Summary:
The Western CUSD 12 school district in Illinois has only one elementary school, Western Barry Elementary, which serves students from kindergarten through 5th grade. The school has faced declining academic performance in recent years, with its statewide ranking dropping from 851 out of 2,077 Illinois elementary schools in 2022-2023 to 1,108 out of 2,056 in 2024-2025, and its SchoolDigger rating decreasing from 3 stars to 2 stars.
While Western Barry Elementary's 4th and 5th-grade English Language Arts (ELA) proficiency rates are higher than the state and district averages, the school's overall ELA and Mathematics proficiency rates are generally below the state and district averages. Additionally, the school's 5th-grade Science proficiency rate is significantly lower than the state average (25.8% vs. 40.6%). This uneven academic performance suggests that the school may need to focus on improving student outcomes, particularly in the lower grades and in Science.
Despite the school's declining performance, it appears to have a relatively high level of resource allocation, with a per-student spending of $13,277, which is higher than the state average, and a student-teacher ratio of 11.4, which is lower than the state average. However, these resources have not yet translated into improved student outcomes, indicating that the school may need to re-evaluate its strategies and interventions to better support its high-need student population, which has a high percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.
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