The top reported proficiency rate is 51% in Math. The lowest is 40% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Jefferson Elem School
Jefferson Elem School is a public elementary school in DeKalb serving kindergarten through fifth grade, with an enrollment of about a third of the city's student population. The school sits in a mid-sized university city that is actively developing, particularly on its south side near an interstate corridor where major data-center and logistics facilities are being built. DeKalb mixes a preserved historic downtown along Lincoln Highway with Northern Illinois University as its dominant civic anchor, surrounded by newer commercial and residential growth.
The school's academic performance shows a familiar pattern for a public elementary in a mixed-income district: solid participation in state testing, but proficiency rates that sit below majority across the grade levels and subjects where data is available. In third-grade math and language arts, proficiency hovers in the low-to-mid range. Fourth-grade math performs slightly better, while fifth-grade results are somewhat stronger in both subjects, with language arts edging above mid-range. Science proficiency in fifth grade falls to the lower end. The data comes from Illinois Assessment of Reading (IAR) testing with full or near-full participation rates, though comparative context is not available from prior years due to a change in state test cut scores that makes trend analysis unreliable. When compared to other schools tested in DeKalb County, Jefferson's overall proficiency index sits above the midpoint, a modest but meaningful positioning that reflects respectable but not exceptional performance within its peer set.
The school's student body reflects the city's demographic makeup. About a third of students are Black, roughly a fifth are Hispanic, a third are white, and smaller shares are Asian or multiracial. The school does not report counts for free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, English learner status, or special education enrollment, so a reader cannot assess the share of students living at or near poverty or those with identified learning differences.
DeKalb CUSD 428, the district serving Jefferson, faces fiscal and operational pressures that shape the school environment. A proposed county-wide sales tax to reduce debt and provide property-tax relief failed at the ballot in November 2024, and the board chose not to retry it in April 2025. Instead, the district approved a property-tax levy for 2025 that is expected to increase school tax bills for typical homeowners in 2026, driven by rising health-insurance costs and the loss of state transportation funding. The district is also undergoing a major reconfiguration called Vision For28, which includes building a new preschool facility, adding capacity at some elementary buildings, and restructuring where and how fifth-grade students learn, moving to a two-teacher self-contained model at Founders Elementary and Clinton Rosette Middle School. These changes affect attendance zones and pedagogy across the system, and while they are meant to address enrollment and efficiency, they represent district-wide disruption that families will experience directly.
Housing in the DeKalb area is modestly priced relative to state and national benchmarks, with a median home value somewhat below the state average and rents that grow at a pace of several percent annually. Monthly rental costs remain well below mortgage equivalents, making rentals the more affordable option for many families. The median household income in the region sits solidly in the low-to-mid range nationally, and unemployment is modest.
No data on school discipline, attendance, chronic absenteeism, staffing, or course offerings was available. Parents looking for details on class size, teacher experience, specific programming, or behavioral supports would need to reach out to the school directly.
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