The top reported proficiency rate is 56% in English language arts. The lowest is 34% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on South Jacksonville Elem School
South Jacksonville Elementary is a small public school serving grades K through 5 in a residential village south of Jacksonville in central Morgan County. The school enrollment is near capacity for its grade band, with roughly balanced class sizes across the primary years.
The school's academic performance shows a gap between reading and mathematics. In English language arts, students perform more solidly: around three-fifths of third graders and roughly half of fourth and fifth graders score at or above proficiency on the state assessment. Mathematics tells a different story. Proficiency drops steeply as grade level rises, beginning at roughly four in ten third graders, falling to around one in three fourth graders, and reaching roughly one in four fifth graders. Science proficiency in the tested grade (fifth) sits in the mid-range. State testing data was not available for sixth grade and above because the school does not serve those grades; those students move to the Jacksonville school district's middle school.
Placed alongside the other districts in Morgan County, South Jacksonville's overall proficiency index sits above the midpoint. This reflects real relative strength, anchored partly by stronger English performance. A parent may want to look into the mathematics trend with the school directly to understand whether the district has identified the underlying causes and what support is in place.
The school's student body is predominantly white, with smaller representations of students identifying as two or more races, Black, Hispanic, and Asian. Data on free and reduced-price lunch eligibility was not available. Information on special education enrollment, English learner enrollment, or staffing depth was also not provided.
South Jacksonville sits in a small, stable residential village about two miles south of Jacksonville's downtown. Homes cluster north of Vandalia Road in well-kept subdivisions with mature trees and lawns; farmland dominates to the south. The village has limited commercial activity; U.S. Route 67 carries most traffic toward the interstate. Civic anchors are village parks like Godfrey Park and the adjacent Jacksonville facilities; there is no downtown center or fixed-route public transit. Housing values in the zip code are modest relative to national benchmarks and affordable compared to the City of Jacksonville, though like much of Illinois the area is subject to state property-tax limits on levy growth. The Jacksonville area's employment base includes hospital work, manufacturing, retail, and state institutions and Illinois College a few miles north.
The Jacksonville School District, which enrolls South Jacksonville Elementary students and their peers from surrounding areas, has been through a significant facilities refresh over recent years, with renovations and upgrades across multiple buildings funded by bond sales backed by sales-tax revenue and federal ESSER grants. The district is also constructing a new elementary school in Murrayville-Woodson, expected to open by fall 2027. These are the kinds of sustained capital commitments that shape the physical environment children experience daily. A district levy increase was approved in December 2024, though Illinois law constrains how much that translates to individual property-tax bills.
A parent considering this school should see a place with solid primary-grade language skills, a mathematics pathway that needs attention and conversation with the school, a small-town setting with reasonable housing costs and straightforward road access, and a district in the midst of a building modernization cycle.
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