Dr Preston L Williams Jr Elem Sch, Urbana IL

Original Research by School Decision on Dr Preston L Williams Jr Elem Sch

Dr Preston L Williams Jr Elementary sits on East Washington Street in Urbana and serves kindergarten through fifth grade. The school has about five hundred students across the full grade span, with a student body that is roughly evenly split between Black and Hispanic students, with smaller shares of White and multiracial students and very small numbers of Asian and Native American students. Data on free-or-reduced-price lunch eligibility, special education enrollment, and English learner status were not available.

The school's state assessment results in reading and math are substantially below the proficiency midpoint. In third grade, the proportion of students scoring at proficient level or above in reading was in the low double digits, with math similar. In fourth and fifth grades, proficiency rates in both subjects dropped to single digits. In fifth grade science, results were also low single-digit proficiency. The state changed cut scores for its assessments beginning in the year these results come from, so direct year-to-year comparison is not possible, making it unclear whether the school's standing has shifted in recent years.

Among the school districts in Champaign County, Dr Preston L Williams Jr ranks in the bottom quartile on a proficiency index that averages performance across tested grades and subjects. A parent interested in this school would want to look into the district's curriculum changes directly with the building and the district office. Urbana SD 116 adopted a new, more rigorous core math curriculum (first implemented in the year these results were recorded) and a new ELA curriculum rolled out the following year. The district also redrew elementary attendance boundaries and restructured grade configurations in the last academic cycle, a shift that is relevant to families choosing or assigned to a school. Because Dr Preston L Williams Jr is an early-elementary focused building, state testing applies only to third, fourth, and fifth grades; no state results exist for kindergarten, first, and second grade.

Urbana itself is a college town anchored by the University of Illinois, with a historic downtown commercial district and walkable neighborhoods. Housing values are moderate for the region, and rental costs are significantly below state and national medians, making the area relatively affordable. The community has good public transit, a strong library system, and public parks with aquatic centers. The city recently adopted a comprehensive development plan and is working on neighborhood revitalization and housing goals. The local economy is dominated by the university and Carle health system.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 312%

School 12% · District 21% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▼ 34 pts below state median · ▼ 22 pts below county median

Grade 42%

School 2% · District 17% · ▼ 15 pts below district

▼ 35 pts below state median · ▼ 29 pts below county median

Grade 52%

School 2% · District 11% · ▼ 10 pts below district

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

English language arts

Grade 312%

School 12% · District 20% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▼ 32 pts below state median · ▼ 21 pts below county median

Grade 46%

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

▼ 42 pts below state median · ▼ 28 pts below county median

Grade 56%

School 6% · District 22% · ▼ 16 pts below district

▼ 46 pts below state median · ▼ 30 pts below county median

Science

Grade 514%

School 14% · District 24% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▼ 23 pts below state median · ▼ 20 pts below county median

This schoolUrbana SD 116, 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.