Chester-East Lincoln CCSD 61

Schools in Chester-East Lincoln CCSD 61 comprise one listed school, Chester-East Lincoln Elementary School, serving prekindergarten through grade 8 in Chester-East Lincoln, Illinois. The school has 288 students, so there are no local school-to-school comparisons to make. Its 2025–2026 all-grades results were above state proficiency rates in both tested subjects: 76% in English language arts (ELA) versus 56% statewide, and 54% in math versus 40%. The most important finding is that this single school performs well above the state overall, though results differ considerably by grade.

Chester-East Lincoln Elementary School is both the highest- and lowest-performing school in the area because it is the only one listed; within the school, the strongest reported results were eighth-grade ELA and third-grade math. Eighth-grade ELA proficiency was 92%, 29 percentage points above the state’s 63%, and third-grade math was 79%, 30 points above the state’s 49%. Fifth grade was the low point in both subjects: ELA was 59%, about 4 points above the state, while math was 42%, about 5 points above. These grade-level contrasts show why strong overall scores do not mean results are equally high in every grade.

Math gained momentum in the latest year, while the school’s ELA advantage remained strong but narrowed slightly. From 2024–2025 to 2025–2026, math rose 5 points at the school, compared with 1 point statewide; its state margin grew from 10 to 14 points. ELA increased 3 points, while the state rose 3 points, and the school’s margin shifted from 20 to 19 points. Science proficiency also increased in grades 5 and 8, and both remained above their same-grade state results. SchoolDigger placed the school at the 72nd statewide percentile in 2025–2026, after the 75th percentile the prior year; it lists the district at rank 159 of 738, in the 78th percentile, with four stars. Other context includes an 8% chronic absenteeism rate versus 24% statewide, a student–teacher ratio of 12 in 2024–2025, and 44% free/reduced lunch eligible in school year 2024–2025. With one school listed, these figures describe the school but cannot support comparisons among area schools.