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Parsons Elementary School

Public Grades K-6

2001^st

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,056 Illinois Elementary Schools

Better than 3% of Illinois elementary schools

Summary

Parsons Elementary School is a public elementary school in Decatur, Illinois, serving 488 students in grades K-6. The school is part of the Decatur School District 61, which is ranked 806 out of 811 school districts in the state and has a 0-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Parsons Elementary School consistently ranks in the bottom 10% of Illinois elementary schools, with low academic performance across all grade levels and subject areas. In the 2024-2025 school year, only 14% of students were proficient or better in English Language Arts, compared to 53.1% statewide and 16.6% in the Decatur School District. In mathematics, the proficiency rate was just 6.7%, compared to 38.5% statewide and 7.2% in the district. The school also struggles with high rates of chronic absenteeism, ranging from 43.8% to 46.1% in recent years.

While the nearby schools in the Decatur School District 61 also perform poorly, with most ranking in the bottom 10-20% of Illinois elementary schools, some schools, such as Montessori Academy for Peace and Johns Hill Magnet School, perform better than Parsons Elementary School. This suggests that there may be opportunities for improvement within the district, despite the overall challenges faced by the schools.

505

Students ?

15.7

Student/teacher ratio ?

$16,395

Per pupil spending ?

89.5%

Free/discounted lunch ?

3591 N MacArthur Rd
Decatur, IL 62526-1452

(217) 362-3330

District: Decatur School District 61

Students who attend Parsons Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	Stephen Decatur Middle School
High:	Eisenhower High School
	MacArthur High School

Racial breakdown:

African American:

49.1%

White:

26.5%

Two or more races:

17.2%

See top rated Illinois elementary schools

Compare Parsons Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 8th percentile in 2015 → 3rd in 2025

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Illinois average (11% vs 44% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (3rd percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (44% vs 25% Illinois)

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school11%

District avg13%

Illinois avg44%

2,001^st of 2,056

Illinois public elementary schools ?

Bottom 3%▼ down 6 pts since 2015

From bottom 8% (2015) to bottom 3% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Illinois Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

7^th of 11Elementary Schools in the Decatur School District 61

806^th of 811Decatur School District 61 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

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Illinois percentile	Rating
2025	7.9	2001 of 2056	2.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	10.1	2032 of 2067	1.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	11.2	1995 of 2077	3.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	14.3	1899 of 2082	8.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	14.1	1805 of 1948	7.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	19.2	1753 of 2086	16.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	17.4	1739 of 2037	14.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	23.7	1580 of 2044	22.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	17.4	1775 of 2046	13.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	13.8	1883 of 2052	8.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2014	18.8	1785 of 2093	14.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	12.7	1967 of 2167	9.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2012	8.4	2053 of 2166	5.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2011	30.8	1630 of 2147	24.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	21.7	1795 of 2139	16.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	10.3	1942 of 2120	8.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2008	20.8	1764 of 2092	15.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	10.7	1913 of 2095	8.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2006	21.3	1774 of 2086	15.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2005	31.4	1558 of 2022	22.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2004	14.1	1776 of 2030	12.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2003	33.6	1493 of 2020	26.1%	★☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Illinois percentile	Rating
2025	15.5	664 of 688	3.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	19.0	634 of 655	3.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	19.5	674 of 692	2.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	22.4	652 of 684	4.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	34.7	268 of 428	37.4%	★★☆☆☆
2019	20.9	661 of 711	7.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	26.0	579 of 698	17.0%	★☆☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Illinois percentile	Rating
2025	19.3	959 of 1049	8.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	22.5	783 of 886	11.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	29.2	659 of 907	27.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Illinois percentile	Rating
2025	9.6	1854 of 1942	4.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	11.3	1881 of 1942	3.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	12.6	1851 of 1957	5.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	15.9	1739 of 1970	11.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	12.8	1587 of 1680	5.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	14.7	1825 of 2019	9.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	13.9	1794 of 1964	8.7%	☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Illinois percentile	Rating
2025	10.9	1744 of 1800	3.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	12.1	1777 of 1793	0.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	15.4	1734 of 1808	4.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	21.9	1517 of 1763	14.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	19.0	1413 of 1514	6.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	28.4	1420 of 1816	21.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	20.2	1578 of 1765	10.6%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Illinois percentile	Rating
2025	7.6	1906 of 1947	2.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	9.9	1930 of 1959	1.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	11.6	1910 of 1984	3.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	14.2	1832 of 1977	7.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	14.3	1593 of 1707	6.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	24.2	1556 of 2019	22.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	24.2	1521 of 1972	22.9%	★☆☆☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Illinois percentile	Rating
2025	8.2	116 of 120	3.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	9.6	92 of 93	1.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	15.3	85 of 93	8.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	16.8	86 of 95	9.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	19.0	35 of 40	12.5%	★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Illinois percentile	Rating
2025	13.9	1228 of 1292	5.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	17.7	1126 of 1195	5.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	21.0	1029 of 1156	11.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	25.5	898 of 1113	19.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	25.7	970 of 1194	18.8%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Illinois percentile	Rating
2025	3.2	1373 of 1389	1.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	3.2	1387 of 1392	0.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	4.2	1409 of 1419	0.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	7.1	1393 of 1425	2.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	4.3	1307 of 1308	0.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	3.5	1453 of 1462	0.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	13.5	1362 of 1463	6.9%	☆☆☆☆☆

