The top reported proficiency rate is 57% in English language arts. The lowest is 54% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Northview Elem School
Northview Elementary is a small prekindergarten-through-fourth-grade school in Peru, Illinois, serving a student body of around six hundred. The school sits in Peru ESD 124, a district anchoring the Illinois Valley in LaSalle County, a region historically tied to canal-era manufacturing now supported by retail, healthcare, and small industry.
Test results from the most recent state assessment place the school at about the midpoint of proficiency for its grade band in the county. In third-grade math, just over half of students reached proficiency; fourth-grade math and language arts both sat slightly below that mark. Third-grade language arts performed a bit better. The state changed its proficiency cutoffs that year, so year-to-year comparison is not reliable. Northview does not serve grades above fourth, so no secondary-level testing data apply.
The enrollment is roughly two-thirds white, with a substantial Hispanic population at about a fifth of the school, and smaller shares of Asian, Black, and multiracial students. Free-or-reduced-price-lunch data were not available for the school. Special-education enrollment and English-learner counts were also not reported. These absences may reflect a missing data feed rather than their absence from the school, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about these populations.
Peru itself is a small mixed-use city along the Illinois River and the I-80 corridor. The downtown, centered on Fourth Street and US-6, retains a historic walkable grid, but commercial and retail life has concentrated at the interstate interchange, making the city's character largely auto-oriented. Major employers are retail (Walmart, Target, Peru Mall), manufacturers (James Hardie, American Nickeloid, Carus Chemical), healthcare (St. Margaret's Health Peru and senior-care facilities), and logistics. The area's daytime population rises markedly due to workers commuting in from surrounding towns. Population has been stable for the past two decades, and while development continues at the commercial nodes and city edges, growth is modest. Housing values in the zip code have risen modestly in recent years, with a median listing price trending upward, though still well below state and national benchmarks. Rental costs are also modest relative to regional income. The area offers limited public transit; mobility relies on cars and local roads.
The school's location, grade span, and the absence of reported program details mean there is limited data on what academic pathways or special offerings might be available. A parent considering Northview should connect with the school to understand classroom structure, any gifted or intervention supports, and how the curriculum is organized. The county assessment data show mixed but not weak results in early grades; whether that reflects typical third- and fourth-grade development, pacing, or systematic gaps would be worth exploring with the school directly.
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