Parsons Elementary School, Decatur IL

Original Research by School Decision on Parsons Elementary School

Parsons Elementary School serves kindergarten through sixth grade in Decatur, a mid-sized central Illinois city known for agricultural commodity processing and major industrial employers. The school sits on North Church Street in a neighborhood setting, drawing from the broader Decatur community.

The school's student body of roughly this size is notably diverse. Black students make up a substantial share of enrollment, roughly two-fifths, while white students comprise about another third, with a significant multiracial population and smaller numbers of Hispanic, Asian, and Native Hawaiian students. Free-or-reduced-price lunch data is not available in the public data, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about the economic profile of its families.

Academic performance at Parsons presents serious challenges. State test results from the 2024-25 school year show exceptionally low proficiency rates across tested subjects. In math, the school's overall proficiency rate sits in the bottom quartile among the county's districts. Third graders showed proficiency in single digits, fourth and fifth graders in single digits as well, and sixth graders showed no students reaching proficiency. English language arts proficiency followed a similar pattern, with third grade in the low teens and sixth grade at just above zero. The one science test administered, to fifth graders, showed proficiency in the low teens. Participation rates in testing were nearly complete across grades, so the results reflect actual student performance rather than testing logistics.

The data changed cut scores across subjects between school years, which means direct year-to-year comparisons are not possible. A parent may want to ask the school about where students stood on prior assessments and what instructional changes are underway to address the current results.

The school has a typical elementary structure: roughly equal or slightly declining cohort sizes as grades advance from kindergarten through sixth grade. Staffing data, attendance information, program offerings, and discipline records are not available in the public data. The school does not report special education or English learner identification rates publicly.

Decatur itself is experiencing gradual population decline while pursuing downtown revitalization and affordable housing development, with major employers in agricultural processing and manufacturing. The school sits within Decatur School District 61, which in 2024 implemented a district-wide policy banning personal electronic devices during the school day, and is currently undergoing comprehensive strategic planning and facilities assessment that will shape building operations and program organization over coming years.

A family considering Parsons should treat the state assessment results as the primary metric for evaluating instructional effectiveness here and engage directly with school leadership about the context for these numbers, the specific interventions in place, and whether the school's approach aligns with their child's learning needs.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 313%

School 13% · District 11% · ▲ 2 pts above district

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

Grade 46%

School 6% · District 9% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 30 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 57%

School 7% · District 6%

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

Grade 60%

School 0% · District 5% · ▼ 5 pts below district

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

English language arts

Grade 314%

School 14% · District 13% · ▲ 1 pts above district

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

Grade 417%

School 17% · District 18% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 31 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 519%

School 19% · District 17% · ▲ 2 pts above district

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

Grade 65%

School 5% · District 18% · ▼ 13 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 513%

School 13% · District 15% · ▼ 2 pts below district

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

This schoolDecatur SD 61, 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.