Is Penniman Elementary School a good school?

Penniman Elementary School ranks in the bottom 1.2% of Illinois elementary schools.

How many students attend Penniman Elementary School?

In the 2023-24 school year, 260 students attended Penniman Elementary School.

What is the racial makeup of Penniman Elementary School?

Students at Penniman Elementary School are 93% African American, 3% Two or more races, 3% White.

What schools do graduates of Penniman Elementary School attend?

Students who attend Penniman Elementary School usually go on to attend: Middle : Wirth/Parks Middle School High : Cahokia High School

Penniman Elementary School

Summary:

Penniman Elementary School is a public elementary school located in Cahokia, Illinois, serving grades 3-5 with a total enrollment of 259 students. The school is part of the Cahokia CUSD 187 district, which is ranked 812 out of 813 districts in Illinois and has a 0-star rating from SchoolDigger. Penniman Elementary has consistently ranked among the lowest-performing elementary schools in the state, with a 0-star rating from SchoolDigger for the past several years.

Penniman Elementary faces significant challenges, including extremely high chronic absenteeism rates ranging from 55.6% to 67.2% over the past few years, significantly higher than the state average. Academically, only 2-4% of Penniman students were proficient or better in English Language Arts and Mathematics in the 2023-2024 school year, compared to 30-40% statewide. The school's subgroups, including female, male, African American, special education, low-socioeconomic, and homeless students, all rank in the bottom 10-30% of Illinois elementary schools in their respective categories. Despite spending significantly more per student ($18,372 in 2022-2023) compared to the state average, this does not translate to improved academic outcomes.

While the nearby Cahokia CUSD 187 district also struggles with low performance, some schools, such as Huffman Elementary and Estelle Sauget School of Choice, perform slightly better than Penniman Elementary. Addressing the root causes of chronic absenteeism, implementing more comprehensive and effective interventions, and focusing on the unique needs of the school's subgroups should be top priorities for Penniman Elementary and the Cahokia CUSD 187 district to improve student outcomes.

Detail:

Public 3-5

1820 Jerome Ln
Cahokia, IL 62206-2331

(618) 332-1915

District: Cahokia CUSD 187

SchoolDigger Rank:
2042^nd of 2,067 Illinois Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $20,455

Students who attend Penniman Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	Wirth/Parks Middle School
High:	Cahokia High School

Student/teacher ratio: 13.7

Number of students: 260

Racial breakdown:

African American:

93.5%

Two or more races:

3.1%

White:

2.7%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 93.1%

See top rated Illinois elementary schools

Compare Penniman Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Penniman Elementary School ranks worse than 98.8% of elementary schools in Illinois. It also ranks last among 3 ranked elementary schools in the Cahokia CUSD 187 School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 9.76. (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 Racial makeup is: African American (93.5%), two or more races (3.1%), White (2.7%). (See more...)

Compare Details 93.1% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Penniman Elementary School is 13.7, which is the lowest among 6 elementary schools in the Cahokia CUSD 187 School District! (See more...)

Compare Penniman Elementary School employs 18.9 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Penniman Elementary School is $20,455. 3 elementary schools in the Cahokia CUSD 187 School District spend more per student.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Penniman Elementary School:

SchoolDigger ranks Penniman Elementary School 2042^nd of 2067 Illinois public elementary schools. (See Penniman Elementary School in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Special Education students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Homeless students:

Female students:

Disabled students:

Male students:

African American students:

Cahokia CUSD 187:

SchoolDigger ranks Cahokia CUSD 187 812^th of 813 Illinois school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Penniman Elementary School

