Summary:
The city of Roanoke, Illinois is home to two schools: Sowers Elementary School and Roanoke-Benson High School, both part of the Roanoke Benson CUSD 60 district. While both schools perform well, Sowers Elementary stands out as a top-performing institution, consistently ranking among the best elementary schools in Illinois.
Sowers Elementary boasts impressive academic achievements, with 83.6% of students proficient or better in ELA and 73.8% in math, significantly outpacing state averages. The school's statewide ranking reached the 145th percentile in the 2024-2025 school year, and it maintains a relatively low chronic absenteeism rate of 25.4%. In contrast, Roanoke-Benson High School, while still performing well, does not stand out as dramatically, with a statewide ranking in the 82nd percentile and test scores that, while above state averages, are not as dominant as the elementary school.
The Roanoke school district as a whole appears to be performing at a high level, ranking 103rd out of 811 districts in Illinois and receiving a 4-star rating from SchoolDigger. Both Sowers Elementary and Roanoke-Benson High School have relatively low student-teacher ratios, which may contribute to their academic success. The higher per-student spending at the high school compared to the elementary school is an interesting data point that could be explored further.
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