The top reported proficiency rate is 35% in English language arts. The lowest is 24% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Bowlesburg Elem School
Bowlesburg Elementary School is a small kindergarten through fourth-grade school in Silvis, Illinois, serving a community that sits at the edge of the Quad Cities metro area. The school enrolled a small population of students across five grades in the most recent school year, with a student body that is roughly evenly divided among White, Black, and Hispanic students, along with smaller numbers of multiracial and Asian students.
The school's academic performance on Illinois state testing shows mixed results. In English language arts, fourth graders performed at a modest level, with about half meeting or exceeding state proficiency standards. Third graders in ELA performed much lower, with only a small fraction proficient. In mathematics, the pattern is steeper: third graders showed very low proficiency, while fourth graders performed better but still below the midpoint. The school reports full participation on state tests, meaning all eligible students were assessed. One important note: state testing data for grades above fourth are not available for this school because Bowlesburg serves only through fourth grade.
On a comparison of proficiency across all tested subjects and grades, Bowlesburg sits above the midpoint among the other districts in Rock Island County, a meaningful position in its local context. This does not mean performance is uniformly strong; rather, it reflects the averaging of reported results and the fact that the school is not among the lowest performers in the county. A parent may want to look into the school's specific instructional approaches in mathematics, where the gains between third and fourth grade suggest either a shift in teaching or a change in student cohort.
Silvis itself is a small, mixed-use city anchored by residential neighborhoods, with a growing downtown corridor being actively revitalized through the Silvis Main Street program. The city sits in a modest growth phase, with recent affordable housing projects and planned residential subdivisions underway. Major local employers include Genesis Medical Center, the John Deere manufacturing plant on the northern edge of the city, and the adjacent railyard. The school is situated in a community where most residents own their homes and where bars, restaurants, and parks shape daily life, though the city is primarily car-dependent, with MetroLINK bus service connecting it to the broader Quad Cities region.
An important change for families in the area: the East Moline School District, which operates Bowlesburg, has approved its first redistricting in decades, effective in the 2026-27 school year. Under the new plan, all elementary schools will serve kindergarten through fifth grade rather than the current K-4 model. Glenview Middle School will move to serving grades six through eight. Bowlesburg is projected to remain a smaller neighborhood school after redistricting. Attendance boundaries will be redrawn, meaning a given address may feed into a different school than it does now, and this shift is estimated to move roughly a portion of the district's students to a new building. A parent choosing a home in this area should verify which school a specific address will feed into under the new boundaries taking effect next school year.
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