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Which teacher or staff member at Gard Elementary School deserves more recognition?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
711
Elementary
DISTRICT 441 · STATE 381
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·BEARDSTOWN CUSD 15·NCES 170531000217
Gard Elementary School
400 E 15th St, Beardstown, IL 62618 · (217) 323-1364 · Cass County
GRADES PK–04ELEMENTARY33-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL711 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
18.7:1
38 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 32.4:1 · STATE 13.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
77%
548 students
DISTRICT 70% · 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 163 | 23% |
| Kindergarten | 125 | 18% |
| Grade 1 | 109 | 15% |
| Grade 2 | 110 | 15% |
| Grade 3 | 95 | 13% |
| Grade 4 | 109 | 15% |
This year's kindergarten class (125) is 15% larger than its 4th grade class (109).
Student demographics
73%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 70% · 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
Gard Elementary School→Beardstown Jr/Sr High School
Based on grade levels within Beardstown CUSD 15. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
IAR + ISA 2024-25 . % Proficient (Levels 4-5)English Language Arts
12.3%
IL avg 51.0% . +5.1pp since 2023
Math
16.2%
IL avg 37.9% . +10.3pp since 2023
What this means: On the IAR + ISA, Illinois's statewide test, about 12 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 16 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 5 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 10 points.
IAR + ISA results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 12.3% | 16.2% |
| 2023-24 | 7.2% | 5.9% |
% 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
12.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
27.0%
based on IL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-14.7pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 12% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 27% 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 Gard Elementary School
Gard Elementary School's state test result (12.3% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gard Elementary School this school | 711 | 77.1% | 12.3% |
| Founders Elementary School Dekalb | 565 | 78.1% | 19.8% |
| Wm Nashold Early Childhood Center Rockford | 530 | 76.8% | N/A |
| Johns Hill Magnet School Decatur | 627 | 79.7% | 17.0% |
| Swan Hillman Elementary School Rockford | 581 | 74.5% | 27.3% |
| Central Park Elementary School Midlothian | 640 | 67.5% | 26.5% |
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 Gard Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Illinois |
|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 12.3% | #1,832 of 1,925 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 16.2% | #1,701 of 2,077 ▲ 116 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 12.3% | #2,045 of 2,077 ▼ 39 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 711 | #116 of 2,419 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 18.7:1 | #1,953 of 2,035 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 73.2% | #52 of 2,042 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 77.1% | #579 of 2,132 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +32.9% | #57 of 615 |
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
711
+248 (+54%) vs 2020
+54% since 1990-91, when it was 462
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 | 711 | 38 | 18.7:1 | 77% (548) |
| 2023-24 | 488 | 37 | 13.2:1 | 73% (357) |
| 2022-23 | 473 | 39 | 12.1:1 | 74% (348) |
| 2020-21 | 463 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 535 | 35.6 | 15.0:1 | 80% (427) |
| 2015-16 | 524 | 36 | 14.6:1 | 81% (427) |
| 2010-11 | 522 | 37 | 14.1:1 | 81% (421) |
| 2000-01 | 450 | 31 | 14.5:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 462 | 28 | 16.5:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Gard Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students up 33% (535 to 711); teachers up 7% (35.6 to 38).
About Gard Elementary School
At 400 E 15th St in Beardstown, Illinois, Gard Elementary School operates as a large elementary school. The school has 711 students in 2024-25 across pre-K through 4. Elementary schools in Illinois average about 381 students, which makes this school 87% larger than average.
District-wide, Beardstown CUSD 15 has 3 schools and 1,702 students.
At Gard Elementary School, Hispanic students make up the biggest share, 38%. Other groups include 21% multiracial, 20% Black, and 20% White. By comparison, Cass County residents are about 23% Hispanic. On a 0 to 100 scale, the school's diversity index is 73, compared with 70 nationally.
The school lists 38 full-time-equivalent teachers and a student-to-teacher ratio of 18.7:1. The average for elementary schools in Illinois is 13.9:1, so this school has more students per teacher. A total of 548 students, or 77%, are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. Public schools in Cass County average 69%.
Gard Elementary School scores 14.7 points below its predicted average proficiency rate across its state test results: 12.3% actual versus 27.0% predicted. That puts it in the bottom 10% of Illinois schools on BeatsExpectations.
The county, Cass County, is where the school is located. The median household earns about $68,125 a year, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 21% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 10%. The county's public schools total 8, with about 2,352 students.
Beardstown Jr/Sr High School, less than a tenth of a mile away, is the closest public school. Counting only straight-line distance, 2 other public schools are within five miles. On state test proficiency, Gard Elementary School ranks 7th in a group of 7 nearby schools.
Federal records code the school's setting as Town: Remote.
Gard Elementary School enrolled 463 in 2020-21 and 711 in 2024-25. Changes in grade configuration can produce shifts of this size.
People can post here about homework, tutoring, and testing dates and other school topics. Members of the school community can share what they know.
Cass County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
12,784
Census ACS
Median income
$68,125
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
21%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
10%
Below federal line
Schools in county
8
2,352 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Beardstown CUSD 15
- Beardstown Jr/Sr High SchoolHigh · 820 students
- Grand Ave SchoolElementary · 171 students
Other schools in Beardstown
- Beardstown Jr/Sr High SchoolHigh · 820 students
- Grand Ave SchoolElementary · 171 students
Nearby schools
- Beardstown Jr/Sr High School0.1 mi · 820
- Grand Ave School0.6 mi · 171
- Washington Elementary School10.5 mi · 113
- Webster Elementary School11.0 mi · 183
- Rushville-Industry High School11.2 mi · 295
- Schuyler Industry Middle School11.2 mi · 252
Frequently asked questions
About Gard Elementary SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Gard Elementary School?
Gard Elementary School enrolls approximately 711 students in grades PK-04.
What age range does Gard Elementary School serve?
Gard Elementary School serves students from grade PK through grade 04.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Gard Elementary School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Gard Elementary School is approximately 18.7:1 (38 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Gard Elementary School?
At Gard Elementary School, the student body is approximately 20% White, 38% Hispanic, 20% Black, 0% Asian, 21% Two or more.
What district is Gard Elementary School in?
Gard Elementary School is part of Beardstown CUSD 15.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.