Oak Grove School, Bartonville IL

Original Research by School Decision on Oak Grove School

Oak Grove School serves pre-K through eighth grade in Bartonville, a working-class suburb of Peoria anchored by the Liberty Steel & Wire mill. The school sits in a residential village where modest single-family homes from the mid-20th century dominate the landscape, and where commercial life spreads along Route 24 and Garfield Avenue rather than gathering at a town center. Housing values in the area are below state and national benchmarks, reflecting the place's industrial character and modest incomes.

The school enrolls roughly a small-to-mid-sized student population for its grade span, with a student body that is overwhelmingly white and economically stable. Enrollment data on free or reduced-price lunch eligibility was not available, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about the income profile of families served. The racial and ethnic composition is heavily white, with smaller shares of students identifying as multiracial, Black, and Hispanic. The school does not publish counts or rates for students with IEPs or English learners, so those details are absent from this record.

State testing results from the Illinois Assessment of Readiness show a mixed academic picture that varies noticeably by grade and subject. In English language arts, performance is stronger in the middle grades, with solid proficiency in grades five, six, and eight, but considerably lower results in the early grades (grades three and four). Mathematics proficiency is uneven across the school. Grade four stands out with stronger results, while grades three, five, six, seven, and eight all show proficiency rates well below half of tested students. Science results are available only for grades five and eight: fifth-grade science proficiency is particularly low, while eighth-grade science performance is notably stronger. Across the school's tested grades and subjects, the overall proficiency rate falls below the midpoint compared to districts in Peoria County.

A parent reviewing these numbers may want to ask the school about the specific instructional supports or interventions in place, especially in mathematics and early-grade literacy, where results suggest sustained challenge. The school administers state assessments at full participation rates, indicating reliable data collection.

Bartonville itself is characterized by slow, minimal growth. The 2020 census recorded a population in the low thousands, with estimates suggesting essentially flat trajectory since. The village adopted a new comprehensive plan in late 2024 focused on revitalizing its commercial corridors, and small signs of activity have appeared: an Aldi and a Scooter's Coffee opened in recent years. The dominant economic engine remains the Liberty Steel mill, which historically employed a large unionized workforce and recently announced expansion plans, though the business cycle of steelmaking means employment can fluctuate sharply. Publicly reported furloughs of roughly a thousand workers occurred in late 2024 when the wire mill temporarily idled. The housing market is active with modest inventory turnover, but new construction is essentially absent; families moving to Bartonville typically purchase or rent existing homes from the 1940s-1960s stock.

The school has no specialized programs listed, no magnet or charter designation, and the district brief found no significant recent policy changes or referenda affecting families. Oak Grove School is the sole school serving its small district and presents itself as a traditional, neighborhood-based elementary and middle school in a stable, working-class community.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 339%

School 39% · District 39%

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

Grade 470%

School 70% · District 70%

▲ 33 pts above state median · ▲ 36 pts above county median

Grade 535%

School 35% · District 35%

▲ 5 pts above state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

Grade 621%

School 21% · District 21%

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 737%

School 37% · District 37%

▲ 8 pts above state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

Grade 836%

School 36% · District 36%

▲ 14 pts above state median · ▲ 20 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 339%

School 39% · District 39%

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 447%

School 47% · District 47%

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Grade 562%

School 62% · District 62%

▲ 10 pts above state median · ▲ 15 pts above county median

Grade 661%

School 61% · District 61%

▲ 10 pts above state median · ▲ 18 pts above county median

Grade 740%

School 40% · District 40%

▼ 11 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 850%

School 50% · District 50%

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

Science

Grade 526%

School 26% · District 26%

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Grade 855%

School 55% · District 55%

▲ 15 pts above state median · ▲ 24 pts above county median

This schoolOak Grove SD 68 Bartonville, 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.