The top reported proficiency rate is 52% in Math. The lowest is 43% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Southside School
Southside School is a small public elementary school serving grades three through five in Morrison, Illinois, a rural county-seat town in northwestern Whiteside County. The school sits on a dedicated academic campus south of downtown rather than embedded in the historic town center, alongside Morrison Junior High School and Northside School.
The school has a student body of just over two hundred students spread fairly evenly across its three grades. The student body is predominantly white, with a smaller share of Hispanic students and very small representation of other groups. Free-or-reduced-price-lunch data and counts of students in special education or learning English as an additional language were not available, so a parent should ask the school directly about the makeup of students receiving support services and the resources allocated to them.
On the Illinois Assessment of Readiness, Southside's proficiency rates show a mixed and uneven picture. In third-grade math and English language arts, the school posts results around midrange or slightly above midrange by Whiteside County standards. By fourth grade, both subjects dip notably, with math proficiency falling to below the county median and ELA to roughly the county median. Fifth grade shows a rebound in ELA but stays below the county median in math. In science, fifth graders show proficiency near the low end of the county range. The school participates fully in state testing; all results reflect complete assessment participation.
The data set does not allow a longer-term view of whether these results represent stability or a change from prior years, because the state shifted its proficiency cut scores across subjects in recent years, which makes direct year-over-year comparison unreliable. A parent interested in trend information should ask the school about achievement patterns and any recent instructional adjustments.
When positioned against the twelve school districts in Whiteside County, Southside's overall proficiency index across tested grades and subjects places it above the county median. The school does not serve high school grades and thus has no graduation rate. Chronic absenteeism data was not available.
Morrison itself is a stable, small rural town of modest size with a historic downtown and a quiet, tree-lined residential character. Population has drifted downward over the past two decades at a slow rate, and the local economy has shifted away from its manufacturing heritage toward healthcare, education, and business services. Housing values are moderate by state standards and remain affordable relative to local income. The school sits within easy reach of students across town.
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