The top reported proficiency rate is 44% in Science. The lowest is 29% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Warsaw Elem School
Warsaw Elementary School is a small school of around two hundred students in a town that sits on the Illinois side of the Mississippi River in southwestern Hancock County. The school serves pre-kindergarten through ninth grade, though a structural feature of the district affects the upper grades: seventh and eighth graders attend Nauvoo-Colusa Junior High School in the adjacent district under a long-standing deactivation agreement, so the ninth graders at Warsaw are part of a mixed-grade cohort that makes the school's profile somewhat unusual. The school is located on South 11th Street in the historic core of Warsaw, a small riverside town whose population has declined steadily over many decades.
Academic performance at Warsaw Elementary is below the county median across tested subjects and grades. On the Illinois Assessment of Readiness, third and fourth graders in reading and math show proficiency rates in the mid- to high-thirties. Third grade reading is notably lower at around a quarter proficient. Fifth grade is the strongest grade for reading, at around half proficient, though fifth grade math drops sharply to around a third. Sixth grade shows deeper challenges: math proficiency falls into the single digits. Science proficiency for the one grade tested (fifth) is in the mid-forties. Data for seventh and eighth grade is not available from this school, reflecting the cross-district arrangement; ninth grade testing results were not reported. A parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand whether students joining in those middle years are supported in bridging any gaps.
The school's enrollment is primarily white, with very few students of color. Demographic breakdowns for free or reduced-price lunch, special education, or English learner populations were not available. The school is a regular public school within Warsaw CUSD 316 and does not have charter or magnet designation. Student attendance data and specific staffing figures were not provided.
Warsaw itself is a town in long-term population decline, having shrunk substantially since a peak in the 1870s. The community is small and largely rural in character, with a compact historic downtown along Main Street anchored by civic institutions like the public library and parks along the river. Housing is predominantly older single-family homes; median home values in the area are below the state benchmark, and housing affordability by national standards is relatively favorable. The town has no major private employers and residents work in small numbers across manufacturing, retail, health care, and public service; some commute to the larger Keokuk, Iowa labor market to the northeast. This economic context—small, aging, with limited local job growth—shapes the character of the community the school serves.
The comparison position of Warsaw Elementary against other districts in Hancock County shows it in the bottom quartile of proficiency across tested subjects and grades. That gap is material and worth understanding directly with school staff, including what reading and math supports are in place for students who fall below proficiency and what progress monitoring looks like.
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