The top reported proficiency rate is 20% in English language arts. The lowest is 8% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Egyptian Elem School
Egyptian Elementary School serves a small rural cohort in Tamms, Illinois. The school enrolls a small student population across pre-kindergarten through fifth grade, with enrollment spread relatively evenly from pre-K through grade five. The student body is predominantly white, with a substantial share of black students and a smaller share identifying as two or more races. Free-or-reduced-price lunch eligibility data was not available, so a parent should contact the school directly to understand the share of students in economic need.
The academic picture shows low proficiency across both math and English language arts on the Illinois Assessment of Readiness. In third-grade math, proficiency sits at very low levels. Fourth-grade ELA proficiency is in the low range. Fifth-grade results are similarly low in both math and ELA, with science proficiency also very low. The test participation rate was high, meaning the results reflect the actual student performance rather than opt-out patterns. These numbers reflect the reality that students at this school are not meeting grade-level benchmarks at typical rates, and a parent considering this school should look into what interventions or support structures the school has in place for struggling readers and mathematicians. Trend data over multiple years was not available, so it is unclear whether performance is improving, flat, or declining.
Testing data for grades six through eight do not appear in the school's results, which reflects the fact that Egyptian Elementary serves only pre-K through grade five. Students transition to a separate middle school for sixth grade onward.
Tamms is a very small, predominantly residential rural village in deep southern Illinois. The village is experiencing long-term population decline and faces economic headwinds following the closure of a major correctional facility. The broader area is sparsely populated, car-dependent, and distant from major urban centers. Most families own their homes rather than rent. Housing values have declined year-over-year. The local employment base is small, concentrated in health care, public administration, and small manufacturing. Civic infrastructure is modest: the village has no public library, no fixed-route transit, and a single community park that was revitalized by volunteers starting in 2022.
The school sits on a campus several miles outside the village center on Diswood Road, shared with the district's middle and high schools. It is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet school, and belongs to Egyptian Community Unit School District 5, a three-school district. No recent major curriculum, staffing, or referendum changes in the district were found in available public sources.
When compared to other districts in Alexander County, Egyptian Elementary's overall proficiency index ranks in the top performance bucket among the county's small set of districts. That said, the absolute proficiency rates remain low relative to state benchmarks or national norms, and this ranking reflects performance relative to a very small, similarly rural county rather than a broader peer group.
A parent choosing this school should expect a small, stable, rural elementary environment with low baseline academic proficiency and should investigate directly with the school what reading and math intervention programs are in place. The school serves a community facing economic contraction, and enrollment is small but stable.
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