Is Merrill Elementary School a good school?

Merrill Elementary School ranks 1071 st of 2067 Illinois elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Merrill Elementary School?

In the 2023-24 school year, 239 students attended Merrill Elementary School.

What is the racial makeup of Merrill Elementary School?

Students at Merrill Elementary School are 65% White, 30% Hispanic, 3% Two or more races, 1% African American.

What schools do graduates of Merrill Elementary School attend?

Students who attend Merrill Elementary School usually go on to attend: Middle : Rock Falls Middle School High : Rock Falls Township High School

Merrill Elementary School

Summary:

Merrill Elementary School is a public elementary school located in Rock Falls, Illinois, serving grades 3-5 with a total enrollment of 246 students. The school is part of the Rock Falls Education Service District 13, which is ranked 382 out of 813 districts in Illinois and has a 3-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Merrill Elementary School's academic performance is generally below the state and district averages. In the 2023-2024 school year, only 29.5% of students were proficient or better in English Language Arts, compared to 41.2% statewide and 44.9% in the district. Similarly, in Mathematics, only 23.6% of students were proficient or better, compared to 28.4% statewide and 25.9% in the district. The school's performance on the Illinois Science Assessment (ISA) is also below the state average, with only 40% of students proficient or better, compared to 53.2% statewide. Merrill Elementary School's performance has been consistently low over the past several years, with the school ranking in the bottom half of Illinois elementary schools. Additionally, the school has had high rates of chronic absenteeism, ranging from 13.4% to 27.0% over the past few years, which is significantly higher than the state average.

Interestingly, Merrill Elementary School's performance varies significantly among different student subgroups. Hispanic students have performed relatively well, with the school ranking in the top 25% of Illinois elementary schools for this subgroup. In contrast, White students and students with disabilities have performed poorly, with the school ranking in the bottom 25% of Illinois elementary schools for these subgroups. The school's performance for low-socioeconomic status students has been mixed, with the school ranking in the middle third of Illinois elementary schools for this subgroup. Compared to nearby schools, such as Dillon Elementary School and Montmorency CCSD #145, Merrill Elementary School's performance is generally lower across multiple academic measures.

Detail:

Public 3-5

600 4th Ave
Rock Falls, IL 61071-1229

(815) 625-4634

District: Rock Falls Education Service District 13

SchoolDigger Rank:
1071^st of 2,067 Illinois Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $11,791

Students who attend Merrill Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	Rock Falls Middle School
High:	Rock Falls Township High School

Student/teacher ratio: 11.7

Number of students: 239

Racial breakdown:

White:

65.3%

Hispanic:

29.7%

Two or more races:

3.3%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 77%

See top rated Illinois elementary schools

Compare Merrill Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Merrill Elementary School ranks worse than 51.8% of elementary schools in Illinois. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 44.04. (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: White (65.3%), Hispanic (29.7%), two or more races (3.3%). (See more...)

Compare Details 77% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. This is the highest percentage in the Rock Falls Education Service District 13. (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Merrill Elementary School is 11.7, which is the lowest among 3 elementary schools in the Rock Falls Education Service District 13! (See more...)

Compare Merrill Elementary School employs 20.3 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Merrill Elementary School is $11,791, which is the lowest among 3 elementary schools in the Rock Falls Education Service District 13!

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Merrill Elementary School:

SchoolDigger ranks Merrill Elementary School 1071^st of 2067 Illinois public elementary schools. (See Merrill 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:

Hispanic students:

White students:

Rock Falls Education Service District 13:

SchoolDigger ranks Rock Falls Education Service District 13 382^nd of 813 Illinois school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Merrill Elementary School

