The top reported proficiency rate is 22% in Science. The lowest is 5% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Broadmeadow Elem School
Broadmeadow Elementary School serves grades three through five in Rantoul, a small village in northern Champaign County shaped by the former Chanute Air Force Base and the Illinois Central Railroad. The school is part of Rantoul City School District 137, which recently restructured its elementary schools into a Companion Schools Model pairing buildings by grade band. Under this arrangement, Broadmeadow handles grades 3–5 alongside Eastlawn Elementary, while a parallel set of K–2 schools—Northview and Pleasant Acres—handle younger grades. This means families transition their children between schools as they progress through elementary.
The school enrolls roughly a quarter-thousand students across its grades. The student body is diverse: roughly two-fifths identify as Black, a quarter as white, and a significant share as two or more races, with smaller populations of Hispanic, Asian, and other students. Free-and-reduced-price lunch enrollment data were not available, so a parent may want to check with the school directly on that detail. The school's location on Sunview Road places it in a community where housing is relatively affordable and workforce-oriented, though the broader Rantoul area is working through slow recovery from the base closure and redevelopment.
State test results for the 2024–25 school year show areas of substantial challenge. In third-grade math and reading, proficiency rates were quite low, with only a small fraction of students meeting state benchmarks in either subject. Fourth grade showed similarly depressed numbers in reading. Fifth-grade performance improved modestly, with reading proficiency at roughly one in five students and math at under one in ten. In fifth-grade science, roughly one in four students tested at proficient or above. Across the tested grades, test participation was high or complete, so the low proficiency numbers reflect actual student performance rather than testing barriers. These results place the school well below the county median for overall proficiency. A parent may want to discuss with the school what specific support is being put in place to address these results, particularly in mathematics across grades three and four.
The district has invested in a new literacy framework with ongoing instructional coaching from an outside partner, Focused Schools. This is an explicit attempt to strengthen reading instruction district-wide, and the district publicly reports seeing early success. That work may take time to show in test results, but it represents a concrete pedagogical commitment. The school building is a regular public elementary school serving its neighborhood; it is not a magnet, charter, or alternative program.
The community around Rantoul remains largely working-class and auto-oriented, with quiet residential streets, a revitalized downtown core anchored by the public library and Amtrak station, and major employers in manufacturing and distribution. The school district serves a place in transition, not a growth corridor, and families here tend to have roots in the area and stable employment in local industry. A parent considering Broadmeadow should understand that the school's academic performance is currently depressed and expect it to be a school where reading and math support is a priority conversation with teachers and administration.
See more original research from School Decision →