Palestine Grade School, Palestine IL

Original Research by School Decision on Palestine Grade School

Palestine Grade School is a small public school serving prekindergarten through eighth grade in a rural southeastern Illinois village. The school enrolls roughly a quarter-thousand students across all grades, with notably high representation in the earliest grades (PreK and kindergarten) and smaller cohorts as grade level rises.

Academically, the school's state test results show a pattern of significant struggle. Testing data from the Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) in math and English language arts, and the Illinois Science Assessment in science, reveal proficiency rates that are consistently low. In math, third and fourth graders perform somewhat better than later grades, but even their proficiency rates sit well below what would be typical, and performance drops sharply beginning in fifth grade, where proficiency falls to single digits in some grade levels. English language arts shows a similar arc, with fourth graders posting the highest rate on record but sixth and seventh graders falling to very low levels. Science proficiency in fifth grade was extremely low, though eighth grade science showed a marked improvement. Across the tested subjects and grades, the school's overall proficiency index falls below the midpoint among the six school districts in Crawford County.

The student body is predominantly white, with very small numbers of students from other racial and ethnic backgrounds. Data on free-or-reduced-price lunch eligibility and on students in special education or English learner services was not available. The school sits within the village fabric on South Washington Street, one block off the historic Main Street commercial core.

Palestine itself is a small rural village centered on a walkable downtown with a preserved commercial historic district. The broader area is anchored by agricultural land and the legacy of the Southeastern Oilfield; major employment is based a short distance west in Robinson, home to refining and food manufacturing operations. The village and surrounding Crawford County have experienced population decline over the past decade, and the locale is characterized by limited new development rather than growth. Median home values in the area are modest, well below state and national benchmarks, making housing relatively affordable for families who work in the region.

The school's low test performance across grades and subjects, particularly the sharp declines in the middle grades, suggests that a parent may want to look into the school's current literacy and mathematics approaches directly with administration, including what interventions or supports are in place for students not meeting proficiency benchmarks. No multi-year trend data was available, so it is not clear whether results are improving, stable, or worsening. The school is part of Palestine CUSD 3, a two-school district; no recent district-level policy changes or strategic initiatives were found in public record.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 345%

School 45% · District 45%

▼ 1 pts below state median

Grade 444%

School 44% · District 44%

▲ 7 pts above state median

Grade 519%

School 19% · District 19%

▼ 11 pts below state median

Grade 613%

School 13% · District 13%

▼ 11 pts below state median

Grade 713%

School 13% · District 13%

▼ 15 pts below state median

Grade 823%

School 23% · District 23%

▲ 1 pts above state median

English language arts

Grade 321%

School 21% · District 21%

▼ 23 pts below state median

Grade 460%

School 60% · District 60%

▲ 12 pts above state median

Grade 526%

School 26% · District 26%

▼ 26 pts below state median

Grade 613%

School 13% · District 13%

▼ 37 pts below state median

Grade 713%

School 13% · District 13%

▼ 38 pts below state median

Grade 850%

School 50% · District 50%

▼ 3 pts below state median

Science

Grade 511%

School 11% · District 11%

▼ 26 pts below state median

Grade 857%

School 57% · District 57%

▲ 17 pts above state median

This schoolPalestine CUSD 3, 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.