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)

Disabled (2025)9th percentile+6 vs school

Special Education (2025)5th percentile~ school

Female (2025)5th percentile~ school

African American (2025)3rd percentile~ school

Multi-racial (2025)3rd percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)3rd percentile~ school

Male (2025)2nd percentile~ school

White (2025)1st percentile~ school

By subject vs Illinois (2024-2025) ?

English Language Arts14%-39 vs state

Science13%-28 vs state

Mathematics7%-32 vs state

★

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Schools Near Parsons Elementary School

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Immunizations Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				ISA Science (2025)		IAR English Language Arts (2025)							IAR Mathematics (2025)							% Polio (2024)	% Measles (2024)	% Mumps (2024)	% Rubella (2024)	% Hepatitis B (2024)	% Varicella (2024)	% DTP (2024)	% Pneumococcal (2024)	% Meningococcal (2024)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	ISA Science 5th Grade	ISA Science 8th Grade	IAR English Language Arts 3rd Grade	IAR English Language Arts 4th Grade	IAR English Language Arts 5th Grade	IAR English Language Arts 6th Grade	IAR English Language Arts 7th Grade	IAR English Language Arts 8th Grade	IAR English Language Arts All Grades	IAR Mathematics 3rd Grade	IAR Mathematics 4th Grade	IAR Mathematics 5th Grade	IAR Mathematics 6th Grade	IAR Mathematics 7th Grade	IAR Mathematics 8th Grade	IAR Mathematics All Grades	% Polio All Grades	% Measles All Grades	% Mumps All Grades	% Rubella All Grades	% Hepatitis B All Grades	% Varicella All Grades	% DTP All Grades	% Pneumococcal All Grades	% Meningococcal All Grades	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Parsons Elementary School	Public	K-6	3591 N MacArthur Rd	Decatur	62526	Macon County	Decatur School District 61	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(217) 362-3330	505	32	15.7	89.5%	134 (26.5%)	248 (49.1%)	29 (5.7%)	1 (0.2%)	6 (1.2%)	0 (0.0%)	87 (17.2%)	7.9	2001^st of 2056 public elementary schools	2.7%		10.1	2032^nd of 2067 public elementary schools	1.7%	31	12.7		13.9	16.7	19.0	5.1			14.0	12.5	6.4	6.6	0.0			6.7	95.7	95.7	95.7	95.7	84.2	95.7	95.7		10.2	$16,395	$2,306	$14,088
Franklin Grove Elementary School	Public	K-6	2440 N Summit Ave	Decatur	62526	Macon County	Decatur School District 61	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(217) 362-3561	461	25	18.5	89.8%	106 (23.0%)	243 (52.7%)	15 (3.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	97 (21.0%)	5.5	2043^rd of 2056 public elementary schools	0.6%		9.7	2045^th of 2067 public elementary schools	1.1%	2	4.8		6.1	12.7	6.6	9.4			8.6	3.0	4.8	3.3	1.9			3.3	98.1	98.1	98.1	98.1	98.7	98.1	98.1		9.3	$16,270	$2,258	$14,011
Hope Academy	Public	K-8	955 N Illinois St	Decatur	62521	Macon County	Decatur School District 61	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(217) 362-3280	501	36	13.9	93.8%	98 (19.6%)	320 (63.9%)	17 (3.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	66 (13.2%)	4.3	2056^th of 2056 public elementary schools	0.0%		7.9	2067^th of 2067 public elementary schools	0.0%	11	2.0	12.2	0.0	9.8	2.0	3.9	0.0	4.8	3.1	3.6	4.9	0.0	0.0	0.0	2.4	1.7	97.7	98.1	98.1	98.1	99.8	97.9	98.1		23.7	$18,499	$2,201	$16,298
Robertson Charter School	Public, Charter	PK, KG-8	2240 E Geddes Ave	Decatur	62526	Macon County	Decatur School District 61	Yes	(n/a)	No	Yes	(217) 428-7072	327	11	29.7	63.9%	4 (1.2%)	292 (89.3%)	3 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	26 (8.0%)	12.4	1862^nd of 2056 public elementary schools	9.4%		20.9	1657^th of 2067 public elementary schools	19.8%	205	7.1	21.6	24.0	21.4	35.7	27.6	30.8	42.1	31.0	8.0	3.6	10.7	3.4	2.6	7.9	5.9										$20,000	$1,381	$18,619
