The top reported proficiency rate is 59% in English language arts. The lowest is 36% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Richland County Elementary School
Richland County Elementary School serves kindergarten through fifth grade in Olney, a small county-seat city in rural southern Illinois. The school is part of Richland County CUSD 1 and sits in a community that has remained relatively stable in population and character, functioning as a regional commercial hub with a strong civic identity.
The school itself is a neighborhood anchor. Recent construction of a dedicated Early Learning Pre-K Center at a separate location has relieved capacity pressures at the elementary building, allowing the school to focus on its core K-5 mission. This structural change, along with the district's recent completion of a substantial modernization of Richland County High School, signals active district investment in its facilities.
Looking at current academic performance, the school shows a mixed picture across tested grades. In third and fourth grade, mathematics proficiency sits around the low-to-mid range, with English language arts notably stronger; fourth-grade ELA proficiency is solidly above the school's math performance. Fifth grade presents a different pattern. ELA proficiency in fifth grade is stronger than fourth, but mathematics proficiency drops substantially, and science proficiency in fifth grade is the school's lowest reported number across all subjects. This progression from fourth to fifth grade warrants close attention if you have a child in that transition.
The school carries an enrollment of roughly nine hundred students distributed fairly evenly across its six grade bands. The student body is predominantly white, with smaller populations of Hispanic students and students identifying as two or more races. Specific data on free-or-reduced-price lunch eligibility, English learners, or students with disabilities was not available in the records reviewed, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about the share of students receiving support services if that context matters to your family.
One practical note: state testing data beyond grade five is not shown because the school does not serve grades six and eight, where science assessment occurs, nor does it serve any high school grades. Those students move to middle and high schools operated by the same district.
The housing context in Olney itself is accessible. Median home values are well below the national average, and the town offers a traditional small-town setting with a compact walkable downtown alongside outlying residential subdivisions. Most housing is owner-occupied. The broader Richland County economy rests on a Walmart Distribution Center, Carle hospital, and manufacturing operations including dairy processing and bicycle production, which provides stable if modest employment diversity.
For a family considering this school, the fit depends on where you land on several preferences. If you want a neighborhood elementary school in a stable small town with recent facility improvements and a straightforward academic calendar, this is a real option. If you are specifically seeking higher math proficiency or have concerns about the performance gap that emerges in fifth grade, that is worth discussing directly with teachers and administrators to understand the root and what support exists. The school serves the local community well; nearly all students take the state assessment, and engagement with testing is solid.
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