The top reported proficiency rate is 25% in English language arts. The lowest is 21% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Frohardt Elem School
Frohardt Elementary serves third and fourth grades in Granite City, a working-class steel town in the St. Louis metropolitan area on the Illinois side of the Mississippi River. The school is part of Granite City CUSD 9, which underwent a significant structural change for the 2025-26 school year: the district realigned its attendance zones into K-6 elementary boundaries, and Frohardt now feeds students from its zone through sixth grade before they move to a reconfigured seventh-eighth junior high. That change means families in the Frohardt attendance area will stay within a defined K-8 pathway based on their home address, a practical shift that parents and prospective residents should understand when considering the district.
The school itself is small for its grade band, with roughly 420 students split almost evenly between third and fourth grade, plus a handful of older students. The student body is racially and ethnically mixed, with roughly half white students, a quarter Black students, and smaller shares of Hispanic, multiracial, and other backgrounds. Specific data on free-or-reduced-price lunch eligibility, English learners, and students with IEPs was not available, so a parent may want to look into those details directly with the school.
Math and English language arts state testing results show proficiency well below what parents would likely want to see. In third grade math, roughly a quarter of students met or exceeded proficiency standards; in fourth grade, that dropped to roughly one in six students. English language arts proficiency was similar, with roughly a third of third graders and roughly one in five fourth graders meeting standards. Both grades showed very high test participation, so the results reflect actual student performance rather than absences. Science testing data at the school was suppressed, meaning student counts were too small to report publicly. The performance gap is real and substantial, and a parent considering the school would want to talk with the principal about what academic supports and interventions the school is offering to move these numbers.
In the broader Madison County district comparison, Frohardt's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile among the county's school and district profiles. That is not an unusual position for an early-elementary school, which often carries younger, less test-seasoned students, but it signals that students here are starting from behind and the school's success or struggle will depend on how effectively it closes that gap.
Granite City itself is a modest-growth community tied historically and economically to U.S. Steel's integrated mill. The median home price is relatively low, reflecting an older housing stock rather than a boom market. The city has a small, concentrated downtown with a recent entertainment district and ongoing infill redevelopment, while schools and parks sit in separated neighborhood areas like Wilson Park. Schools are clustered near Wilson Park, not downtown, along with the recently renovated Coolidge Middle School and Niedringhaus Elementary.
The housing market and the broader economic outlook are worth noting for families considering a move to the area. The median home price is well below state and national mediums, making entry costs low. Renters pay substantially less than mortgage-equivalent costs. However, the area's economic trajectory is tied closely to U.S. Steel's announced 2026 restart of a blast furnace at the Granite City Works mill, which the company says will bring manufacturing jobs back to the region. That restart is not assured, and families should be aware that the local labor market and housing demand could swing significantly depending on whether those jobs materialize.
The district itself issued substantial working-cash bonds in 2023 using Illinois's non-referendum process, meaning the district borrowed against future property tax revenue without a voter ballot. The district has committed to absorbing the debt service without raising its tax rate, but that long-term obligation is a factor for homebuyers evaluating property tax stability. The district's website and a direct call to the school can clarify what services and academic programs are available at Frohardt to support the students who are testing below proficiency.
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