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Rank History for all students at Merrill Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2003	51.19	1192^nd	2020	41.0%
2004	52.81	1168^th	2030	42.5%
2005	65.24	845^th	2022	58.2%
2006	66.47	829^th	2086	60.3%
2007	68.37	769^th	2095	63.3%
2008	72.77	632^nd	2092	69.8%
2009	68.56	781^st	2120	63.2%
2010	73.59	613^th	2139	71.3%
2011	67.06	839^th	2147	60.9%
2012	57.78	1089^th	2166	49.7%
2013	32.84	1536^th	2167	29.1%
2014	35.21	1418^th	2093	32.3%
2015	21.25	1679^th	2052	18.2%
2016	33.84	1325^th	2046	35.2%
2017	29.59	1422^nd	2044	30.4%
2018	29.05	1448^th	2037	28.9%
2019	34.32	1332^nd	2086	36.1%
2021	48.20	891^st	1948	54.3%
2022	41.50	1139^th	2082	45.3%
2023	37.37	1227^th	2077	40.9%
2024	44.04	1071^st	2067	48.2%

See the entire list of Illinois Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for Special Education students at Merrill Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	40.43	389^th	763	49.0%
2019	26.35	948^th	1194	20.6%
2021	36.25	375^th	640	41.4%
2022	44.22	497^th	1113	55.3%
2023	24.52	928^th	1156	19.7%
2024	28.40	873^rd	1195	26.9%

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

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

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	40.05	1061^st	1765	39.9%
2019	42.34	1023^rd	1816	43.7%
2021	54.68	531^st	1514	64.9%
2022	56.84	619^th	1763	64.9%
2023	48.22	860^th	1808	52.4%
2024	60.13	542^nd	1793	69.8%

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

Rank History for Female students at Merrill Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	27.00	1449^th	1964	26.2%
2019	33.35	1316^th	2019	34.8%
2021	41.84	889^th	1680	47.1%
2022	41.62	1051^st	1970	46.6%
2023	41.24	1072^nd	1957	45.2%
2024	47.10	938^th	1942	51.7%

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

Rank History for Disabled students at Merrill Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	31.26	608^th	907	33.0%
2024	38.13	504^th	886	43.1%

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

Rank History for Male students at Merrill Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	32.69	1318^th	1972	33.2%
2019	36.58	1225^th	2019	39.3%
2021	48.14	773^rd	1707	54.7%
2022	41.16	1065^th	1977	46.1%
2023	34.23	1231^st	1984	38.0%
2024	41.36	1054^th	1959	46.2%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at Merrill Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	25.35	768^th	938	18.1%
2019	30.32	707^th	955	26.0%
2021	74.45	95^th	742	87.2%
2022	58.24	296^th	954	69.0%
2023	64.47	240^th	970	75.3%
2024	67.73	201^st	959	79.0%

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

Rank History for White students at Merrill Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	18.76	1283^rd	1463	12.3%
2019	23.27	1196^th	1462	18.2%
2021	33.89	906^th	1308	30.7%
2022	22.10	1197^th	1425	16.0%
2023	16.20	1269^th	1419	10.6%
2024	23.17	1143^rd	1392	17.9%

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 Merrill Elementary School

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1989	255	4	n/a	37	n/a	n/a	n/a	0	296
1990	262	3	n/a	37	n/a	n/a	n/a	0	302
1991	222	4	1	40	1	n/a	n/a	0	268
1992	214	3	2	31	0	n/a	n/a	0	250
1993	241	1	0	24	0	n/a	n/a	0	266
1994	242	1	0	25	0	n/a	n/a	0	268
1995	267	3	0	2	0	n/a	n/a	0	272
1996	267	3	0	2	0	n/a	n/a	0	272
1997	259	3	0	28	1	n/a	n/a	0	291
1998	254	1	0	30	0	n/a	n/a	0	285
1999	246	0	0	28	0	n/a	n/a	0	274
2000	249	5	5	37	0	n/a	n/a	0	296
2001	234	4	4	29	0	n/a	n/a	0	271
2002	213	4	2	37	0	n/a	n/a	0	256
2003	213	4	2	37	0	n/a	n/a	0	256
2004	265	6	2	65	1	n/a	n/a	0	339
2005	217	11	4	67	1	n/a	n/a	0	300
2006	268	9	5	60	1	n/a	n/a	3	346
2007	213	5	3	43	0	n/a	n/a	28	292
2008	241	9	1	58	3	n/a	n/a	45	357
2009	249	7	1	61	0	n/a	n/a	59	377
2010	237	3	1	67	1	n/a	n/a	46	355
2011	238	7	1	94	2	0	20	0	362
2012	226	6	0	111	2	0	19	0	364
2013	208	5	0	99	2	0	14	0	328
2014	207	7	0	96	3	0	15	0	328
2015	223	3	2	92	1	0	12	0	333
2016	200	9	4	93	1	0	11	0	318
2017	211	8	6	88	1	0	9	0	323
2018	193	7	3	90	1	0	17	0	311
2019	167	5	2	93	0	0	19	0	286
2020	146	7	2	76	2	0	18	0	251
2021	147	10	2	74	3	0	14	0	250
2022	123	12	2	78	3	0	18	0	236
2023	141	5	2	87	1	0	10	0	246
2024	156	3	1	71	0	0	8	0	239

