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Howard B Thomas Grade School

Public Grades PK, KG-5
399th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 2,056 Illinois Elementary Schools
Better than 81% of Illinois elementary schools
Summary

Howard B Thomas Grade School is a public elementary school in Burlington, Illinois, serving 644 students in grades PK-5. The school is part of the Central CUSD 301 district, which is ranked 84 out of 811 districts in Illinois and has a 4-star rating.

Howard B Thomas Grade School consistently outperforms the state average in both English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics proficiency across all grade levels. For example, in the 2024-2025 school year, the school's ELA proficiency rate for all grades was 70.6%, compared to the state average of 53.1%. The school's performance is also strong compared to its district average, with ELA and Mathematics proficiency rates often exceeding the Central CUSD 301 scores. The school's 5th-grade ELA proficiency rate in 2024-2025 was particularly impressive at 84.3%, significantly higher than the state average of 54.6%.

When compared to nearby schools, Ferson Creek School and Wasco Elementary School, both in the higher-ranked St. Charles CUSD 303 district, tend to outperform Howard B Thomas Grade School academically and have lower chronic absenteeism rates and higher per-student spending. However, Howard B Thomas Grade School remains a strong-performing school within its own district, with notable strengths in supporting the academic success of Hispanic, English Language Learner, and students with disabilities.

678
Students ?
15.2
Student/teacher ratio ?
$15,445
Per pupil spending ?
19.3%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 44W575 Plato Rd
       Burlington, IL  60109-0395

(847) 464-6008

District: Central CUSD 301


Students who attend Howard B Thomas Grade School usually attend:

Middle:    Central Middle School
    Prairie Knolls Middle School
High:    Central High School
Racial breakdown:

White:
47.9%
Asian:
25.1%
Hispanic:
20.1%
more
 See top rated Illinois elementary schools

 Compare Howard B Thomas Grade School to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
Ranking trend: Improving — 63rd percentile in 2015 → 81st in 2025
Strengths
Test scores above the Illinois average (62% vs 44% meeting standards)
Ranks in the top 19% of Illinois elementary schools
Ranking is trending up — up 18 percentile points since 2015
Worth a look
!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing
!Near the bottom of Central CUSD 301's ranking
Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?
This school62%
District avg66%
Illinois avg44%
399th of 2,056
Illinois public elementary schools ?
Top 19%▲ up 18 pts since 2015
From top 37% (2015) to top 19% (2025)
See the entire ranking list of Illinois Elementary Schools →
SchoolDigger rating ?
4th of 4Elementary Schools in the Central CUSD 301
84th of 811Central CUSD 301 among Illinois districts
Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202579.8399 of 205680.6%★★★★☆
202472.4514 of 206775.1%★★★★☆
202365.3643 of 207769.0%★★★☆☆
202268.5593 of 208271.5%★★★★☆
202157.6702 of 194864.0%★★★☆☆
201969.7565 of 208672.9%★★★★☆
201861.6727 of 203764.3%★★★☆☆
201770.3559 of 204472.7%★★★★☆
201665.1644 of 204668.5%★★★☆☆
201556.7768 of 205262.6%★★★☆☆
201477.4460 of 209378.0%★★★★☆
201377.1468 of 216778.4%★★★★☆
201281.7290 of 216686.6%★★★★☆
201173.4599 of 214772.1%★★★★☆
201075.7533 of 213975.1%★★★★☆
200975.0560 of 212073.6%★★★★☆
200871.5668 of 209268.1%★★★☆☆
200763.1938 of 209555.2%★★★☆☆
200663.3946 of 208654.7%★★★☆☆
200557.21065 of 202247.3%★★☆☆☆
200464.6855 of 203057.9%★★★☆☆
200357.51054 of 202047.8%★★☆☆☆

Asian

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202562.592 of 23460.7%★★★☆☆
202458.3100 of 21954.3%★★★☆☆
202332.4175 of 23726.2%★☆☆☆☆
202235.9166 of 22626.5%★☆☆☆☆
202129.5106 of 13420.9%★☆☆☆☆
201958.6108 of 24355.6%★★★☆☆

