Marissa Elem School, Marissa IL - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Marissa Elem School

Marissa Elementary School serves prekindergarten through sixth grade in a small village in southern Illinois, in the heart of coal country that is now in economic transition. The school sits in Marissa CUSD 40, a rural district where the elementary building is the main K-12 anchor. This is a distinctly small school, with an enrollment spanning early childhood through upper elementary.

The student body is predominantly white, with a small share of students of color. The school's free-or-reduced-price-lunch eligibility data is not available, and neither are counts for students with disabilities or English learners. The lack of these data points may reflect the school's size or data-reporting practices rather than the absence of these populations.

State test results from the most recent year show proficiency that lags substantially below the median among the county's other districts. In third-grade math and reading, the school reached about a third of students at proficiency, consistent across both subjects. Fourth-grade math dropped sharply, to a very low proportion of students meeting state standards, though fourth-grade reading improved to about mid-range. Fifth and sixth grades showed proficiency in the low-to-mid range across both reading and math. A science assessment in fifth grade also showed proficiency in the low fifth of the scale. The pattern across grades suggests early elementary reading and math foundations are below the county median, and that gap persists or widens through the upper elementary years. Students participated in testing at very high rates, so absence from assessment is not the driver of these results.

Two important caveats frame these results: Illinois adjusted its proficiency standards in the 2024-25 school year, so direct comparison with prior years is not reliable. Additionally, trends over time cannot be computed from the available data, so it is unclear whether performance is moving or static. A parent may want to look into this further with the school regarding where reading and math support is focused and what academic intervention is in place for students who are not yet at proficiency.

Marissa itself is a close-knit rural village whose population has declined significantly since the collapse of the coal industry, though the Prairie State Energy Campus power plant and coal mine remain a substantial regional employer. Civic life centers on the library and adjacent parks on Main Street. Most residents drive to work, and there is no public transit. The village has invested in solar energy and other economic diversification, but growth is not a defining characteristic of the area. Housing values in the county are below the state and national benchmarks, making home ownership relatively accessible by national standards.

The school is the community's public elementary anchor, a small building serving all early and upper elementary grades in one place. Whether the academic results reflect resource constraints, recent staffing changes, demographic shifts in the enrollment, or other factors is not evident from the data provided. For families considering this school, the primary question is how the current proficiency gap relates to the academic support and pathway available to students who need help reaching grade-level standards in reading and math.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 337%

School 37% · District 37%

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Grade 412%

School 12% · District 12%

▼ 25 pts below state median · ▼ 25 pts below county median

Grade 511%

School 11% · District 11%

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Grade 622%

School 22% · District 22%

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 337%

School 37% · District 37%

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Grade 446%

School 46% · District 46%

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 526%

School 26% · District 26%

▼ 26 pts below state median · ▼ 30 pts below county median

Grade 631%

School 31% · District 31%

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 27 pts below county median

Science

Grade 522%

School 22% · District 22%

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

This schoolMarissa CUSD 40, 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.