The top reported proficiency rate is 50% in English language arts. The lowest is 29% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on North Boone Upper Elem Sch
North Boone Upper Elementary serves grades five and six in Poplar Grove, a small residential village in Boone County that sits at a major growth crossroads. The school enrolls just over two hundred students, with a student body that is predominantly white and Latino in roughly equal proportions, and a smaller share identifying as multiracial. Demographic details on free-or-reduced-price-lunch eligibility, English learner population, and special education enrollment were not available in the data.
The school's most recent state testing data comes from the 2024-25 school year. In English language arts, grade five proficiency sits at just above the midpoint, while grade six is somewhat lower. Math performance is notably weaker across both grades, with fewer than one in three students meeting proficiency in grade five and approaching one in four in grade six. In science, tested only at grade five, about one in three students reached proficiency. These results place the school above the midpoint on an overall proficiency index when compared to the other school districts in Boone County, though that positioning reflects a modest bar rather than strong absolute performance. A parent may want to look into the school's instructional strategies in mathematics with the school directly, particularly given the gap between reading and math attainment.
State testing data for grades three and four were unavailable, as the school's official grade band runs only through sixth grade. Science results for grade eight were also missing; while the school's name references upper elementary, the data suggests it may serve a wider age range than its title indicates, or science testing at higher grades may not occur at this school.
Poplar Grove itself is a small village experiencing active residential growth, surrounded by farmland at the intersection of state routes 76 and 76. New subdivisions like Trails of Dawson Creek are bringing young families with school-age children into the area, and the village has recently attracted a second fly-in residential community to its airport. The housing market is appreciating steadily, and median home values sit somewhat below the state average. The village is primarily car-dependent, though it is anchored by the Long Prairie Trail, a fourteen-mile paved recreation path along a former railroad corridor that runs through town. The community's economic base includes a modest local business presence centered on its enterprise zone, with most employment drawing from the broader Rockford metropolitan area, particularly manufacturing and healthcare sectors accessible via I-90.
The school is part of North Boone Community Unit School District 200, a countywide district. The district brief found no major recent policy shifts or referenda that would alter the parent experience, suggesting relative stability in operations and funding.
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