Iles Elem School, Springfield IL

Original Research by School Decision on Iles Elem School

Iles Elementary School serves students from first through eighth grade in Springfield, Illinois, with an enrollment of about four hundred students. The school's academic picture is strong across the board: in English language arts, proficiency rates range from the low nineties to the high nineties across all tested grades; in mathematics, rates cluster around the high eighties and nineties, with third grade reaching nearly perfect proficiency and sixth grade at perfect proficiency; in science, tested grades five and eight show proficiency in the low to mid nineties. The school administered Illinois state assessments with full participation, a baseline indicator of engagement with testing. Test scores place Iles in the top quartile among schools in Sangamon County on a composite proficiency measure.

The student body is diverse in racial and ethnic composition, with roughly a quarter Asian, a little less than half white, a modest share Black, and smaller shares Hispanic, multiracial, and Native American and Pacific Islander. The early grades are larger—around seventy to seventy-nine students each in first through third—while the upper middle grades contract sharply, with only about two dozen in sixth grade and about a dozen in eighth. This shape likely reflects grade transitions common in Illinois schools moving to middle school structures, and a parent might ask whether the upper grades represent the cohort size or whether students are enrolling elsewhere for seventh and eighth grade.

Data on free and reduced-price lunch participation and special education or English learner enrollment were not available in the records provided. Similarly, school discipline, course offerings, staffing levels, and attendance metrics are absent. Without those details, the picture of student support systems and the specific climate or challenge areas at Iles remains incomplete. A parent considering the school would benefit from asking directly about special education services, English learner support, class sizes in upper grades, and any before- or after-school programming.

Springfield School District 186, the district encompassing Iles, is navigating significant fiscal and operational pressures. The district adopted a new elementary literacy curriculum called Benchmark Advance beginning in the 2024-2025 school year, centered on phonics and the science of reading—a shift that affects how all elementary children learn to read. At the same time, the district faces a substantial multi-year operating deficit and has implemented cost reductions including cuts to elementary literacy coaching positions, tighter staffing in middle and high school, scaled-back before- and after-school programming, and the possibility of school closures. Class sizes are expected to grow, and support staff will be fewer. The district is also exploring a new elementary school on the south side of Springfield that could shift attendance boundaries if built. For a family at Iles, these district constraints mean that while the school itself shows strong test results today, staffing and program depth may tighten over time.

Housing costs in the Springfield area, according to recent market data, sit below state and national medians, and rent-to-income ratios suggest moderate affordability for families at median household income. The city itself combines a functioning state-government downtown with residential and commercial zones spread across car-oriented neighborhoods; walkability is limited outside the downtown core.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 397%

School 97% · District 29% · ▲ 69 pts above district

▲ 51 pts above state median · ▲ 60 pts above county median

Grade 483%

School 83% · District 26% · ▲ 58 pts above district

▲ 47 pts above state median · ▲ 55 pts above county median

Grade 582%

School 82% · District 21% · ▲ 61 pts above district

▲ 52 pts above state median · ▲ 59 pts above county median

Grade 6100%

School 100% · District 18% · ▲ 83 pts above district

▲ 76 pts above state median · ▲ 69 pts above county median

Grade 782%

School 82% · District 20% · ▲ 62 pts above district

▲ 54 pts above state median · ▲ 45 pts above county median

Grade 892%

School 92% · District 15% · ▲ 77 pts above district

▲ 69 pts above state median · ▲ 58 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 393%

School 93% · District 32% · ▲ 61 pts above district

▲ 49 pts above state median · ▲ 55 pts above county median

Grade 492%

School 92% · District 38% · ▲ 54 pts above district

▲ 44 pts above state median · ▲ 49 pts above county median

Grade 592%

School 92% · District 42% · ▲ 50 pts above district

▲ 40 pts above state median · ▲ 40 pts above county median

Grade 695%

School 95% · District 31% · ▲ 64 pts above district

▲ 45 pts above state median · ▲ 38 pts above county median

Grade 794%

School 94% · District 32% · ▲ 62 pts above district

▲ 43 pts above state median · ▲ 32 pts above county median

Grade 896%

School 96% · District 32% · ▲ 64 pts above district

▲ 43 pts above state median · ▲ 31 pts above county median

Science

Grade 592%

School 92% · District 29% · ▲ 63 pts above district

▲ 56 pts above state median · ▲ 59 pts above county median

Grade 892%

School 92% · District 29% · ▲ 63 pts above district

▲ 52 pts above state median · ▲ 38 pts above 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.