Clifford P Carlson Elem School, Rockford IL

Original Research by School Decision on Clifford P Carlson Elem School

Clifford P. Carlson Elementary serves kindergarten through fifth grade in Rockford as part of Rockford School District 205. The school has a small to mid-sized enrollment with a balanced demographic composition: roughly one-third white, one-third Hispanic, and one-quarter Black students, with smaller populations of Asian and multiracial students. Free or reduced lunch eligibility data was not available.

The school's state test results show academic performance below the district average. On the 2024-25 Illinois Assessment of Readiness, proficiency rates in math ranged from mid-40s in third grade to under ten percent in fifth grade. English language arts proficiency was similarly variable, from about one-third in third grade to roughly half in fourth grade, then down to about one-third in fifth grade. A science test in fifth grade showed proficiency near fourteen percent. These results place the school in the bottom quartile when measured against other elementary schools in Winnebago County on overall proficiency. A parent may want to look into the school's instructional approach, intervention programs, and whether staffing or resources are being allocated to address these gaps.

Carlson sits in a neighborhood where home values are moderate relative to the state and nation, with rent-to-income costs manageable for many families. Rockford itself is a mid-sized industrial city with a mixed character, undergoing revitalization downtown with new civic infrastructure including a reopened main library and mixed-use residential development. The city's economy is anchored by healthcare, manufacturing, and education. Public transit is available through the Rockford Mass Transit District, and K-12 students ride free with school ID. Walkability is low citywide but higher in the downtown core.

The Rockford School District has launched a significant facilities modernization plan that will reshape school buildings and course offerings over the coming years. All district buildings now have air conditioning, which prompted an earlier start to the school year beginning in 2025-26, with school now starting in mid-August rather than early September. The district is also expanding advanced programs like International Baccalaureate and STEAM into middle school and consolidating career programs into a new district-level center. These changes affect everything from the school calendar to the pathways available as students progress.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 347%

School 47% · District 30% · ▲ 16 pts above district

even with state median · ▲ 14 pts above county median

Grade 425%

School 25% · District 22% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▼ 12 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 57%

School 7% · District 22% · ▼ 15 pts below district

▼ 23 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 333%

School 33% · District 29% · ▲ 4 pts above district

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

Grade 448%

School 48% · District 32% · ▲ 16 pts above district

even with state median · ▲ 12 pts above county median

Grade 536%

School 36% · District 40% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 16 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Science

Grade 514%

School 14% · District 25% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▼ 23 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

This schoolRockford SD 205, 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.