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Rank History for all students at Penniman Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2003	38.04	1415^th	2020	30.0%
2004	26.02	1638^th	2030	19.3%
2005	45.66	1318^th	2022	34.8%
2006	28.72	1678^th	2086	19.6%
2007	39.53	1517^th	2095	27.6%
2008	46.93	1324^th	2092	36.7%
2009	38.34	1502^nd	2120	29.2%
2010	17.41	1858^th	2139	13.1%
2011	30.75	1631^st	2147	24.0%
2012	41.56	1476^th	2166	31.9%
2013	5.52	2114^th	2167	2.4%
2014	9.63	1958^th	2093	6.5%
2015	8.95	2022^nd	2052	1.5%
2016	6.41	2042^nd	2046	0.2%
2017	6.00	2040^th	2044	0.2%
2018	6.92	2029^th	2037	0.4%
2019	6.09	2084^th	2086	0.1%
2022	8.84	2082^nd	2082	0.0%
2023	7.89	2076^th	2077	0.0%
2024	9.76	2042^nd	2067	1.2%

See the entire list of Illinois Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for Special Education students at Penniman Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	21.43	691^st	763	9.4%
2019	18.09	1168^th	1194	2.2%
2022	22.15	1024^th	1113	8.0%
2023	18.06	1105^th	1156	4.4%
2024	15.70	1161^st	1195	2.8%

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

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Penniman Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	10.16	1752^nd	1765	0.7%
2019	9.17	1811^th	1816	0.3%
2022	11.94	1762^nd	1763	0.1%
2023	10.22	1805^th	1808	0.2%
2024	13.82	1755^th	1793	2.1%

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

Rank History for Homeless students at Penniman Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2019	16.04	23^rd	24	4.2%
2022	30.45	32^nd	36	11.1%
2023	23.46	30^th	30	0.0%
2024	25.99	41^st	52	21.2%

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

Rank History for Female students at Penniman Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	7.23	1951^st	1964	0.7%
2019	6.80	2009^th	2019	0.5%
2022	9.07	1968^th	1970	0.1%
2023	8.26	1956^th	1957	0.1%
2024	9.17	1928^th	1942	0.7%

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

Rank History for Disabled students at Penniman Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	23.59	764^th	907	15.8%
2024	19.69	852^nd	886	3.8%

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

Rank History for Male students at Penniman Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	8.43	1958^th	1972	0.7%
2019	6.97	2016^th	2019	0.1%
2022	9.78	1976^th	1977	0.1%
2023	8.74	1975^th	1984	0.5%
2024	12.60	1861^st	1959	5.0%

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

Rank History for African American students at Penniman Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	20.22	661^st	698	5.3%
2019	17.98	688^th	711	3.2%
2022	21.65	669^th	684	2.2%
2023	19.05	679^th	692	1.9%
2024	21.70	609^th	655	7.0%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Elementary Schools for African American 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 Penniman Elementary School

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1989	373	100	3	3	n/a	n/a	n/a	0	479
1990	398	97	3	1	n/a	n/a	n/a	0	499
1991	282	118	3	3	0	n/a	n/a	0	406
1992	290	125	2	2	0	n/a	n/a	0	419
1993	260	168	2	1	0	n/a	n/a	0	431
1994	254	181	1	3	0	n/a	n/a	0	439
1995	210	214	0	8	0	n/a	n/a	0	432
1996	210	214	0	8	0	n/a	n/a	0	432
1997	200	219	0	8	0	n/a	n/a	0	427
1998	184	231	0	9	0	n/a	n/a	0	424
1999	166	232	1	9	0	n/a	n/a	0	408
2000	146	246	1	7	0	n/a	n/a	0	400
2001	75	262	1	8	0	n/a	n/a	0	346
2002	83	278	0	9	0	n/a	n/a	0	370
2003	83	278	0	9	0	n/a	n/a	0	370
2004	76	302	0	10	0	n/a	n/a	0	388
2005	54	302	0	11	0	n/a	n/a	0	367
2006	44	317	1	11	0	n/a	n/a	0	373
2007	31	314	1	9	0	n/a	n/a	0	355
2008	29	308	1	9	0	n/a	n/a	0	347
2009	23	313	0	8	0	n/a	n/a	5	349
2010	23	341	1	8	0	n/a	n/a	3	376
2011	25	309	0	9	0	0	4	0	347
2012	20	300	0	5	0	0	1	0	326
2013	19	293	0	7	0	0	1	0	320
2014	17	352	0	5	0	0	3	0	377
2015	19	370	0	6	1	0	12	0	408
2016	11	396	0	7	0	0	5	0	419
2017	9	322	0	9	0	0	14	0	354
2018	12	313	0	5	0	0	17	0	347
2019	8	303	0	4	0	0	10	0	325
2020	7	281	0	5	0	0	9	0	302
2021	11	263	0	7	0	0	7	0	288
2022	11	235	0	6	0	0	13	0	265
2023	4	245	0	2	0	0	8	0	259
2024	7	243	0	2	0	0	8	0	260

