Central City Elem School, Centralia IL

Original Research by School Decision on Central City Elem School

Central City Elementary School is a small kindergarten-through-eighth-grade public school in Centralia, Illinois, serving a school community of roughly small-to-mid-size enrollment. The school enrolls students in a deliberately mixed socioeconomic profile but whose specific demographics and free-or-reduced-lunch eligibility were not available in the data provided. The racial composition is predominantly white, with smaller shares of students who identify as multiracial, Hispanic, or Black. No information was provided about the percentage of students in special education or English-learner programs.

The school's academic performance in math presents a mixed and grade-dependent picture. In grades three and four, proficiency rates are more moderate, and by grade four, students show somewhat stronger performance on the state assessment. In grades five through eight, proficiency rates decline substantially, with grade eight showing the lowest performance in mathematics. In English language arts, the profile is considerably stronger: grades four through eight cluster in the moderate-to-above-moderate range, with grade eight posting one of the highest rates. Science assessment data is available only for grades five and eight; the fifth-grade result is quite low, while eighth-grade performance in science is substantially higher. Across the full tested range, the school's overall proficiency index places it above the midpoint among the county's districts, a meaningful position.

State assessment results reflect a cut-score change in 2024-25 that affects year-to-year comparability, so this year's results cannot be directly trended against prior years; the district or school should be consulted if deeper trend context is needed. All students participated in the assessments at full rates.

The school sits in Centralia, a working-class city of moderate size that has experienced population decline over the past few decades but is undertaking downtown revitalization and housing investment. The economy is anchored by healthcare (SSM Health St. Mary's Hospital), manufacturing, direct-service employers, and Kaskaskia College nearby. Housing values in the area are modest relative to state and national benchmarks, making homeownership more accessible, and the town offers green spaces, a historic downtown, and community anchors like parks and a regional library. No strategic priorities or recent operational changes for the Central City SD 133 district were reported in available sources, so the school's direction beyond test results remains unclear from this data.

This is an elementary through middle school environment suitable for families seeking a smaller, neighborhood-based school in a stable working-class community, where students transition entirely within one building. A parent may want to look further into the school's approach to mathematics instruction in the middle grades, where proficiency drops noticeably, and to discuss the school's support systems and curriculum with staff directly.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 333%

School 33% · District 33%

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

Grade 467%

School 67% · District 67%

▲ 30 pts above state median

Grade 533%

School 33% · District 33%

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▲ 13 pts above county median

Grade 617%

School 17% · District 17%

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

Grade 721%

School 21% · District 21%

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

Grade 813%

School 13% · District 13%

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

English language arts

Grade 333%

School 33% · District 33%

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

Grade 473%

School 73% · District 73%

▲ 25 pts above state median

Grade 558%

School 58% · District 58%

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

Grade 669%

School 69% · District 69%

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

Grade 762%

School 62% · District 62%

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

Grade 870%

School 70% · District 70%

▲ 17 pts above state median · ▲ 24 pts above county median

Science

Grade 529%

School 29% · District 29%

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

Grade 863%

School 63% · District 63%

▲ 24 pts above state median · ▲ 12 pts above county median

This schoolCentral City SD 133, 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.