Is Prairie Central Elementary School a good school?

Prairie Central Elementary School ranks 1163 rd of 2067 Illinois elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Prairie Central Elementary School?

In the 2023-24 school year, 368 students attended Prairie Central Elementary School.

What is the racial makeup of Prairie Central Elementary School?

Students at Prairie Central Elementary School are 89% White, 7% Hispanic, 3% Two or more races.

What schools do graduates of Prairie Central Elementary School attend?

Students who attend Prairie Central Elementary School usually go on to attend: Middle : Prairie Central Junior High School Middle : Prairie Central Upper Elementary High : Prairie Central High School

Prairie Central Elementary School

Summary:

Prairie Central Elementary School is a public elementary school located in Fairbury, Illinois, serving grades 2-4 with a total enrollment of 322 students. The school is part of the Prairie Central CUSD 8 district, which is ranked 466 out of 813 districts in Illinois and has a 2-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Prairie Central Elementary School's performance on the Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) tests is generally below the state and district averages. In the 2023-2024 school year, only 30% of all grades were proficient or better in ELA, compared to 41.2% statewide, and 19.7% were proficient or better in Math, compared to 28.4% statewide. The school's performance has been declining over the years, with its statewide ranking dropping from 307 out of 2,046 Illinois elementary schools in 2015-2016 to 1,163 out of 2,067 in 2023-2024. Subgroup performance is also a concern, with White students and students from low socioeconomic backgrounds performing particularly poorly compared to their peers statewide. Additionally, the school has experienced a significant increase in chronic absenteeism, from 2.2% in 2019-2020 to 12.8% in 2023-2024, which is higher than the state average.

Interestingly, the nearby Prairie Central Primary East and Prairie Central Primary West schools, which serve younger grades, have generally higher performance on the IAR tests and lower chronic absenteeism rates compared to Prairie Central Elementary School. Another nearby school, Odell Grade School, has similar performance to Prairie Central Elementary School, while Lexington Elementary School stands out as a high-performing school with significantly higher proficiency rates in both ELA and Math.

Detail:

Public 2-4

600 S 1st St
Fairbury, IL 61739-1558

(815) 692-2623

District: Prairie Central CUSD 8

SchoolDigger Rank:
1163^rd of 2,067 Illinois Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $11,918

Students who attend Prairie Central Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	Prairie Central Junior High School
	Prairie Central Upper Elementary
High:	Prairie Central High School

Student/teacher ratio: 12.9

Number of students: 368

Racial breakdown:

White:

88.9%

Hispanic:

7.1%

Two or more races:

3.3%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 44%

See top rated Illinois elementary schools

Compare Prairie Central Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Prairie Central Elementary School ranks worse than 56.3% of elementary schools in Illinois. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 39.53. (See more...)

Chronic absenteeism in a school refers to a situation where students repeatedly miss school, with the threshold often defined as missing 10% or more of school days for any reason, excused or unexcused.

Student Body

Compare Details Prairie Central Elementary School has the largest elementary school student body size in the Prairie Central CUSD 8 School District. Racial makeup is: White (88.9%), Hispanic (7.1%), two or more races (3.3%). (See more...)

Compare Details 44% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Prairie Central Elementary School is 12.9. 1 elementary schools in the Prairie Central CUSD 8 School District have better student/teacher ratios. (See more...)

Compare Prairie Central Elementary School employs 28.4 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Prairie Central Elementary School is $11,918, which is the lowest among 3 elementary schools in the Prairie Central CUSD 8 School District!

