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What do students at Cortland Elementary School actually talk about outside of class?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
523
Elementary
DISTRICT 355 · STATE 381
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·DEKALB CUSD 428·NCES 171200000468
Cortland Elementary School
370 E Lexington Ave, Cortland, IL 60112 · (815) 754-2360 · DeKalb County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY41-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL523 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
13.1:1
40 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.7:1 · STATE 13.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
62%
325 students
DISTRICT 69% · STATE 56%
Community
5
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 87 | 17% |
| Grade 1 | 85 | 16% |
| Grade 2 | 97 | 19% |
| Grade 3 | 84 | 16% |
| Grade 4 | 90 | 17% |
| Grade 5 | 80 | 15% |
This year's kindergarten class (87) is 9% larger than its 5th grade class (80).
Student demographics
66%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 72% · 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
28.9%
IL avg 51.0% . +14.7pp since 2023
Math
22.8%
IL avg 37.9% . +11.4pp since 2023
What this means: On the IAR + ISA, Illinois's statewide test, about 29 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 23 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 15 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 11 points.
IAR + ISA results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 28.9% | 22.8% |
| 2023-24 | 14.2% | 11.4% |
% 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
25.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
35.6%
based on IL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-10.1pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 26% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 36% 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 Cortland Elementary School
Cortland Elementary School's state test result (25.5% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cortland Elementary School this school | 523 | 62.1% | 25.5% |
| Harnew Elementary School Oak Lawn | 512 | 60.4% | 48.6% |
| Frank A Brodnicki Elementary School Justice | 618 | 61.7% | 50.6% |
| Willow Springs Elementary School Willow Springs | 414 | 65.7% | 42.8% |
| Lincoln Elementary School Belvidere | 573 | 57.4% | 29.4% |
| Robert C Hill Elementary School Romeoville | 547 | 62.2% | 45.6% |
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 Cortland Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Illinois | In DeKalb County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 25.5% | #1,434 of 1,925 | #17 of 22 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 22.8% | #1,522 of 2,077 ▲ 35 | #17 of 22 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 28.9% | #1,695 of 2,077 ▲ 90 | #17 of 22 ▲ 1 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 523 | #455 of 2,419 | #2 of 24 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 13.1:1 | #919 of 2,035 | #11 of 23 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 66.1% | #301 of 2,042 | #5 of 23 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 62.1% | #948 of 2,132 | #7 of 23 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -5.4% | #1,175 of 1,461 | #7 of 13 |
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
523
+5 (+1%) vs 2020
+138% since 2000-01, when it was 220
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 | 523 | 40 | 13.1:1 | 62% (325) |
| 2023-24 | 505 | 40.3 | 12.5:1 | 63% (320) |
| 2022-23 | 519 | 37.1 | 14.0:1 | 65% (335) |
| 2020-21 | 518 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 553 | 36.1 | 15.3:1 | 57% (314) |
| 2015-16 | 584 | 32 | 18.3:1 | 65% (382) |
| 2010-11 | 376 | 20 | 18.8:1 | 30% (113) |
| 2000-01 | 220 | 14 | 15.7:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Cortland Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 5% (553 to 523); teachers up 11% (36.1 to 40).
About Cortland Elementary School
Cortland Elementary School is a public elementary school run by DeKalb CUSD 428 in Cortland, Illinois. Its grade span covers kindergarten through 5, with 523 students on the rolls. On average, elementary schools in Illinois enroll around 381, and this school is 37% above that mark.
DeKalb CUSD 428 counts 12 schools and 6,771 students, including Cortland Elementary School.
The largest racial or ethnic group at Cortland Elementary School is Hispanic, with 42% of students. Other groups make up 37% White, 12% Black, and 9% multiracial. DeKalb County as a whole is about 15% Hispanic, so the school's share is higher. Measured by the diversity index, the student body scores 66%.
Classroom staffing at Cortland Elementary School totals 40 full-time-equivalent teachers, and the student-to-teacher ratio is 13.1:1. Compared with the 13.9:1 average for elementary schools in Illinois, this school's ratio is lower. Federal data show 62% of students (325) are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. By comparison, the figure for public schools in DeKalb County is 48%.
The allk12 BeatsExpectations score for Cortland Elementary School is -10.1 points: 25.5% actual, 35.6% predicted.
For the population of DeKalb County, median household income comes to about $70,724, 33% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 10% of people live in poverty. DeKalb County's 43 public schools enroll about 16,328 students and include Cortland Elementary School.
Cortland Elementary School's closest public school neighbor is Littlejohn Elementary School, about 3.9 miles away. A five-mile radius around the school includes at least 8 other public schools. Cortland Elementary School ranks 3rd of 8 among nearby schools on average proficiency, with 25.5% against a local average of 23.3%.
The school's locale code, Rural: Fringe, means it is in rural territory close to an urban area.
Compared with 2020-21, when it had 518 students, enrollment in 2024-25 was about the same at 523.
This page collects posts and questions about Cortland Elementary School, such as fundraisers, report cards, and school supplies. Members of the school community can share what they know.
DeKalb County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
100,703
Census ACS
Median income
$70,724
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
33%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
10%
Below federal line
Schools in county
43
16,328 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in DeKalb CUSD 428
- DeKalb High SchoolHigh · 2,134 students
- Huntley Middle SchoolMiddle · 865 students
- Clinton Rosette Middle SchoolMiddle · 575 students
- Founders Elementary SchoolElementary · 565 students
- Littlejohn Elementary SchoolElementary · 362 students
- Gwendolyn Brooks Elementary SchoolElementary · 328 students
Other Cortland Elementary schools
One other US public school is named Cortland Elementary. Cortland Elementary School is the largest of the 2.
- Cortland Elementary SchoolSeymour, IN · 89 students
Nearby schools
- Littlejohn Elementary School3.9 mi · 362
- Founders Elementary School3.9 mi · 565
- DeKalb Early Lrng and Dev Center4.0 mi · 281
- Huntley Middle School4.0 mi · 865
- Lincoln Elementary School4.2 mi · 272
- Clinton Rosette Middle School4.3 mi · 575
Frequently asked questions
About Cortland Elementary SchoolHow large is Cortland Elementary School?
Cortland Elementary School enrolls approximately 523 students in grades KG-05.
Is Cortland Elementary School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Cortland Elementary School is an elementary school covering grades KG-05.
How many teachers does Cortland Elementary School have?
Cortland Elementary School employs 40 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 13.1:1.
How diverse is Cortland Elementary School?
Cortland Elementary School reports a student body of 37% White, 42% Hispanic, 12% Black, 9% Two or more.
Is Cortland Elementary School public or private?
Cortland Elementary School is a public K-12 school, overseen by DeKalb CUSD 428.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.