield IL

Original Research by School Decision on Brimfield Grade School

Brimfield Grade School serves a small school community of about four hundred students in grades prekindergarten through eighth across a compact village footprint in rural Peoria County. The school sits within the small downtown grid rather than on an isolated campus, a setting that roots it in the daily life of a quiet, family-oriented village about eighteen miles northwest of Peoria. The village itself has experienced slow population decline over recent decades, though new residential subdivisions like Timber Bridge near Jubilee College State Park reflect some planning optimism. The character here is small-town and rooted; most households own their homes, and employment relies on commute distances to the Peoria region's anchor employers.

The school's student body is notably homogeneous: the vast majority of students are white, with only a handful of students identified across other racial or ethnic groups. Data on free-or-reduced-price lunch eligibility and counts of English learners or students with IEPs were not available, making it difficult to assess economic need or the scale of special populations served. The grade distribution is roughly even across the band, with slight bulges in grades five, seven, and eight.

Academic results show uneven strength across subjects and grades. In English language arts, performance improves as students progress: third graders show limited proficiency, but by eighth grade, proficiency rates reach solid territory. Mathematics tells a different story. Third graders perform reasonably well, but fourth and especially fifth graders show sharp declines, with only a small fraction meeting proficiency in fifth grade math. Recovery occurs by sixth and seventh grades, though eighth-grade math proficiency drops again. Science proficiency in fifth and eighth grades sits near the middle range. Across the tested subjects, the school's overall proficiency index positions it below the midpoint relative to other districts in Peoria County.

The unevenness in math performance across grades, especially the pronounced dip in fifth grade, is a pattern a parent may want to explore directly with the school. Understanding whether this reflects curriculum transitions, instructional shifts, or student cohort characteristics could shed light on whether the pattern is expected to persist. State testing data in Illinois was revised in recent years with new cut scores, so year-to-year trend comparison is limited; the current snapshot is the most reliable read of where students stand.

The school participates in the Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) for reading and mathematics across grades three through eight, and in the Illinois Science Assessment for grades five and eight. Both reading and science participation rates were high. Attendance and chronic absenteeism data were not reported, and there is no graduation rate, as the school does not serve high school grades.

The housing market in the Brimfield area reflects modest value and modest activity. Home prices are below both state and national benchmarks. Rental costs remain relatively affordable relative to regional income. The community and housing data suggest a place where families can find affordable entry points but where economic opportunity itself depends on reaching out toward Peoria's employment centers.

No recent district-level changes bearing clear parent relevance were identified in available sources, nor did the district post an accessible strategic plan or major recent initiative on public record during the research window.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 355%

School 55% · District 55%

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

Grade 437%

School 37% · District 37%

even with state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

Grade 521%

School 21% · District 21%

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

Grade 641%

School 41% · District 41%

▲ 17 pts above state median · ▲ 21 pts above county median

Grade 768%

School 68% · District 68%

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

Grade 848%

School 48% · District 48%

▲ 25 pts above state median · ▲ 32 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 336%

School 36% · District 36%

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

Grade 447%

School 47% · District 47%

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Grade 555%

School 55% · District 55%

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

Grade 641%

School 41% · District 41%

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Grade 771%

School 71% · District 71%

▲ 19 pts above state median · ▲ 31 pts above county median

Grade 876%

School 76% · District 76%

▲ 23 pts above state median · ▲ 29 pts above county median

Science

Grade 555%

School 55% · District 55%

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

Grade 853%

School 53% · District 53%

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

This schoolBrimfield CUSD 309, 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.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 6Lower-income8%Higher-income45%37 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income8%Higher-income33%25 pp gap