Summersville Grade School, Mount Vernon IL

Original Research by School Decision on Summersville Grade School

Summersville Grade School is a small rural school serving Mount Vernon and surrounding Jefferson County, Illinois, with students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. The school sits in the county seat of Mount Vernon, a manufacturing and distribution hub anchored by Continental Tire and the Walgreens Distribution Center, a regional healthcare presence through SSM Health Good Samaritan Hospital, and traditional civic life centered on a refurbished downtown corridor and a new community greenspace. The city has seen slow population decline over the past decade and is focused on infill revitalization and housing development for seniors and households with disabilities, rather than rapid growth.

The school's enrollment is small, distributed across ten grade bands from pre-K through eighth grade. The student body is predominantly white, with modest representation of Hispanic, mixed-race, and other students. Free-or-reduced-price lunch data was not available, and participation counts for students with IEPs or English learner status are not reported.

On state assessments administered in spring 2025, Summersville's results show uneven academic performance with notable grade-level variation. In math, third and seventh graders meet or exceed proficiency benchmarks at solid rates, while students in fourth through sixth grades fall below the midpoint, particularly fifth grade. In English language arts, the school shows a sharp upward trend in the upper grades, with eighth grade proficiency well above the midpoint and seventh grade strong; younger grades in the third through sixth range show more modest proficiency. Science assessment data is available only for fifth and eighth grades, with fifth-grade science proficiency below the midpoint and eighth-grade science substantially above it. The school's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile among the districts in Jefferson County, suggesting that despite uneven performance by grade, the school compares favorably to its regional peers. Science and ELA outcomes in grades seven and eight are particular strengths; mathematics in the middle elementary grades is an area a parent may want to look into further with the school.

The school is a regular public school operated by Summersville School District 79 and does not hold magnet or charter status. No recent major policy or curriculum changes were documented for the district. District and school data regarding chronic absenteeism, discipline, staffing, course access, or specific program offerings beyond the core curriculum are not available, so a parent interested in those details would benefit from speaking directly with the school administration.

Housing in Mount Vernon is modestly priced relative to the national median, with a median home value well below state benchmarks. Rental units are similarly affordable. The employment landscape is stable, anchored by large industrial and healthcare employers, though like the broader region it offers limited diversity in career pathways within the immediate area. The school serves a community with a traditional manufacturing economy and a deliberate focus on housing preservation and modest infill development rather than rapid expansion.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 362%

School 62% · District 62%

▲ 16 pts above state median · ▲ 14 pts above county median

Grade 451%

School 51% · District 51%

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

Grade 541%

School 41% · District 41%

▲ 12 pts above state median · ▲ 18 pts above county median

Grade 648%

School 48% · District 48%

▲ 24 pts above state median · ▲ 30 pts above county median

Grade 768%

School 68% · District 68%

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

Grade 865%

School 65% · District 65%

▲ 43 pts above state median · ▲ 53 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 360%

School 60% · District 60%

▲ 16 pts above state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

Grade 457%

School 57% · District 57%

▲ 9 pts above state median · ▲ 11 pts above county median

Grade 555%

School 55% · District 55%

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

Grade 661%

School 61% · District 61%

▲ 11 pts above state median · ▲ 18 pts above county median

Grade 785%

School 85% · District 85%

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

Grade 889%

School 89% · District 89%

▲ 35 pts above state median · ▲ 37 pts above county median

Science

Grade 546%

School 46% · District 46%

▲ 10 pts above state median · ▲ 11 pts above county median

Grade 877%

School 77% · District 77%

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

This schoolSummersville SD 79, 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.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 8Lower-income72%Higher-income75%4 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 8Lower-income57%Higher-income67%10 pp gap