Neponset Grade School, Neponset IL

Original Research by School Decision on Neponset Grade School

Neponset Grade School serves students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade in a small rural village in Bureau County, Illinois, as part of the Kewanee CUSD 229 district. The school's enrollment is small, with roughly a hundred or more students spread across ten grade bands, creating an intimate learning environment. The student body is predominantly white, with a modest Hispanic presence and very small numbers of students from other racial and ethnic backgrounds.

The school's academic results show uneven patterns across grade levels and subjects. In mathematics, third-grade students achieved proficiency at a solid level, fifth and seventh graders performed well above typical ranges, but fourth, sixth, and eighth graders showed substantially weaker results. English language arts follows a similar profile: strong performance in grades five and seven, moderate success in grades three, four, and eight, and lower proficiency in grade six. Science testing is available only for grades five and eight, both showing strong outcomes. Participation rates are near-universal in the tested grades. The school's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile among school buildings in Bureau County, reflecting strength in a handful of grades that offsets lower performance in others.

This grade-by-grade volatility invites closer inquiry. Small enrollments in any given grade can make year-to-year or cohort-to-cohort swings more pronounced, and a parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand whether shifts reflect natural variation in cohort ability, instructional changes, staffing, or other factors affecting student progress. The school achieved full or near-universal participation in state testing, indicating good test-taking access and attendance.

Neponset itself is a very small village in decline. Population has fallen in recent years, and the community's economic anchor is Martin Engineering's world headquarters, which has undergone expansion. Civic life clusters along Commercial Street, where the village bank, library, and a handful of small businesses sit. The village lost its high school decades ago when the local district merged with Kewanee's, so secondary students now travel roughly ten miles to Kewanee High School. Housing is predominantly owner-occupied and the community trends conservative. No data on free or reduced price lunch participation was available for the school, and no information on special education or English learner services was provided, so a parent seeking detail on those supports should contact the school directly.

The broader Kewanee CUSD 229 district has made recent capital investments. Kewanee High School recently added a new auditorium and two classrooms, including one dedicated to a Certified Nursing Assistant career pathway, financed through a working-cash bond and state grants without raising local property taxes. The district has also tapped a countywide school facility sales tax to fund infrastructure improvements, easing reliance on property-tax referendums. A 2023 windstorm prompted significant roof and HVAC repairs across school buildings, a multi-year recovery now underway.

For families in or near Neponset, the grade school offers a small-scale, rural K-8 setting with demonstrated strength in some grade levels and subject areas. The uneven testing results mean prospective families should have conversations with school staff about academic supports and instructional approaches, particularly for students entering grades four, six, or eight where proficiency dips. The district's recent facility work and career-pathway expansion at the high school indicate ongoing investment in student opportunities beyond eighth grade.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 367%

School 67% · District 47% · ▲ 19 pts above district

▲ 21 pts above state median

Grade 441%

School 41% · District 31% · ▲ 10 pts above district

▲ 4 pts above state median

Grade 586%

School 86% · District 30% · ▲ 56 pts above district

▲ 56 pts above state median

Grade 636%

School 36% · District 23% · ▲ 13 pts above district

▲ 13 pts above state median

Grade 793%

School 93% · District 33% · ▲ 60 pts above district

▲ 64 pts above state median

Grade 842%

School 42% · District 17% · ▲ 25 pts above district

▲ 19 pts above state median

English language arts

Grade 367%

School 67% · District 42% · ▲ 25 pts above district

▲ 23 pts above state median

Grade 465%

School 65% · District 35% · ▲ 30 pts above district

▲ 17 pts above state median

Grade 579%

School 79% · District 46% · ▲ 33 pts above district

▲ 26 pts above state median

Grade 655%

School 55% · District 48% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 4 pts above state median

Grade 7100%

School 100% · District 76% · ▲ 24 pts above district

▲ 49 pts above state median

Grade 867%

School 67% · District 56% · ▲ 10 pts above district

▲ 13 pts above state median

Science

Grade 586%

School 86% · District 36% · ▲ 50 pts above district

▲ 49 pts above state median

Grade 882%

School 82% · District 43% · ▲ 38 pts above district

▲ 42 pts above state median

This schoolKewanee CUSD 229, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.