Disabled

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202555.9360 of 104965.7%★★★☆☆
202360.9241 of 90773.4%★★★★☆

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202570.4138 of 78882.5%★★★★☆
202461.6181 of 82678.1%★★★★☆
202367.9135 of 78882.9%★★★★☆
202249.4299 of 76861.1%★★★☆☆
202132.4409 of 53723.8%★☆☆☆☆
201984.136 of 74395.2%★★★★★
201865.0141 of 71880.4%★★★★☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202576.1418 of 194278.5%★★★★☆
202462.8624 of 194267.9%★★★☆☆
202367.5550 of 195771.9%★★★★☆
202275.7420 of 197078.7%★★★★☆
202158.0611 of 168063.6%★★★☆☆
201968.6561 of 201972.2%★★★★☆
201860.1711 of 196463.8%★★★☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202571.4200 of 98279.6%★★★★☆
202459.3286 of 95970.2%★★★★☆
202361.7269 of 97072.3%★★★★☆
202275.3147 of 95484.6%★★★★☆
202179.068 of 74290.8%★★★★★
201943.6521 of 95545.4%★★☆☆☆
201845.7481 of 93848.7%★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202570.8378 of 180079.0%★★★★☆
202481.1169 of 179390.6%★★★★★
202363.0496 of 180872.6%★★★★☆
202267.3372 of 176378.9%★★★★☆
202170.5249 of 151483.6%★★★★☆
201966.2428 of 181676.4%★★★★☆
201869.5341 of 176580.7%★★★★☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202580.2356 of 194781.7%★★★★☆
202478.4364 of 195981.4%★★★★☆
202358.5711 of 198464.2%★★★☆☆
202257.2744 of 197762.4%★★★☆☆
202150.5729 of 170757.3%★★★☆☆
201969.9533 of 201973.6%★★★★☆
201862.8656 of 197266.7%★★★☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202555.7459 of 129264.5%★★★☆☆
202472.1221 of 119581.5%★★★★☆
202368.1257 of 115677.8%★★★★☆
202259.1294 of 111373.6%★★★★☆
202128.1470 of 64026.6%★☆☆☆☆
201937.3682 of 119442.9%★★☆☆☆
201838.4405 of 76346.9%★★☆☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202563.3486 of 138965.0%★★★☆☆
202453.7630 of 139254.7%★★★☆☆
202343.2815 of 141942.6%★★☆☆☆
202245.5774 of 142545.7%★★☆☆☆
202130.4971 of 130825.8%★☆☆☆☆
201948.8758 of 146248.2%★★☆☆☆
201850.2718 of 146350.9%★★★☆☆
How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)
English Language Learner (2025)82nd percentile~ school
Male (2025)82nd percentile~ school
Hispanic (2025)80th percentile~ school
Low Socio Economic Status (2025)79th percentile~ school
Female (2025)78th percentile~ school
Disabled (2025)66th percentile-15 vs school
White (2025)65th percentile-16 vs school
Special Education (2025)64th percentile-16 vs school
Asian (2025)61st percentile-20 vs school
By subject vs Illinois (2024-2025) ?
English Language Arts71%+18 vs state
Science60%+19 vs state
Mathematics56%+18 vs state

5.0
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Frequently Asked Questions about Howard B Thomas Grade School

Howard B Thomas Grade School ranks 399th of 2056 Illinois elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

Students who attend Howard B Thomas Grade School usually go on to attend:

Middle : Central Middle School
Middle : Prairie Knolls Middle School
High : Central High School

Students at Howard B Thomas Grade School are 48% White, 25% Asian, 20% Hispanic, 4% Two or more races, 2% African American.

In the 2024-25 school year, 678 students attended Howard B Thomas Grade School.


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SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau, the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Illinois State Board of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.





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