The top reported proficiency rate is 61% in English language arts. The lowest is 45% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Herrin C U S D 4 Elem School
Herrin C U S D 4 Elem School is an elementary school serving grades two through five in a small Southern Illinois city. The school sits in Herrin, a community historically rooted in coal mining and railroads that today blends older residential neighborhoods with newer subdivisions and a compact, walkable downtown anchored by civic institutions and family-owned businesses. The school is part of Herrin Community Unit School District 4, a regular public district that has recently undergone significant facility investment, including a major expansion to the middle school and a new wellness facility at the high school completed in the 2023-24 school year.
The school enrolls a small student body, with classes distributed across its four grades. Demographically, the enrollment is predominantly white, with smaller shares of students who identify as multiracial, Black, and Hispanic. Free-or-reduced-price lunch eligibility data was not available, so a parent would want to ask the district directly about the economic profile of families served. Data on students with individualized education plans and English learners was also not provided; a school visit or conversation with staff would clarify what special-population supports exist on campus.
On state assessments administered in the 2024-25 school year, the school's proficiency rates show a pattern worth understanding. In English language arts, students in grade four achieved their strongest performance, while grade five students also scored solidly. Grade three students showed somewhat lower proficiency in ELA. In mathematics, proficiency rates decline slightly as grade levels rise, with grade three performing strongest and grade five the weakest. Science proficiency, measured in grade five, sits noticeably lower than reading and math. Overall, the school's proficiency index places it in the top quartile among districts in Williamson County, suggesting its students are performing above the county median, though the data carries a flag indicating that cut scores for several state assessments changed in this testing cycle, making year-to-year comparison unreliable for now.
The school's grade band ends at fifth grade, so high school or middle school outcomes and graduation data do not apply here. Attendance and discipline data were not available. The school's website was not identified in the research.
Herrin itself has modest housing costs relative to state and national benchmarks, and the town is described as experiencing steady rather than rapid growth, with civic life centered on parks, the library, and a downtown grid where schools fit within the community's fabric rather than sitting isolated. Healthcare and the school district rank among the city's primary employers. The district recently received federal Full-Service Community Schools grant funding that expanded clubs, career-pathways programming, and family outreach; however, that federal funding was rescinded effective December 31, 2025, ending those wraparound supports earlier than planned, which is a material change families relying on those services should know about.
For a parent evaluating this school as an elementary option, the picture is a stable, small-enrollment elementary program in a community with modest cost of living and strong civic anchors, performing above the county average on state tests though with room for growth in mathematics and science. The recent loss of the federal community schools grant is a loss of supportive infrastructure. A parent would benefit from speaking directly with school staff about the specific supports available for students with learning differences and English learners, about the school's approach to reading and math instruction, and about how the school is managing the transition away from the community schools resources.
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