The top reported proficiency rate is 57% in Science. The lowest is 39% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Cobden Elem School
Cobden Elementary serves kindergarten through fifth grade in a small rural village in Union County in Southern Illinois. The school is part of Cobden School Unit District 17, a compact district serving the immediate village area. The elementary enrollment is modest, typical of its grade band and setting, with students drawn from the surrounding Cobden community and immediate farmland.
The school's student body reflects the demographics of the region. A substantial majority of students are white, with a meaningful share identifying as Hispanic, a composition that mirrors Cobden's demographic character as a small community with notable Hispanic and Latino residents historically tied to agricultural labor. The school does not report free-or-reduced-price-lunch rates or counts, making it unclear what share of families qualify for economic assistance, a data gap that is common for schools at this enrollment size. English learner and special education counts are also not available in the data provided.
On the most recent state assessments, Cobden Elementary's results show mixed performance across tested grades and subjects. In English language arts, the school's proficiency rates cluster in the mid-range: third grade performing roughly in line with the state midpoint, fourth grade performing modestly above, and fifth grade comparable to third. In mathematics, the school faces steeper challenges. Third grade proficiency in math trails behind ELA, fourth grade falls lower still, and fifth grade shows a substantial dip, with less than half of tested students meeting proficiency benchmarks. In science, the school's fifth grade result is solid. Participation in state testing is complete across all reported grades. The school does not report results for grades six through eight because it serves only pre-K through fifth grade; that data gap reflects the school's grade band, not an assessment anomaly.
Within the comparison of districts in Union County, Cobden Elementary sits above the median in overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades, a position that reflects the mid-range results across math and ELA. A parent may want to look into the downward trend in math proficiency as students advance from third to fifth grade to understand whether the school has identified the pattern and what instructional support or curriculum work is underway to address it.
The elementary school sits on North Appleknocker Street in Cobden proper, within the walkable village footprint. The broader district, serving this village of modest population and slow economic decline, has recently completed a major facilities investment, rebuilding the high school gymnasium and its adjacent commons and support spaces after the original facility was condemned in 2021. For a small district where the gym functions as a community hub, this replacement is a tangible change to both school infrastructure and student life. The school operates in a blue-collar, agrarian community with historic ties to farm labor and fruit growing, and Cobden's "Appleknockers" mascot honors that heritage.
Housing in the Cobden area is moderately priced relative to Illinois and the nation, with a median home value below state and national benchmarks. The housing stock is aging, predominantly single-family homes built in earlier decades, and new construction is minimal, consistent with the village's slow population decline trajectory since 2020. For families considering Cobden, the school offers a small-town elementary experience in a stable but economically modest community where civic life is concentrated downtown and surrounding farmland and forest define the landscape.
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