Lewis-clark Elem School, Wood River IL

Original Research by School Decision on Lewis-clark Elem School

Lewis-Clark Elementary serves kindergarten through fifth grade in Wood River, a small refinery town about fifteen miles northeast of St. Louis. The school enrolls roughly a quarter-thousand students across grades K-5, with a student body that is predominantly white, with smaller shares of students identifying as two or more races, Black, Hispanic, or American Indian. Demographic details on free and reduced-price lunch eligibility, special education enrollment, or English learners were not available.

State testing data from the Illinois Assessment of Readiness shows a school working through a meaningful academic challenge. In mathematics, third grade sits near a third proficient or above, while fourth grade falls to roughly a quarter and fifth grade to just under a third. English language arts tells a different story by grade: third graders achieve proficiency at roughly a quarter, but by fourth grade that climbs to just over half, and fifth grade holds at about half. Fifth grade science proficiency sits around a quarter. The state changed its proficiency cut scores this year, so direct year-to-year comparison is not safe, but the profile shows uneven strength, with upper elementary reading notably stronger than mathematics or science.

When measured against the other districts in Madison County, Lewis-Clark's overall proficiency index—the mean of reported proficiency rates across tested subjects and grades—falls below the county midpoint. The school sits at the lower end of the county's range, suggesting that peers in the district and region are seeing higher rates of students reaching proficiency benchmarks.

The school is part of Wood River-Hartford ESD 15, a regular public district. No recent strategic priorities or major changes to curriculum, staffing, or operations were publicly reported, so readers looking for information about district direction may want to contact the school directly.

Wood River itself is in early stages of recovery after decades of decline. The refinery economy remains dominant, though the city has added a new recreation center and is actively revitalizing its downtown core around Ferguson Avenue, with new restaurants and ongoing facade work. Housing values have risen modestly year over year. The area is mostly owner-occupied, with an older housing stock of early- and mid-20th-century homes. Parents considering Lewis-Clark should understand that they are sending their child to a school where reading proficiency in the upper grades outpaces mathematics and science performance, and where overall academic achievement sits below the county average. A parent may want to look into this further with the school to understand the instructional priorities and any targeted supports or interventions in place for math and science.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 335%

School 35% · District 33% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 423%

School 23% · District 18% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

Grade 529%

School 29% · District 26% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 324%

School 24% · District 26% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

Grade 455%

School 55% · District 50% · ▲ 5 pts above district

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

Grade 551%

School 51% · District 55% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Science

Grade 529%

School 29% · District 30% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

This schoolWood River-Hartford ESD 15, 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.