The top reported proficiency rate is 49% in English language arts. The lowest is 33% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Madison School
Madison School is a small upper-elementary school in Dixon, Illinois, serving students in grades four and five. The school has a modest enrollment drawn primarily from the white population of the community, with smaller populations of students of color. It sits within Dixon USD 170, a district navigating significant fiscal and strategic transitions.
The school's most recent testing data shows mixed and concerning results across the board. In fourth-grade math and English language arts, proficiency rates sit in the low-to-mid range. In fifth-grade math, proficiency drops notably, falling to roughly a third of students meeting the state standard. Fifth-grade English language arts is the relative bright spot, hovering just above half. Science results in fifth grade are similarly low. The school achieved full participation rates in all tested areas, meaning the data represents the whole student body. A parent may want to look into whether the school has specific interventions underway in mathematics, which shows the weakest performance, particularly in fifth grade. The school serves only these two grades, so there is no graduation rate or secondary pathway data to consider.
The data does not include enrollment in special education or English learner services, nor does it report free-or-reduced-price lunch eligibility. No detailed staffing, attendance, or discipline data were available. The school's website information was not provided, so program specifics beyond standard elementary offerings are not documented here.
When positioned against other schools in Lee County, Madison's overall proficiency index falls in the bottom quartile, meaning several peer schools in the region are posting stronger results.
Dixon itself is a small county-seat city along the Rock River, going through deliberate growth and civic investment. The city is actively developing housing, including multi-family and "missing middle" options, with new residential projects underway. Downtown has historic character and emerging walkability investment; parks and trails are an unusually strong civic amenity. Major employers include a hospital, a state correctional facility, and light manufacturing. Housing values and rents are affordable relative to state and national benchmarks.
The district is facing tighter fiscal constraints. Federal pandemic relief has ended, and enrollment has declined, creating a projected budget deficit that will likely require programmatic or staffing decisions by early 2026. A major recent investment was a renovation to the Career and Technical Education wing at the high school, and the opening of an in-district therapeutic day school in 2024 has kept special-needs students from being bused far away. These moves signal the district's attempt to strengthen both academic pathways and special-population services even as finances tighten.
For families considering Madison School, the profile is an elementary school with below-average state test results in a district managing a transition from pandemic-era funding to leaner operations, in a community that is actively growing and investing in its core. The town offers good parks and a walkable downtown; housing is affordable. The school itself is small and draws a predominantly white student body. A parent evaluating this school would want direct conversations with teachers and administrators about how they are addressing the proficiency gaps, particularly in math, and what resources and strategies are in place to improve outcomes.
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