Maroa-Forsyth Grade School	Public	PK, KG-5	641 E Shafer St	Forsyth	62535	Macon County	Maroa Forsyth CUSD 2	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(217) 877-2023	593	39	15.1	33.7%	425 (71.7%)	42 (7.1%)	23 (3.9%)	62 (10.5%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	40 (6.7%)	71.8	554^th of 2056 public elementary schools	73.1%		73.1	506^th of 2067 public elementary schools	75.5%	48	38.0		64.0	62.8	64.1				63.7	71.9	50.0	46.7				56.2	98.3	98.3	98.3	98.3	98.3	98.2	98.2	12.0		$9,975	$1,108	$8,867
Johns Hill Magnet School	Public	K-8	1025 E Johns Ave	Decatur	62521	Macon County	Decatur School District 61	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(217) 362-3350	627	41	15.2	79.7%	97 (15.5%)	248 (39.6%)	190 (30.3%)	22 (3.5%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	68 (10.8%)	13.3	1838^th of 2056 public elementary schools	10.6%		15.6	1825^th of 2067 public elementary schools	11.7%	13	18.8	22.4	20.3	19.0	17.2	23.5	24.2	17.9	20.4	15.6	17.5	7.8	13.2	19.4	3.0	12.6	95.5	95.3	95.3	95.3	96.7	95.5	95.6		31.4	$18,151	$2,446	$15,705
Dennis Lab School	Public	K-8	300 Meadow Terrace Pl	Decatur	62521	Macon County	Decatur School District 61	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(217) 362-3511	579	35	16.5	84.6%	164 (28.3%)	289 (49.9%)	43 (7.4%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	81 (14.0%)	7.7	2008^th of 2056 public elementary schools	2.3%		11.8	1980^th of 2067 public elementary schools	4.2%	28	17.9	17.4	16.0	7.4	14.5	6.1	17.2	4.3	10.6	7.8	1.9	5.4	4.6	9.4	2.9	5.3	91.9	94.2	94.2	94.2	98.9	94.0	94.0		27.6	$16,353	$1,930	$14,423
American Dreamer STEM Academy	Public	K-8	2115 S Taylor Rd	Decatur	62521	Macon County	Decatur School District 61	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(217) 362-3380	423	28	15.1	89.1%	70 (16.5%)	282 (66.7%)	12 (2.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	58 (13.7%)	8.6	1982^nd of 2056 public elementary schools	3.6%		11	2014^th of 2067 public elementary schools	2.6%	32	14.9	21.6	4.3	22.7	14.9	16.7	14.6	28.9	16.5	12.8	6.8	4.3	4.2	0.0	5.3	5.5	98.4	98.4	98.4	98.4	98.4	98.4	98.4		30.6	$20,443	$5,488	$14,955
Michael E Baum Elementary School	Public	K-6	801 S Lake Ridge Ave	Decatur	62521	Macon County	Decatur School District 61	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(217) 362-3521	313	17	18.4	86.6%	100 (31.9%)	129 (41.2%)	13 (4.2%)	1 (0.3%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	68 (21.7%)	14.7	1792^nd of 2056 public elementary schools	12.8%		13.7	1903^rd of 2067 public elementary schools	7.9%	111	16.2		17.0	25.6	21.6	32.4			23.6	13.3	25.6	5.7	8.8			13.7	96.9	97.2	97.2	97.2	98.8	97.2	96.9		10.2	$17,892	$2,273	$15,619
South Shores Elementary School	Public	K-6	2500 S Franklin Street Rd	Decatur	62521	Macon County	Decatur School District 61	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(217) 362-3321	335	18	18.4	87.2%	88 (26.3%)	171 (51.0%)	12 (3.6%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	61 (18.2%)	6.2	2034^th of 2056 public elementary schools	1.1%		9.7	2044^th of 2067 public elementary schools	1.1%	10	7.1		12.5	13.2	2.4	17.0			11.4	8.3	5.3	2.4	0.0			4.0	95.6	95.9	95.9	95.9	97.8	95.9	95.9		10.4	$17,564	$2,789	$14,774

Frequently Asked Questions about Parsons Elementary School

What district is Parsons Elementary School in?

Decatur School District 61

How many students attend Parsons Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 505 students attended Parsons Elementary School.

Is Parsons Elementary School a good school?

Parsons Elementary School ranks in the bottom 2.7% of Illinois elementary schools.

What schools do graduates of Parsons Elementary School attend?

Students who attend Parsons Elementary School usually go on to attend:

Middle : Stephen Decatur Middle School
High : Eisenhower High School
High : MacArthur High School

What is the racial makeup of Parsons Elementary School?

Students at Parsons Elementary School are 49% African American, 27% White, 17% Two or more races, 6% Hispanic, 1% American Indian.

Rate Parsons Elementary 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.