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 Penniman Elementary School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1989	479	21.0	22.8	n/a
1990	499	18.0	27.7	n/a
1991	406	19.0	21.3	n/a
1992	419	19.0	22.0	n/a
1993	431	19.0	22.7	n/a
1994	439	21.0	20.9	n/a
1995	432	20.0	21.6	n/a
1996	432	20.0	21.6	n/a
1997	427	20.0	21.4	n/a
1998	424	20.0	21.2	n/a
1999	408	18.0	22.7	n/a
2000	400	21.0	19.0	n/a
2001	346	17.0	20.4	n/a
2002	370	20.0	18.5	75.1
2003	370	20.0	18.5	75.1
2004	388	18.0	21.6	86.6
2005	367	19.0	19.3	85.6
2006	373	21.0	17.8	87.9
2007	355	15.0	23.7	90.1
2008	347	16.0	21.7	89.6
2009	349	18.4	19.0	85.2
2010	376	24.4	15.3	91.2
2011	347	20.0	17.3	88.8
2012	326	21.0	15.5	85
2013	320	24.2	13.2	78.4
2014	377	20.9	17.9	93.6
2015	408	25.0	16.3	96.8
2016	419	26.0	16.1	78
2017	354	22.7	15.5	92.4
2018	347	21.4	16.2	92.8
2019	325	21.7	14.9	95.4
2020	302	20.6	14.6	95.4
2021	288	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	265	20.8	12.7	95.8
2023	259	18.0	14.3	96.1
2024	260	18.9	13.7	93.1

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 Penniman Elementary School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1989	479	21.0	22.8	n/a
1990	499	18.0	27.7	n/a
1991	406	19.0	21.3	n/a
1992	419	19.0	22.0	n/a
1993	431	19.0	22.7	n/a
1994	439	21.0	20.9	n/a
1995	432	20.0	21.6	n/a
1996	432	20.0	21.6	n/a
1997	427	20.0	21.4	n/a
1998	424	20.0	21.2	n/a
1999	408	18.0	22.7	n/a
2000	400	21.0	19.0	n/a
2001	346	17.0	20.4	n/a
2002	370	20.0	18.5	75.1
2003	370	20.0	18.5	75.1
2004	388	18.0	21.6	86.6
2005	367	19.0	19.3	85.6
2006	373	21.0	17.8	87.9
2007	355	15.0	23.7	90.1
2008	347	16.0	21.7	89.6
2009	349	18.4	19.0	85.2
2010	376	24.4	15.3	91.2
2011	347	20.0	17.3	88.8
2012	326	21.0	15.5	85
2013	320	24.2	13.2	78.4
2014	377	20.9	17.9	93.6
2015	408	25.0	16.3	96.8
2016	419	26.0	16.1	78
2017	354	22.7	15.5	92.4
2018	347	21.4	16.2	92.8
2019	325	21.7	14.9	95.4
2020	302	20.6	14.6	95.4
2021	288	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	265	20.8	12.7	95.8
2023	259	18.0	14.3	96.1
2024	260	18.9	13.7	93.1

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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