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What advice would you give to incoming students at Dennis Lab School?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
579
Elementary
DISTRICT 455 · STATE 381
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·DECATUR SD 61·NCES 171185001399
Dennis Lab School
300 Meadow Terrace Pl, Decatur, IL 62521 · (217) 362-3511 · Macon County
GRADES KG–08ELEMENTARY13-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL579 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
16.5:1
35 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 18.3:1 · STATE 13.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
85%
490 students
DISTRICT 81% · 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 | 74 | 13% |
| Grade 1 | 70 | 12% |
| Grade 2 | 74 | 13% |
| Grade 3 | 54 | 9% |
| Grade 4 | 57 | 10% |
| Grade 5 | 52 | 9% |
| Grade 6 | 70 | 12% |
| Grade 7 | 65 | 11% |
| Grade 8 | 63 | 11% |
This year's kindergarten class (74) is 17% larger than its 8th grade class (63).
Student demographics
65%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 65% · 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
10.6%
IL avg 51.0% . +2.0pp since 2023
Math
5.3%
IL avg 37.9% . +1.7pp since 2023
What this means: On the IAR + ISA, Illinois's statewide test, about 11 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 5 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 2 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 2 points.
IAR + ISA results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 10.6% | 5.3% |
| 2023-24 | 8.6% | 3.6% |
% 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
9.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
22.6%
based on IL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-12.7pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 10% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 23% 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 Dennis Lab School
Dennis Lab School's state test result (9.9% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dennis Lab School this school | 579 | 84.6% | 9.9% |
| Parsons Elementary School Decatur | 505 | 89.5% | 10.0% |
| West View Elementary School Rockford | 521 | 85.8% | 27.4% |
| Abraham Lincoln Elementary School Belleville | 542 | 83.2% | 26.5% |
| R K Welsh Elementary School Rockford | 483 | 87.4% | 14.6% |
| Franklin Grove Elementary School Decatur | 461 | 89.8% | 5.7% |
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 Dennis Lab School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Illinois | In Macon County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 9.9% | #1,880 of 1,925 | #13 of 16 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 5.3% | #2,024 of 2,077 ▼ 83 | #13 of 16 ▼ 3 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 10.6% | #2,060 of 2,077 ▼ 89 | #14 of 16 ▼ 4 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 579 | #312 of 2,419 | #4 of 19 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 16.5:1 | #1,798 of 2,035 | #11 of 18 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 64.6% | #389 of 2,042 | #6 of 18 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 84.6% | #409 of 2,132 | #7 of 19 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +24.2% | #90 of 615 | #6 of 10 |
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
579
-56 (-9%) vs 2020
+26% since 1990-91, when it was 460
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 | 579 | 35 | 16.5:1 | 85% (490) |
| 2023-24 | 539 | 28 | 19.3:1 | 73% (395) |
| 2022-23 | 551 | 34.9 | 15.8:1 | 79% (436) |
| 2020-21 | 635 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 466 | 26 | 17.9:1 | 47% (218) |
| 2015-16 | 464 | 22 | 21.1:1 | 71% (329) |
| 2010-11 | 258 | 11 | 23.4:1 | 87% (224) |
| 2000-01 | 308 | 16 | 19.3:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 460 | 19 | 24.2:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Dennis Lab School.
Since 2017-18: students up 24% (466 to 579); teachers up 35% (26 to 35).
About Dennis Lab School
Dennis Lab School is an elementary school in Decatur, Illinois, according to federal school records. It reports enrollment of 579 students in kindergarten through 8. The school is 52% above the average for elementary schools in Illinois.
Decatur SD 61 operates 15 schools. Combined enrollment is 7,840 students.
Black students account for 50% of enrollment at Dennis Lab School, more than any other group. Other students are 28% White, 14% multiracial, and 7% Hispanic. By comparison, Macon County residents are about 16% Black. On the diversity index, which measures the chance that two random students are from different groups, Dennis Lab School scores 65%.
Staffing at Dennis Lab School comes to 35 full-time-equivalent teachers, or 16.5:1. The school's 16.5:1 compares with an average of 13.9:1 for elementary schools in Illinois. On the income side, 85% of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The gap from the 61% average for public schools in Macon County is 24 points.
After adjusting for student poverty, Dennis Lab School lands between the top and bottom 10% of Illinois schools. Its average proficiency rate across its state test results is 9.9%; the prediction is 22.6%.
For Macon County, Census Bureau data show the median household earns about $62,666 a year, 24% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 10% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Public schools in Macon County number 43, with about 14,702 students.
Measured in a straight line, South Shores Elementary School is about 0.5 miles from Dennis Lab School. Other public schools within five miles: at least 8. Nearby schools with test data average 12.1% proficiency; Dennis Lab School posts 9.9%.
Federal data place Dennis Lab School in the City: Small locale, which means it is inside a principal city with a population under 100,000.
A 9% decrease took enrollment from 635 in 2020-21 to 579 in 2024-25.
Anyone can start a thread about fundraisers, report cards, and school supplies at Dennis Lab School. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to post.
Macon County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
101,849
Census ACS
Median income
$62,666
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
24%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
10%
Below federal line
Schools in county
43
14,702 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Decatur SD 61
- MacArthur High SchoolHigh · 1,059 students
- Eisenhower High SchoolHigh · 909 students
- Johns Hill Magnet SchoolElementary · 627 students
- Montessori Academy for PeaceElementary · 586 students
- Parsons Elementary SchoolElementary · 505 students
- Hope AcademyElementary · 501 students
Other schools in Decatur
- MacArthur High SchoolHigh · 1,059 students
- Eisenhower High SchoolHigh · 909 students
- Johns Hill Magnet SchoolElementary · 627 students
- Montessori Academy for PeaceElementary · 586 students
- Parsons Elementary SchoolElementary · 505 students
- Hope AcademyElementary · 501 students
Nearby schools
- South Shores Elementary School0.5 mi · 335
- American Dreamer STEM Academy1.3 mi · 423
- Eisenhower High School1.5 mi · 909
- Johns Hill Magnet School1.7 mi · 627
- Muffley Elementary School2.5 mi · 386
- Hope Academy2.6 mi · 501
Frequently asked questions
About Dennis Lab SchoolHow large is Dennis Lab School?
Dennis Lab School enrolls approximately 579 students in grades KG-08.
What age range does Dennis Lab School serve?
Dennis Lab School serves students from grade KG through grade 08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Dennis Lab School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Dennis Lab School is approximately 16.5:1 (35 FTE teachers).
What is the student diversity at Dennis Lab School?
Student demographics at Dennis Lab School are roughly 28% White, 7% Hispanic, 50% Black, 0% Asian, 14% Two or more.
Is Dennis Lab School public or private?
Dennis Lab School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Decatur SD 61.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.