Enrollment
236
Elementary
DISTRICT 185 · STATE 381
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·BLUFORD UNIT SCHOOL DISTRICT 318·NCES 170141706362
Bluford Grade School
901 6th St, Bluford, IL 62814 · (618) 732-8242 · Jefferson County
GRADES PK–08ELEMENTARY42-RURALREGULAR SCHOOL236 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
11.8:1
20 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.2:1 · STATE 13.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
39%
93 students
DISTRICT 37% · 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 | 2% |
| Kindergarten | 14 | 6% |
| Grade 1 | 23 | 10% |
| Grade 2 | 24 | 10% |
| Grade 3 | 33 | 14% |
| Grade 4 | 31 | 13% |
| Grade 5 | 26 | 11% |
| Grade 6 | 29 | 12% |
| Grade 7 | 30 | 13% |
| Grade 8 | 22 | 9% |
This year's kindergarten class (14) is 36% smaller than its 8th grade class (22).
Student demographics
10%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 9% · 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
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
Bluford Grade School→Webber High School
Based on grade levels within Bluford Unit School District 318. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
IAR + ISA 2024-25 . % Proficient (Levels 4-5)English Language Arts
39.4%
IL avg 51.0% . +7.1pp since 2023
Math
19.4%
IL avg 37.9% . +7.6pp since 2023
What this means: On the IAR + ISA, Illinois's statewide test, about 39 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 19 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 7 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 8 points.
IAR + ISA results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 39.4% | 19.4% |
| 2023-24 | 32.3% | 11.8% |
% 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
UNDERPERFORMING
Bottom 10% of IL schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
28.4%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
48.8%
based on IL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-20.3pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 28% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 49% typical for Illinois schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations compares each school with others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school lands here when its results trail those comparable schools, which is not the same as having low scores. A higher-scoring school can still fall in this tier if similar schools score higher still.
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 Bluford Grade School
Bluford Grade School's state test result (28.4% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bluford Grade School this school | 236 | 39.4% | 28.4% |
| Forreston Grade School Forreston | 238 | 39.5% | 63.5% |
| Neoga Elementary School Neoga | 241 | 41.1% | 44.5% |
| Annawan Grade School Annawan | 243 | 38.3% | 60.8% |
| Winola Elementary School Viola | 261 | 40.2% | 47.3% |
| Warsaw Elementary School Warsaw | 213 | 38.5% | 32.1% |
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 Bluford Grade School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Illinois | In Jefferson County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 28.4% | #1,325 of 1,925 | #9 of 11 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 19.4% | #1,619 of 2,077 ▼ 79 | #9 of 11 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 39.4% | #1,360 of 2,077 ▼ 281 | #9 of 11 ▼ 3 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 236 | #1,896 of 2,419 | #7 of 15 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 11.8:1 | #470 of 2,035 | #2 of 9 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 9.8% | #1,893 of 2,042 | #8 of 9 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 39.4% | #1,566 of 2,132 | #10 of 12 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -9.9% | #920 of 1,461 | #6 of 7 |
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
236
-23 (-9%) vs 2020
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 | 236 | 20 | 11.8:1 | 39% (93) |
| 2023-24 | 239 | 18.5 | 12.9:1 | 40% (95) |
| 2022-23 | 249 | 21.5 | 11.6:1 | 32% (79) |
| 2020-21 | 259 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 262 | 17.6 | 14.9:1 | 46% (120) |
| 2015-16 | 276 | 14 | 19.7:1 | 47% (131) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Bluford Grade School.
Since 2017-18: students down 10% (262 to 236); teachers up 14% (17.6 to 20).
About Bluford Grade School
Families in Bluford, Illinois, are served by Bluford Grade School, a low-enrollment elementary school. Classes run from pre-K through 8, and the school has 236 students. Against the 381-student average for elementary schools in Illinois, enrollment here is 38% lower.
Bluford Grade School is among 2 schools run by Bluford Unit School District 318, which serves 370 students.
The student body at Bluford Grade School is 95% White. Other reported shares: 3% multiracial. Jefferson County's residents are about 84% White, 11 points below the school's share. The school's diversity index is 10%, meaning two students picked at random have a 10% chance of belonging to different racial or ethnic groups.
Bluford Grade School operates with 20 full-time-equivalent teachers, a ratio of about 11.8:1. On average, elementary schools in Illinois have 13.9:1, compared with 11.8:1 here. Bluford Grade School reports 39% of students eligible for free or reduced-price meals. That is 21 points below the 60% average for public schools in Jefferson County.
A school in Illinois with Bluford Grade School's free or reduced-price lunch share would be expected to score about 48.8%. Bluford Grade School scores 28.4%.
According to the American Community Survey, in Jefferson County, the median household income is $63,118, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 18%, and roughly 11% of residents are in poverty. Bluford Grade School is one of 31 public schools in the county.
Webber High School is the closest public school, less than a tenth of a mile away in a straight line. In all, 2 other public schools sit within five miles of Bluford Grade School. By average proficiency, Bluford Grade School is 7th among 8 schools close by.
Bluford Grade School is coded as Rural: Distant in federal locale data.
Enrollment has fallen by 23 students since 2020-21, to 236.
The Bluford Grade School community page is open for posts about sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.
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 Bluford Unit School District 318
- Webber High SchoolHigh · 134 students
Other schools in Bluford
- Webber High SchoolHigh · 134 students
- Farrington Elementary SchoolElementary · 46 students
Nearby schools
- Webber High School0.1 mi · 134
- Opdyke-Belle Rive Grade School4.9 mi · 122
- Summersville Grade School6.7 mi · 283
- Spring Garden Elementary School8.3 mi · 124
- Dr Andy Hall Early Educ Center8.4 mi · 243
- Farrington Elementary School8.4 mi · 46
Frequently asked questions
About Bluford Grade SchoolHow large is Bluford Grade School?
Bluford Grade School enrolls approximately 236 students in grades PK-08.
What age range does Bluford Grade School serve?
Bluford Grade School serves students from grade PK through grade 08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Bluford Grade School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Bluford Grade School is approximately 11.8:1 (20 FTE teachers).
What is the student diversity at Bluford Grade School?
Student demographics at Bluford Grade School are roughly 95% White, 2% Hispanic, 0% Black, 0% Asian, 3% Two or more.
What district is Bluford Grade School in?
Bluford Grade School is part of Bluford Unit School District 318.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.