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Prairie Central Elementary School:

SchoolDigger ranks Prairie Central Elementary School 1163^rd of 2067 Illinois public elementary schools. (See Prairie Central Elementary School in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Special Education students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Disabled students:

Male students:

White students:

Prairie Central CUSD 8:

SchoolDigger ranks Prairie Central CUSD 8 466^th of 813 Illinois school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Prairie Central Elementary School

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Rank History for all students at Prairie Central Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2003	69.75	713^th	2020	64.7%
2004	68.13	747^th	2030	63.2%
2005	84.33	147^th	2022	92.7%
2006	77.33	408^th	2086	80.4%
2007	83.32	164^th	2095	92.2%
2008	76.16	493^rd	2092	76.4%
2009	73.85	609^th	2120	71.3%
2010	71.77	673^rd	2139	68.5%
2011	81.74	284^th	2147	86.8%
2012	79.12	387^th	2166	82.1%
2013	65.68	789^th	2167	63.6%
2014	47.45	1160^th	2093	44.6%
2015	48.19	947^th	2052	53.8%
2016	83.17	307^th	2046	85.0%
2017	65.11	649^th	2044	68.2%
2018	64.41	660^th	2037	67.6%
2019	61.06	754^th	2086	63.9%
2021	55.76	739^th	1948	62.1%
2022	49.42	941^st	2082	54.8%
2023	45.57	1040^th	2077	49.9%
2024	39.53	1163^rd	2067	43.7%

See the entire list of Illinois Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for Special Education students at Prairie Central Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	53.03	250^th	763	67.2%
2019	38.44	664^th	1194	44.4%
2021	48.08	279^th	640	56.4%
2022	61.02	275^th	1113	75.3%
2023	38.14	639^th	1156	44.7%
2024	38.58	671^st	1195	43.8%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Elementary Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Prairie Central Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	65.32	435^th	1765	75.4%
2019	65.97	436^th	1816	76.0%
2021	63.57	356^th	1514	76.5%
2022	48.73	804^th	1763	54.4%
2023	47.38	880^th	1808	51.3%
2024	30.55	1296^th	1793	27.7%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Elementary Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at Prairie Central Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	59.78	716^th	1964	63.5%
2019	58.42	772^nd	2019	61.8%
2021	44.86	844^th	1680	49.8%
2022	51.50	843^rd	1970	57.2%
2023	51.67	851^st	1957	56.5%
2024	34.99	1195^th	1942	38.5%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Elementary Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Disabled students at Prairie Central Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	46.17	384^th	907	57.7%
2024	50.38	336^th	886	62.1%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Elementary Schools for Disabled Students!

Rank History for Male students at Prairie Central Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	68.11	550^th	1972	72.1%
2019	63.15	659^th	2019	67.4%
2021	57.58	595^th	1707	65.1%
2022	46.45	952^nd	1977	51.8%
2023	39.85	1113^th	1984	43.9%
2024	43.23	1014^th	1959	48.2%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Elementary Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for White students at Prairie Central Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	50.80	711^th	1463	51.4%
2019	44.11	846^th	1462	42.1%
2021	40.02	778^th	1308	40.5%
2022	31.64	1033^rd	1425	27.5%
2023	28.31	1076^th	1419	24.2%
2024	22.37	1152^nd	1392	17.2%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Elementary Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: Illinois State Board of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Data source: Illinois State Board of Education

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Enrollment information for Prairie Central Elementary School

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1989	545	2	1	7	n/a	n/a	n/a	0	555
1990	572	2	1	10	n/a	n/a	n/a	0	585
1991	609	5	0	21	0	n/a	n/a	0	635
1992	613	5	0	35	0	n/a	n/a	0	653
1993	632	5	0	28	0	n/a	n/a	0	665
1994	631	5	1	36	0	n/a	n/a	0	673
1995	652	3	5	28	0	n/a	n/a	0	688
1996	652	3	5	28	0	n/a	n/a	0	688
1997	639	2	5	31	0	n/a	n/a	0	677
1998	424	0	4	18	2	n/a	n/a	0	448
1999	423	3	2	29	1	n/a	n/a	0	458
2000	432	3	1	26	0	n/a	n/a	0	462
2001	421	0	0	12	0	n/a	n/a	0	433
2002	380	11	3	22	0	n/a	n/a	0	416
2003	380	11	3	22	0	n/a	n/a	0	416
2004	345	15	5	28	1	n/a	n/a	0	394
2005	353	15	7	35	0	n/a	n/a	0	410
2006	349	15	4	34	0	n/a	n/a	0	402
2007	352	13	6	28	0	n/a	n/a	0	399
2008	380	14	3	26	0	n/a	n/a	0	423
2009	370	14	4	18	0	n/a	n/a	4	410
2010	360	12	6	18	0	n/a	n/a	4	400
2011	359	9	6	17	0	0	2	0	393
2012	378	8	6	12	0	0	5	0	409
2013	367	5	5	7	0	1	3	0	388
2014	361	8	3	14	1	4	13	0	404
2015	376	9	3	13	3	0	6	0	410
2016	346	8	4	13	2	0	13	0	386
2017	351	5	1	17	1	0	24	0	399
2018	333	6	3	16	1	0	22	0	381
2019	309	6	4	14	3	0	16	0	352
2020	308	4	6	21	1	0	7	0	347
2021	283	2	3	20	1	1	6	0	316
2022	313	0	1	29	1	0	11	0	355
2023	291	1	0	20	0	0	10	0	322
2024	327	3	0	26	0	0	12	0	368

