The top reported proficiency rate is 45% in English language arts. The lowest is 20% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Hazel Dell Elem School
Hazel Dell Elementary is a small K-5 school in Springfield serving around a hundred students, located on the city's west side in a mixed-income neighborhood. The school's enrollment is notably skewed: just over half of the students are Black, about a third are white, and just under a fifth are multiracial. The demographic composition is substantially different from the countywide profile, reflecting Springfield's residential and economic geography.
Test results show the school is struggling academically. In third-grade language arts, roughly two out of five students tested at proficient or above; in math, the same proportion. By fourth grade, proficiency in math dropped sharply to less than one in five students, and that slide continued through fifth grade, where only a handful of students showed proficiency in math. Fifth-grade language arts performed better, with just over half the students meeting the bar. Science testing at fifth grade showed proficiency at roughly three in ten students. Participation rates remained solid across grades, suggesting that absences or opt-outs were not driving these numbers; students were taking the tests, and the results reflect actual performance.
Compared to other districts in Sangamon County, Hazel Dell's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile. The school sits well below the county median in overall academic performance.
The school's small enrollment means it operates with limited infrastructure. There are no state testing results for sixth through eighth grades because this is a K-5 building; students leave before they reach that range. Free or reduced-price lunch eligibility data were not available in the records, so a reader cannot measure poverty concentration directly from the data here, though the school's academic results and modest test performance suggest material challenges.
Springfield School District 186, Hazel Dell's parent district, adopted a new elementary literacy curriculum called Benchmark Advance for the 2024-2025 school year, emphasizing phonics and the science of reading. This is a district-wide shift that will shape reading instruction across all elementary buildings. At the same time, the district is managing a substantial operating deficit and cutting staffing: elementary literacy coaches have been reduced, and class sizes are likely to grow. The district is also exploring whether to close some schools as part of a multi-year deficit reduction plan. Families should be aware that the school environment will likely include larger classes and fewer support staff in the years ahead.
Housing in the school's zip code is moderately priced relative to state and national benchmarks, making it accessible to families at a range of income levels. The overall neighborhood character blends residential blocks with some commercial use, typical of Springfield's car-dependent layout, though downtown's walkable core is a short drive away.
Parents considering Hazel Dell should understand that this is a school with persistently low test scores, significant staffing constraints imposed by the district's budget crisis, and a student body shaped by concentrated economic and racial demographics. The district's new literacy adoption may help shore up reading instruction, but results typically lag implementation by several years. A parent visiting the school would get a direct sense of the building's resources and staff morale, which the data alone cannot capture.
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