Springfield Ball Charter School, Springfield IL

Original Research by School Decision on Springfield Ball Charter School

Springfield Ball Charter School is a kindergarten-through-eighth-grade charter school located on the east side of Springfield and serving roughly four hundred students across roughly balanced grade levels. The school is part of Springfield School District 186.

The student body is racially diverse, split nearly equally between Black and white students, with smaller shares of students identifying as multiracial, Hispanic, Asian, or American Indian. Free-or-reduced-price-lunch data was not available for this school.

On state assessment results, Ball's proficiency picture is uneven. In math, third graders show the strongest performance, while proficiency declines sharply across grades four through seven before recovering somewhat in eighth grade. The school's math proficiency in grades four, five, six, and seven sits well below the midpoint among the county's districts. In English language arts, third and fourth graders show better results, and eighth graders perform near the median for county schools, but grades five, six, and seven show weak proficiency rates. Science results, reported in grades five and eight, show low proficiency in fifth grade and moderate proficiency in eighth grade. Overall, the school's average proficiency across tested subjects and grades falls in the bottom quartile relative to districts in Sangamon County.

Testing participation is very high across subjects and grades, indicating the school is testing nearly all enrolled students.

Ball is one of several charter options in Springfield District 186. The district itself is navigating significant budget constraints. Facing a substantial operating deficit through the next several budget cycles, the district has adopted a multi-year deficit reduction plan that includes reducing elementary literacy coaches, right-sizing staffing in middle and high school through attrition, raising fees for driver's education, scaling back the SCOPE before-and-after-school program, and considering potential school closures. Parents should expect larger classes and fewer support staff across District 186 schools, including this one. On a brighter note, the district has adopted a new K-8 elementary literacy curriculum, Benchmark Advance, aligned to phonics and the science of reading, rolling out district-wide starting in the 2024-2025 school year.

Housing in the 62703 zip code where Ball is located is modestly valued and rental costs are moderate for the region. The area sits in a car-dependent part of Springfield, away from downtown's walkable core and government-job concentration. For families seeking a small, neighborhood charter school with immediate-grade attention, Ball's size and charter structure may appeal; for those focused on academic strength in the middle grades, a parent may want to look into this further with the school.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 356%

School 56% · District 29% · ▲ 27 pts above district

▲ 10 pts above state median · ▲ 19 pts above county median

Grade 434%

School 34% · District 26% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

Grade 528%

School 28% · District 21% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

Grade 615%

School 15% · District 18% · ▼ 2 pts below district

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

Grade 714%

School 14% · District 20% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▼ 24 pts below county median

Grade 833%

School 33% · District 15% · ▲ 19 pts above district

▲ 11 pts above state median · even with county median

English language arts

Grade 340%

School 40% · District 32% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▼ 4 pts below state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 443%

School 43% · District 38% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▼ 5 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 544%

School 44% · District 42% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

Grade 620%

School 20% · District 31% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▼ 31 pts below state median · ▼ 37 pts below county median

Grade 727%

School 27% · District 32% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 24 pts below state median · ▼ 35 pts below county median

Grade 864%

School 64% · District 32% · ▲ 32 pts above district

▲ 11 pts above state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Science

Grade 530%

School 30% · District 29% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Grade 853%

School 53% · District 29% · ▲ 24 pts above district

▲ 13 pts above state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

This schoolSpringfield SD 186, 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.