Summary:
Howard School District 48-3 has two elementary schools: Howard Elementary - 02, serving PK–5 with 158 students, and Shannon Colony Elementary - 08, serving K–8 with 27 students. In 2025–26, both schools’ all-grades math proficiency was about 67%, well above the state’s 44%; in ELA, they were about 53% and 50%, compared with 49% statewide. The central takeaway is that mathematics remains a shared strength, but proficiency has fallen considerably since the prior year.
Howard Elementary - 02 stands out in current all-grades ELA, leading Shannon Colony Elementary - 08 by 3 percentage points; both are slightly above the state. In math, the schools are effectively tied, and each is about 23 points above the state. Howard’s grade-level results show why school-wide figures can hide differences: its grade 5 ELA proficiency was 47%, 4 points below the state, while its grade 4 ELA was 63%, 15 points above. Howard’s grade 5 science result was 58%, 17 points above the state. Shannon Colony’s 2025–26 science result is suppressed and cannot be compared.
Results declined at both schools from 2024–25 to 2025–26: the two-school average fell 6 points in ELA, from 58% to 52%, and 8 points in math, from 75% to 67%. The area’s lead over the state narrowed from 7 to 3 points in ELA and from 32 to 23 points in math. Howard’s grade 5 science was an exception, rising from 50% to 58%. SchoolDigger ranked Howard 31st of 300 schools in 2024–25 (4 stars) and 47th of 203 in 2025–26 (4 stars); Shannon Colony ranked 99th of 300 (3 stars) in 2024–25. In 2024–25, student-teacher ratios were 13 at Howard and 11.9 at Shannon Colony. Howard reported 17% free/reduced lunch eligible in school year 2024–25; Shannon Colony reported 9% in school year 2022–23, so the different years do not support a direct comparison. The schools’ different grade spans and Shannon Colony’s small enrollment also call for caution when comparing all-grades results.
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