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Central Elementary

Public Grades 4-6
Summary

Central Elementary serves 353 students in grades 4–6 in Kewanee, Illinois, within Kewanee CUSD 229. Its 2025–2026 proficiency was 46% in English Language Arts (ELA) and 24% in math. The clearest academic concern is math: proficiency was 15 percentage points below the state and 5 points below the district.

ELA is stronger than math, but remains below both comparison levels: 46% at Central, versus 56% statewide and 54% districtwide. Grade 6 ELA is a relative bright spot at 52%, just above Stark County Junior High School at 51%; grade 6 math is a sharper concern, at 19% compared with 36% statewide and 25% districtwide. Among nearby schools with grade 6 math results, Central was below Stark County, Geneseo Middle School, Bureau Valley Elementary and Junior High, and Bradford Junior High School. Attendance is a comparative strength: chronic absenteeism was 20%, below the state’s 24% and the district’s 29%, though Central Junior High and other nearby schools varied.

Both subjects have improved since 2023–2024, but math has not kept pace with the state: ELA proficiency rose 9 percentage points to 46%, while math gained 9 points to 24% and its gap to the state widened by 2 points. Chronic absenteeism also fell 9 points from 2021–2022 to 2025–2026. For context, the 2024–2025 student–teacher ratio was 14.4, compared with a nearby-school average of 11.1; 73% of students were free/reduced lunch eligible that year. SchoolDigger lists the district—not Central itself—at rank 511 of 738, the 31st percentile, with 2 stars.

353
Students ?
14.4
Student/teacher ratio ?
$16,991
Per pupil spending ?
72.8%
Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?
98.6%
Measles protection (all grades) (2025-26)
 215 E Central Blvd
       Kewanee, IL  61443-2354

(309) 853-4290

District: Kewanee CUSD 229


Students who attend Central Elementary usually attend:

High:    Kewanee High School

Feeder schools for Central Elementary:

Elementary:    Belle Alexander Elementary School
    Irving Elementary School
    Neponset Grade School
Racial breakdown:

White:
57.5%
Hispanic:
25.5%
African American:
8.5%
more
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 Compare Central Elementary to nearby middle schools!
At a glance
▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 31st percentile in 2016 → 22nd in 2026
Worth a look
!Test scores below the Illinois average (35% vs 48% meeting standards)
!Ranking has slipped — down 9 percentile points since 2016
!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing
Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?
This school35%
District avg41%
Illinois avg48%
1,359th of 1,737
Illinois public elementary schools ?
Bottom 22%▼ down 9 pts since 2016
From bottom 31% (2016) to bottom 22% (2026)
See the entire ranking list of Illinois Elementary Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
511th of 738Kewanee CUSD 229 among Illinois districts
Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202621.11359 of 173721.8%★☆☆☆☆
202533.31350 of 205634.3%★★☆☆☆
202440.21147 of 206744.5%★★☆☆☆
202330.31388 of 207733.2%★★☆☆☆
202224.11537 of 208226.2%★☆☆☆☆
202125.81390 of 194828.6%★☆☆☆☆
201933.51359 of 208634.9%★★☆☆☆
201825.81524 of 203725.2%★☆☆☆☆
201728.71450 of 204429.1%★☆☆☆☆
201630.31413 of 204630.9%★★☆☆☆
201524.41582 of 205222.9%★☆☆☆☆
201428.81567 of 209325.1%★☆☆☆☆
201328.91605 of 216725.9%★☆☆☆☆
201240.21506 of 216630.5%★★☆☆☆
201133.21593 of 214725.8%★☆☆☆☆
201033.71601 of 213925.2%★☆☆☆☆
200935.51555 of 212026.7%★☆☆☆☆
200844.31370 of 209234.5%★★☆☆☆
200753.31247 of 209540.5%★★☆☆☆
200651.81267 of 208639.3%★★☆☆☆
200552.61164 of 202242.4%★★☆☆☆
200448.91233 of 203039.3%★★☆☆☆
200342.31357 of 202032.8%★★☆☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202550.5276 of 68859.9%★★★☆☆
202222.0659 of 6843.7%☆☆☆☆☆
201952.4259 of 71163.6%★★★☆☆
201836.1426 of 69839.0%★★☆☆☆

Disabled

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202524.9822 of 104921.6%★☆☆☆☆
202429.6646 of 88627.1%★☆☆☆☆
202331.5602 of 90733.6%★★☆☆☆

