The top reported proficiency rate is 28% in Science. The lowest is 15% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Franklin Primary School
Franklin Primary School is an elementary building serving kindergarten through fourth grade in Peoria's Peoria School District 150. The school enrolls a student body that is predominantly Black, with smaller populations of students identifying as multiracial, White, and Hispanic. The school's address places it in an urban Peoria neighborhood, within the city's established residential fabric rather than in a newer suburban area.
On state assessments administered in spring 2025, the school's proficiency rates in both math and English language arts were considerably low. In third grade, roughly one-quarter of students tested demonstrated proficiency in math and about one-quarter in ELA. Fourth grade results were weaker: fewer than one in ten students achieved proficiency in math, and roughly one in seven in ELA. These proficiency rates place Franklin well below the median among the county's districts in overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades.
No state testing data is available for fifth grade or higher; the school's grade band explanation helps clarify this. The school serves primarily grades K-4, with only a handful of students in fifth through seventh grade (likely students retained or placed there for other reasons), so those grades do not generate reportable assessment numbers. A science assessment from 2015-16, before recent curriculum changes, showed low proficiency as well, though that result is now a decade old and preceded substantial district-level shifts in literacy instruction.
The district has moved aggressively to reshape early reading instruction. In April 2026, the school board approved a major curriculum overhaul costing a substantial amount, replacing K-5 reading materials in use for years with science-of-reading aligned programs including Curriculum Associates' Magnetic Literacy for early grades and HMH Into Reading for fifth grade. This shift back toward phonics and structured literacy directly addresses a district-level problem: roughly one-third of third- through eighth-graders district-wide were not reading at grade level according to recent state data. For Franklin Primary specifically, this new curriculum will be the pedagogy environment going forward, reshaping how reading is taught in the classrooms the school serves.
Housing in the school's Peoria zip code reflects a modest market. Home values are in a range typical for mid-sized Midwest communities, and rental costs are similarly accessible. The housing market shows moderate activity with a reasonable supply of available listings and some new inventory coming to market. This is not a high-growth area; Peoria as a whole is in a redevelopment phase concentrated downtown and in the Warehouse District, with limited new suburban construction.
Peoria itself is a mid-sized city anchored by healthcare (OSF Healthcare system), heavy machinery manufacturing (Caterpillar among others), and Bradley University. The community has invested in riverfront assets, downtown revitalization, and mixed-use district development. Public transit through CityLink serves schools, hospitals, and parks across the area.
The school's enrollment is small to moderate for its grade band, with a substantial concentration in second through fourth grades. Free-or-reduced-price lunch status, English learner enrollment, and special education enrollment data were not provided, so a parent may want to reach out to the school directly to understand what share of students are accessing services or supports tied to those designations. Program offerings beyond standard K-4 instruction, staffing ratios, attendance patterns, and discipline practices are not in the available data.
Franklin Primary represents an early-grades setting in an urban neighborhood within a district that has acknowledged reading proficiency gaps and is now implementing a district-wide curriculum redesign grounded in evidence-based literacy practices. The school serves a predominantly Black student population in a city with long-established neighborhoods and modest housing costs. A parent considering Franklin would be entering during a period of deliberate instructional change aimed at improving the outcomes the recent state data revealed.
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