Summary
West Salem Grade School is a K–8 school in West Salem, Illinois, with 171 students. Its 2025–2026 results show a clear academic strength in English Language Arts (ELA): 78% of students were proficient, compared with 56% statewide and 75% in Edwards County CUSD 1. The school had the highest reported all-grades ELA result among nearby schools, leading the next-highest, Albion Grade School, by 3 percentage points. West Salem’s strongest distinction is its leading local ELA performance.
Math was above the state and district, but less exceptional locally: 44% were proficient, versus 40% statewide and 42% in the district, and West Salem ranked fifth among nine nearby schools with results. Jasper Elementary School led nearby schools at 54%, while Wells Elementary School was close to West Salem. Grade results highlight a contrast: fifth-grade math was 69%, above the state, district, and nearby reported results, while third-grade math was 48%, below both the state and district. ELA was strong across grades, including 77% in fourth grade and 81% in fifth grade, each the highest reported nearby result. The only available all-grades science result was 48% in 2023–2024, below state and district results; current grade-level science values are suppressed, so current performance cannot be assessed.
ELA proficiency rose from 71% in 2023–2024 to 79% in 2024–2025, then eased to 78%; math climbed from 32% to 48%, then fell to 44%. SchoolDigger ranked West Salem 325th of 1,737 schools, at the 81st percentile with four stars in 2025–2026; nearby ranked schools were lower, including Jasper at the 70th percentile. The 2024–2025 student-teacher ratio was 12.3. In that year, 54% of students were free/reduced lunch eligible, close to the 53% average among nine nearby schools with the same measure. Chronic absenteeism was 10% in 2025–2026, below the district’s 12% and the state’s 24%, though up from 8% the previous year. Nearby schools have different grade spans, and grade-level results at a school of this size may reflect small student groups.
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