The top reported proficiency rate is 78% in Math. The lowest is 77% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Wolf Branch Elem School
Wolf Branch Elementary serves prekindergarten through fourth grade in Swansea, a suburban village in the St. Louis Metro East area. The school sits within Wolf Branch School District 113, a small district anchored by a major infrastructure recovery: the middle school completed a costly rebuild and reopened in 2021 after mine subsidence forced its closure. That modernized facility now serves grades five through eight and represents the kind of long-term local investment families moving to the area would encounter.
The student body at Wolf Branch Elementary numbers around typical size for its grade band. The enrollment is majority white, with a substantial share of Black and multiracial students, and smaller numbers of Hispanic, Asian, and Native American children. Data on students qualifying for free or reduced price meals was not available, nor was the count of students in special education or English learner programs, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about the socioeconomic profile and support services.
In Illinois state testing for the most recently reported year, Wolf Branch Elementary's proficiency rates in math and English language arts showed solid performance in the grades tested. In third grade math, students reached proficiency at a strong rate, and in fourth grade that rate rose noticeably higher. Fourth grade English language arts results followed a similar trajectory, with solid proficiency. The school achieved near-universal test participation in these grades. Testing data for fifth and sixth grades was not available, which aligns with the school's structure as a prekindergarten-through-fourth building; those grades are served at the middle school.
Set against other districts in St. Clair County, Wolf Branch Elementary's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile countywide. That positioning reflects solid foundational academics in the grades served here.
The elementary school sits in Swansea, an auto-oriented suburban village centered on the Route 157 corridor. The Swansea MetroLink station anchors nearby civic life and brings light-rail access to downtown St. Louis; the MetroBikeLink trail is expanding to connect neighborhoods. Parks including Schranz Memorial Park, home to the Swansea Kingdom playground, and Melvin Price Memorial Park with ballfields and a hockey arena are accessible to families. Housing in the zip code around the school is moderately priced relative to national and Illinois benchmarks. Home values have risen modestly year over year, and rental costs have climbed as well; the housing market shows steady activity with growing inventory.
The district's infrastructure modernization and the school's measurable academic standing in its grade band offer clear baseline supports. A parent evaluating Wolf Branch Elementary would be looking at a small elementary building in a growing community with genuine recent investment in its physical plant at the secondary level and proficiency results that exceed the county median.
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