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202530.9584 of 78825.9%★☆☆☆☆
202336.9506 of 78835.8%★★☆☆☆
202232.1585 of 76823.8%★☆☆☆☆
201917.3739 of 7430.5%☆☆☆☆☆
201836.6471 of 71834.4%★★☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202614.91135 of 128611.7%★☆☆☆☆
202528.51408 of 194227.5%★☆☆☆☆
202437.71128 of 194241.9%★★☆☆☆
202327.51384 of 195729.3%★☆☆☆☆
202225.31447 of 197026.5%★☆☆☆☆
202124.71259 of 168025.1%★☆☆☆☆
201938.71196 of 201940.8%★★☆☆☆
201827.51434 of 196427.0%★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202649.2239 of 53655.4%★★★☆☆
202538.1612 of 98237.7%★★☆☆☆
202444.4486 of 95949.3%★★☆☆☆
202331.6678 of 97030.1%★★☆☆☆
202230.0690 of 95427.7%★☆☆☆☆
202139.4418 of 74243.7%★★☆☆☆
201932.7676 of 95529.2%★☆☆☆☆
201828.9709 of 93824.4%★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202628.5741 of 100126.0%★☆☆☆☆
202538.31156 of 180035.8%★★☆☆☆
202445.5911 of 179349.2%★★☆☆☆
202337.51104 of 180838.9%★★☆☆☆
202229.81290 of 176326.8%★☆☆☆☆
202137.1933 of 151438.4%★★☆☆☆
201943.7997 of 181645.1%★★☆☆☆
201830.11305 of 176526.1%★☆☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202613.01180 of 131110.0%★☆☆☆☆
202537.31193 of 194738.7%★★☆☆☆
202442.61026 of 195947.6%★★☆☆☆
202333.31253 of 198436.8%★★☆☆☆
202223.41475 of 197725.4%★☆☆☆☆
202123.61309 of 170723.3%★☆☆☆☆
201931.51366 of 201932.3%★★☆☆☆
201826.71453 of 197226.3%★☆☆☆☆

Multi-racial

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202438.450 of 9346.2%★★☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202519.71102 of 129214.7%★☆☆☆☆
202428.8864 of 119527.7%★☆☆☆☆
202326.8869 of 115624.8%★☆☆☆☆
202231.1745 of 111333.1%★★☆☆☆
202125.7506 of 64020.9%★☆☆☆☆
201924.31000 of 119416.2%★☆☆☆☆
201840.3390 of 76348.9%★★☆☆☆

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
20266.81113 of 11493.1%☆☆☆☆☆
202516.51238 of 138910.9%★☆☆☆☆
202424.01130 of 139218.8%★☆☆☆☆
202316.41264 of 141910.9%★☆☆☆☆
202212.71334 of 14256.4%☆☆☆☆☆
202116.01199 of 13088.3%☆☆☆☆☆
201919.91256 of 146214.1%★☆☆☆☆
201815.81326 of 14639.4%☆☆☆☆☆
How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)
African American (2025)60th percentile+26 vs school
Hispanic (2026)55th percentile+34 vs school
Multi-racial (2024)46th percentile~ school
Low Socio Economic Status (2026)26th percentile+4 vs school
English Language Learner (2025)26th percentile-8 vs school
Disabled (2025)22nd percentile-13 vs school
Special Education (2025)15th percentile-20 vs school
Female (2026)12th percentile-10 vs school
Male (2026)10th percentile-12 vs school
White (2026)3rd percentile-19 vs school
By subject vs Illinois (2025-2026) ?
English Language Arts46%-10 vs state
Science35%-13 vs state
Mathematics24%-15 vs state

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Schools Near Central Elementary

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Frequently Asked Questions about Central Elementary

In the 2024-25 school year, 353 students attended Central Elementary.

Students who attend Central Elementary usually go on to attend Kewanee High School

Students at Central Elementary are 58% White, 25% Hispanic, 8% African American, 8% Two or more races.

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Latest Illinois data All new data »
2025–26 school spending dataNewOct 30, 2026
2025–26 attendance data, dropout rates & graduation ratesNewOct 30, 2026
2025–26 ACT, IAR, ISA & PreACT Secure test scoresNewOct 30, 2026
2013–14 through 2025–26 immunization rates (updated)Oct 19, 2026


SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau, the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Illinois State Board of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.

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