Enrollment
154
Elementary
STATE 381
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·BETHEL SD 82·NCES 170618000305
Bethel Grade School
1201 Bethel Rd, Mount Vernon, IL 62864 · (618) 244-8095 · Jefferson County
GRADES PK–08ELEMENTARY41-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL154 STUDENTS
B
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 61% of Illinois public elementary schools
- B-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- A-Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Illinois public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
11.5:1
13 FTE teachers
STATE 13.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
77%
118 students
STATE 56%
Community
0
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 4 | 3% |
| Kindergarten | 14 | 9% |
| Grade 1 | 14 | 9% |
| Grade 2 | 19 | 12% |
| Grade 3 | 18 | 12% |
| Grade 4 | 16 | 10% |
| Grade 5 | 24 | 16% |
| Grade 6 | 19 | 12% |
| Grade 7 | 11 | 7% |
| Grade 8 | 15 | 10% |
This year's kindergarten class (14) is 7% smaller than its 8th grade class (15).
Student demographics
28%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
STATE 69% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
IAR + ISA 2024-25 . % Proficient (Levels 4-5)English Language Arts
49.0%
IL avg 51.0% . +11.1pp since 2023
Math
30.3%
IL avg 37.9% . +0.8pp since 2023
What this means: On the IAR + ISA, Illinois's statewide test, about 49 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 30 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Illinois schools, those numbers are about 51 and 38. Reading and writing scores are up about 11 points since 2023, while math scores have held steady.
IAR + ISA results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 49.0% | 30.3% |
| 2023-24 | 37.9% | 29.5% |
% Proficient (Levels 4-5), all students and all tested grades.
Source: IAR + ISA. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
39.1%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
27.3%
based on IL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+11.8pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 39% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 27% typical for Illinois schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Illinois's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Bethel Grade School
Bethel Grade School's state test result (39.1% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bethel Grade School this school | 154 | 76.6% | 39.1% |
| Salt Fork South Elementary School Sidell | 154 | 76.6% | 41.5% |
| Dirksen Elementary School Pekin | 165 | 72.7% | 18.4% |
| Willow Grove Elementary School Centralia | 127 | 76.4% | 40.4% |
| Odell Grade School Odell | 155 | 75.5% | 38.7% |
| Hartford Elementary School Hartford | 172 | 72.7% | 31.5% |
Matched among Illinois elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Bethel Grade School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Illinois | In Jefferson County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 39.1% | #946 of 1,925 | #5 of 11 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 30.3% | #1,273 of 2,077 ▼ 448 | #6 of 11 ▼ 4 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 49.0% | #1,029 of 2,077 ▼ 160 | #6 of 11 ▼ 1 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 154 | #2,202 of 2,419 | #10 of 15 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 76.6% | #587 of 2,132 | #4 of 12 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
154
-34 (-18%) vs 2020
-29% since 1990-91, when it was 217
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 154 | 13.4 | 11.5:1 | 77% (118) |
| 2023-24 | 145 | 13.4 | 10.8:1 | 73% (106) |
| 2022-23 | 160 | 14.5 | 11.1:1 | 73% (116) |
| 2020-21 | 188 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 188 | 11.4 | 16.6:1 | 82% (155) |
| 2015-16 | 177 | 11 | 16.1:1 | 87% (154) |
| 2010-11 | 164 | 11 | 14.9:1 | 71% (116) |
| 2000-01 | 150 | 11 | 13.6:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 217 | 12 | 18.1:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Bethel Grade School.
Since 2017-18: students down 18% (188 to 154); teachers up 18% (11.4 to 13.4).
About Bethel Grade School
Bethel Grade School is the name of a small elementary school in Mount Vernon, Illinois. It covers pre-K through 8, with a total enrollment of 154 students. Enrollment is 60% lower than the average for elementary schools in Illinois, which is about 381.
Bethel Grade School is run by Bethel SD 82.
The student body at Bethel Grade School is 84% White. Other groups include 9% Hispanic, 4% multiracial, and 3% Black. The county population is about 84% White, within a few points of the school. Pick two students at random and there is a 28% chance they belong to different racial or ethnic groups; that figure is the school's diversity index.
The school reports 13.4 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to about 11.5 students per teacher. The school has fewer students per teacher than the 13.9:1 average for elementary schools in Illinois. The free or reduced-price lunch share, often used to gauge student poverty, is 77%. By comparison, the figure for public schools in Jefferson County is 60%.
allk12 grades Bethel Grade School a B. The grade compares the school only with Illinois public elementary schools, because each state gives its own test.
The allk12 BeatsExpectations score for Bethel Grade School is +11.8 points: 39.1% actual, 27.3% predicted.
Federal survey data for Jefferson County show that the median household income is $63,118, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 18% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 11%. Jefferson County is home to 31 public schools and about 5,314 public school students.
The nearest other public school, Mount Vernon High School, is about 2.4 miles away. There are at least 8 more public schools inside five miles. Among the 8 closest schools with test data, this one included, Bethel Grade School ranks 2nd on average proficiency.
Its NCES locale code is Rural: Fringe: the school is in rural territory close to an urban area.
Compared with 2020-21, the school had 34 fewer students in 2024-25.
Discussions about Bethel Grade School may include science fairs, picture day, and bus routes. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
Jefferson County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
36,550
Census ACS
Median income
$63,118
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
18%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
11%
Below federal line
Schools in county
31
5,314 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Mount Vernon
- Mount Vernon High SchoolHigh · 1,233 students
- Dr Nick Osborne Primary CenterElementary · 562 students
- Zadok Casey Middle SchoolMiddle · 380 students
- Summersville Grade SchoolElementary · 283 students
- J L Buford Intermediate Ed CenterElementary · 260 students
- Dr Andy Hall Early Educ CenterElementary · 243 students
Nearby schools
- Mount Vernon High School2.4 mi · 1,233
- Zadok Casey Middle School2.5 mi · 380
- McClellan Elementary School2.5 mi · 56
- Spring Garden Elementary School2.5 mi · 124
- J L Buford Intermediate Ed Center2.6 mi · 260
- Dr Andy Hall Early Educ Center2.9 mi · 243
Frequently asked questions
About Bethel Grade SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Bethel Grade School?
Bethel Grade School enrolls approximately 154 students in grades PK-08.
What age range does Bethel Grade School serve?
Bethel Grade School serves students from grade PK through grade 08.
How many students per teacher at Bethel Grade School?
Approximately 11.5:1 students per teacher at Bethel Grade School.
How diverse is Bethel Grade School?
Bethel Grade School reports a student body of 84% White, 9% Hispanic, 3% Black, 4% Two or more.
Who oversees Bethel Grade School?
Bethel Grade School is overseen by Bethel SD 82 in Jefferson County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.