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Prairie Central Elementary School

Compare

Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1989	555	30.5	18.1	n/a
1990	585	31.5	18.5	n/a
1991	635	32.1	19.7	n/a
1992	653	34.0	19.2	n/a
1993	665	33.5	19.9	n/a
1994	673	36.0	18.7	n/a
1995	688	37.0	18.6	n/a
1996	688	37.0	18.6	n/a
1997	677	38.5	17.6	n/a
1998	448	28.5	15.7	n/a
1999	458	29.0	15.8	n/a
2000	462	30.0	15.4	n/a
2001	433	29.0	14.9	n/a
2002	416	28.5	14.6	28.6
2003	416	28.5	14.6	28.6
2004	394	27.0	14.6	27.9
2005	410	26.0	15.8	26.8
2006	402	27.0	14.9	25.9
2007	399	23.0	17.3	28.6
2008	423	24.0	17.6	26.7
2009	410	29.0	14.1	27.8
2010	400	29.0	13.7	30.3
2011	393	26.0	15.1	31.3
2012	409	27.0	15.1	34
2013	388	n/a	n/a	37.4
2014	404	23.0	17.5	42.6
2015	410	26.0	15.7	39
2016	386	25.0	15.4	34.2
2017	399	29.6	13.4	43.4
2018	381	30.2	12.6	47.5
2019	352	28.3	12.4	46
2020	347	28.3	12.2	40.6
2021	316	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	355	30.1	11.7	40.6
2023	322	29.6	10.8	45.3
2024	368	28.4	12.9	44

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Prairie Central Elementary School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1989	555	30.5	18.1	n/a
1990	585	31.5	18.5	n/a
1991	635	32.1	19.7	n/a
1992	653	34.0	19.2	n/a
1993	665	33.5	19.9	n/a
1994	673	36.0	18.7	n/a
1995	688	37.0	18.6	n/a
1996	688	37.0	18.6	n/a
1997	677	38.5	17.6	n/a
1998	448	28.5	15.7	n/a
1999	458	29.0	15.8	n/a
2000	462	30.0	15.4	n/a
2001	433	29.0	14.9	n/a
2002	416	28.5	14.6	28.6
2003	416	28.5	14.6	28.6
2004	394	27.0	14.6	27.9
2005	410	26.0	15.8	26.8
2006	402	27.0	14.9	25.9
2007	399	23.0	17.3	28.6
2008	423	24.0	17.6	26.7
2009	410	29.0	14.1	27.8
2010	400	29.0	13.7	30.3
2011	393	26.0	15.1	31.3
2012	409	27.0	15.1	34
2013	388	n/a	n/a	37.4
2014	404	23.0	17.5	42.6
2015	410	26.0	15.7	39
2016	386	25.0	15.4	34.2
2017	399	29.6	13.4	43.4
2018	381	30.2	12.6	47.5
2019	352	28.3	12.4	46
2020	347	28.3	12.2	40.6
2021	316	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	355	30.1	11.7	40.6
2023	322	29.6	10.8	45.3
2024	368	28.4	12.9	44

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.

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