Summary:
The city of De Soto, Illinois has one public school, DeSoto Elementary School, which serves students from kindergarten through 8th grade. The school's performance on standardized tests, such as the Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) and Illinois Science Assessment (ISA), is generally below the state averages across all grade levels and subject areas. Additionally, the school faces challenges with a high chronic absenteeism rate of 25.4%, which is significantly higher than the state average.
DeSoto Elementary School's test scores show a concerning trend of declining performance. In the 2024-2025 school year, the percentage of students proficient or better in IAR English Language Arts ranged from 21.7% (3rd grade) to 50% (5th grade), compared to the state average of 47.3% to 56.7%. Similarly, the percentage of students proficient or better in IAR Mathematics ranged from 5.9% (6th grade) to 30% (5th grade), compared to the state average of 32.7% to 49.6%. The school's performance on the ISA Science assessment was also below the state averages, with 35% of 5th graders and 27.3% of 8th graders scoring proficient or better, compared to the state averages of 40.6% and 45.4%, respectively.
Despite the school's higher per-student spending of $20,023 for the 2023-2024 school year, which is above the state average, the resources do not appear to be effectively utilized to improve student outcomes. The school's student population also faces socioeconomic challenges, with 68.23% of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch in the 2023-2024 school year. These factors, combined with the high chronic absenteeism rate, suggest that DeSoto Cons School District 86 may need to re-evaluate its resource allocation and instructional practices to better support the academic needs of its students.
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