Enrollment
175
Elementary
DISTRICT 172 · STATE 381
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·COWDEN-HERRICK CUSD 3A·NCES 170017602401
Cowden-Herrick Grade School
301 N Broadway St, Herrick, IL 62431 · (618) 428-5223 · Shelby County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY42-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL175 STUDENTS
A
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 91% of Illinois public elementary schools
- A-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
11.7:1
15 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 10.8:1 · STATE 13.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
59%
103 students
DISTRICT 62% · 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 27 | 15% |
| Grade 1 | 32 | 18% |
| Grade 2 | 26 | 15% |
| Grade 3 | 30 | 17% |
| Grade 4 | 31 | 18% |
| Grade 5 | 29 | 17% |
This year's kindergarten class (27) is 7% smaller than its 5th grade class (29).
Student demographics
4%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 5% · 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
Cowden-Herrick Grade School→Cowden-Herrick Jr/Sr High School
Based on grade levels within Cowden-Herrick CUSD 3A. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
IAR + ISA 2024-25 . % Proficient (Levels 4-5)English Language Arts
76.1%
IL avg 51.0% . +10.7pp since 2023
Math
51.1%
IL avg 37.9% . +12.6pp since 2023
What this means: On the IAR + ISA, Illinois's statewide test, about 76 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 51 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 are up about 13 points.
IAR + ISA results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 76.1% | 51.1% |
| 2023-24 | 65.4% | 38.5% |
% 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
OUTPERFORMING
Top 10% of IL schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
63.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
37.5%
based on IL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+25.9pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 63% of students here test proficient in math and reading, well above the roughly 38% typical for Illinois schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations ranks schools against others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school can post high scores and still fall short of its prediction, or post lower scores and still beat it. This school clears its prediction by about 26 points, placing it in Illinois's top 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 Cowden-Herrick Grade School
Cowden-Herrick Grade School's state test result (63.5% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cowden-Herrick Grade School this school | 175 | 58.9% | 63.5% |
| Okaw Valley Elementary School Bethany | 170 | 55.3% | 24.4% |
| Scott Altman Primary School Pekin | 189 | 57.7% | 55.6% |
| Lowpoint-Washburn Elementary School Washburn | 157 | 56.1% | 41.5% |
| New Boston Elementary School New Boston | 165 | 63.0% | 44.4% |
| Jefferson Attendance Center Carmi | 158 | 55.7% | 74.6% |
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 Cowden-Herrick Grade School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Illinois | In Shelby County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 63.5% | #243 of 1,925 | N/A |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 51.1% | #638 of 2,077 ▼ 69 | N/A |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 76.1% | #203 of 2,077 ▼ 32 | N/A |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 175 | #2,125 of 2,419 | #5 of 6 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 58.9% | #1,046 of 2,132 | N/A |
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
175
+42 (+32%) vs 2020
-14% since 2000-01, when it was 204
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 | 175 | 15 | 11.7:1 | 59% (103) |
| 2023-24 | 161 | 16.5 | 9.8:1 | 59% (95) |
| 2022-23 | 157 | 14.9 | 10.6:1 | 57% (90) |
| 2020-21 | 133 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 148 | 13.7 | 10.8:1 | 73% (108) |
| 2015-16 | 183 | 13 | 14.1:1 | 78% (143) |
| 2010-11 | 151 | 11 | 13.7:1 | 57% (86) |
| 2000-01 | 204 | 13 | 15.7:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Cowden-Herrick Grade School.
Since 2017-18: students up 18% (148 to 175); teachers up 9% (13.7 to 15).
About Cowden-Herrick Grade School
Cowden-Herrick Grade School is a small elementary school found in Herrick, Illinois. The school counts 175 students across kindergarten through 5. The school's enrollment is 54% smaller than the 381 average for elementary schools in Illinois.
Cowden-Herrick Grade School is in Cowden-Herrick CUSD 3A, a district with 343 students across 2 schools.
Cowden-Herrick Grade School enrolls a student body that is 98% White. The White share in Shelby County as a whole is similar, at about 97%. The chance that two students picked at random at Cowden-Herrick Grade School belong to different racial or ethnic groups, known as the diversity index, is 4%.
With 15 full-time-equivalent teachers in 2024-25, the ratio at Cowden-Herrick Grade School was 11.7:1. The 13.9:1 average for elementary schools in Illinois is higher than this school's figure. A measure often used for student poverty, free or reduced-price lunch eligibility, stands at 59%. Across public schools in Shelby County, the average is 46%.
allk12 grades Cowden-Herrick Grade School an A. The grade compares the school only with Illinois public elementary schools, because each state gives its own test.
Cowden-Herrick Grade School ranks in the top 10% of Illinois schools after adjusting test results for student poverty. Actual: 63.5%. Predicted: 37.5%. Difference: 25.9 points.
County data help place the school in context: in Shelby County, median household income is about $72,095, about 18% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 6%. Cowden-Herrick Grade School is among the 14 public schools in Shelby County.
The school nearest to Cowden-Herrick Grade School is Cowden-Herrick Jr/Sr High School, at a distance of about 6.6 miles. Counting only straight-line distance, 3 other public schools are within ten miles. Among the 9 closest schools with test data, this one included, Cowden-Herrick Grade School ranks 1st on average proficiency.
Federal data place Cowden-Herrick Grade School in the Rural: Distant locale, which means it is in rural territory some distance from an urban area.
Federal counts put enrollment at 133 in 2020-21 and 175 in 2024-25, a 32% gain.
Parents and students can post about school events, clubs, and volunteer needs at Cowden-Herrick Grade School. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
Shelby County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
20,720
Census ACS
Median income
$72,095
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
18%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
14
2,922 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Cowden-Herrick CUSD 3A
- Cowden-Herrick Jr/Sr High SchoolHigh · 168 students
Nearby schools
- Cowden-Herrick Jr/Sr High School6.6 mi · 168
- Ramsey High School9.0 mi · 181
- Ramsey Elementary School9.0 mi · 212
- Beecher City Jr-Sr High School10.3 mi · 165
- Beecher City Grade School11.0 mi · 196
- Pana Elementary School12.2 mi · 507
Frequently asked questions
About Cowden-Herrick Grade SchoolHow large is Cowden-Herrick Grade School?
Cowden-Herrick Grade School enrolls approximately 175 students in grades KG-05.
What grades does Cowden-Herrick Grade School serve?
Cowden-Herrick Grade School serves grades KG-05.
How many teachers does Cowden-Herrick Grade School have?
Cowden-Herrick Grade School employs 15 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 11.7:1.
What is the student diversity at Cowden-Herrick Grade School?
Student demographics at Cowden-Herrick Grade School are roughly 98% White, 2% Black.
What district is Cowden-Herrick Grade School in?
Cowden-Herrick Grade School is part of Cowden-Herrick CUSD 3A.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.