Earlville Elem School, Earlville IL

Original Research by School Decision on Earlville Elem School

Earlville Elementary School is a small K-8 school located in Earlville, a rural agricultural town in LaSalle County. The school serves a student body drawn entirely from the local community, with modest diversity: the enrollment leans heavily white, with a small Hispanic population and a handful of students of two or more races. The school is the main educational anchor in a town that has experienced gradual population decline and lacks major employers or shopping infrastructure beyond local services. Housing in the area is modestly valued and remains affordable relative to both state and national benchmarks.

The academic picture requires direct attention. On the most recent state assessments, proficiency rates in math and English language arts show a pattern of concern, particularly in the middle grades. In elementary grades (third through fifth), proficiency hovers around the middle: roughly half of third and sixth graders meet state proficiency benchmarks in math, while fourth-grade math and fifth-grade reading both sit in the lower-to-middle range. The steeper drop occurs in seventh and eighth grade, where both math and reading proficiency fall significantly. Eighth-grade math proficiency is particularly low, as is seventh- and eighth-grade reading. Science proficiency at the tested grades (fifth and eighth) ranges from moderate to low. The school's overall proficiency index, which averages results across tested subjects and grades, falls below the midpoint compared to other districts in LaSalle County, indicating that academic performance here lags peer districts in the immediate region.

The school administers all assessments with full or near-full student participation, so these results reflect the school's actual student population, not testing gaps. The state implemented changes to proficiency cut scores in recent years, so direct year-to-year comparisons are not available in the data provided; a parent may want to ask the school directly about longer-term trends and what academic supports or interventions are in place, particularly for students in the upper middle grades where proficiency declines most sharply.

Earlville Elementary enrolls roughly 250 students across nine grades in a single campus building. The school environment appears stable; no data on discipline, attendance, staffing, or other school climate measures was available to report. The district has not undergone any documented major changes in curriculum, facilities, or tax structure in recent years, according to available public information.

The town itself is very small and compact, with a sparse downtown and limited day-to-day foot traffic. Most families own their homes rather than rent. The community is anchored by a public library, a small retail core, and agricultural operations. Many residents commute out of town for work. The school sits on a main thoroughfare a few blocks from the downtown, making it accessible to local families but positioned as an institutional anchor rather than a downtown fixture.

For a family considering Earlville Elementary, the choice hinges largely on whether they are committed to the town and community itself, since the academic profile suggests ongoing challenges that any prospective parent should explore directly with the school. The low proficiency rates, especially in the upper grades, indicate that students struggle with grade-level material at higher rates than peers in comparable rural districts. Understanding what the school is doing to address these gaps, what tutoring or support resources are available, and how the school approaches struggling learners would be essential before enrolling.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 352%

School 52% · District 52%

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 446%

School 46% · District 46%

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

Grade 550%

School 50% · District 50%

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

Grade 652%

School 52% · District 50% · ▲ 2 pts above district

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

Grade 730%

School 30% · District 30%

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

Grade 819%

School 19% · District 19%

▼ 3 pts below state median · even with county median

English language arts

Grade 355%

School 55% · District 55%

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

Grade 446%

School 46% · District 46%

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

Grade 544%

School 44% · District 44%

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

Grade 654%

School 54% · District 52% · ▲ 2 pts above district

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

Grade 733%

School 33% · District 33%

▼ 18 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Grade 823%

School 23% · District 23%

▼ 30 pts below state median · ▼ 27 pts below county median

Science

Grade 550%

School 50% · District 50%

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

Grade 831%

School 31% · District 31%

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 19 pts below county median

This schoolEarlville CUSD 9, 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.