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 Merrill Elementary School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1989	296	17.0	17.4	n/a
1990	302	15.0	20.1	n/a
1991	268	14.0	19.1	n/a
1992	250	14.0	17.8	n/a
1993	266	12.0	22.2	n/a
1994	268	12.0	22.3	n/a
1995	272	14.0	19.4	n/a
1996	272	14.0	19.4	n/a
1997	291	14.0	20.8	n/a
1998	285	17.0	16.8	n/a
1999	274	17.5	15.7	n/a
2000	296	19.5	15.2	n/a
2001	271	18.5	14.6	n/a
2002	256	19.5	13.1	57.8
2003	256	19.5	13.1	57.8
2004	339	19.0	17.8	69.9
2005	300	19.0	15.8	69
2006	346	18.0	19.2	62.4
2007	292	16.0	18.3	79.2
2008	357	16.0	22.3	67.6
2009	377	18.0	20.9	64.2
2010	355	19.0	18.6	69.3
2011	362	19.0	19.0	58
2012	364	20.0	18.2	72.5
2013	328	18.2	17.9	75
2014	328	19.0	17.2	83.8
2015	333	20.0	16.6	79.9
2016	318	21.0	15.1	79.2
2017	323	22.4	14.4	80.8
2018	311	20.4	15.2	71.4
2019	286	19.6	14.5	70.3
2020	251	18.5	13.5	66.9
2021	250	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	236	20.3	11.6	71.2
2023	246	20.5	11.9	76.8
2024	239	20.3	11.7	77

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 Merrill Elementary School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1989	296	17.0	17.4	n/a
1990	302	15.0	20.1	n/a
1991	268	14.0	19.1	n/a
1992	250	14.0	17.8	n/a
1993	266	12.0	22.2	n/a
1994	268	12.0	22.3	n/a
1995	272	14.0	19.4	n/a
1996	272	14.0	19.4	n/a
1997	291	14.0	20.8	n/a
1998	285	17.0	16.8	n/a
1999	274	17.5	15.7	n/a
2000	296	19.5	15.2	n/a
2001	271	18.5	14.6	n/a
2002	256	19.5	13.1	57.8
2003	256	19.5	13.1	57.8
2004	339	19.0	17.8	69.9
2005	300	19.0	15.8	69
2006	346	18.0	19.2	62.4
2007	292	16.0	18.3	79.2
2008	357	16.0	22.3	67.6
2009	377	18.0	20.9	64.2
2010	355	19.0	18.6	69.3
2011	362	19.0	19.0	58
2012	364	20.0	18.2	72.5
2013	328	18.2	17.9	75
2014	328	19.0	17.2	83.8
2015	333	20.0	16.6	79.9
2016	318	21.0	15.1	79.2
2017	323	22.4	14.4	80.8
2018	311	20.4	15.2	71.4
2019	286	19.6	14.5	70.3
2020	251	18.5	13.5	66.9
2021	250	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	236	20.3	11.6	71.2
2023	246	20.5	11.9	76.8
2024	239	20.3	11.7	77

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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