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Honest take: what's the hardest part about being a student at Grove Elementary School?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
519
Elementary
DISTRICT 354 · STATE 381
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·MCLEAN COUNTY USD 5·NCES 172862004347
Grove Elementary School
1101 Airport Rd, Normal, IL 61761 · (309) 557-4417 · McLean County
GRADES KG–05ELEMENTARY22-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL519 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
17.6:1
29 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.9:1 · STATE 13.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
15%
76 students
DISTRICT 40% · 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 | 75 | 14% |
| Grade 1 | 66 | 13% |
| Grade 2 | 91 | 18% |
| Grade 3 | 86 | 17% |
| Grade 4 | 98 | 19% |
| Grade 5 | 103 | 20% |
This year's kindergarten class (75) is 27% smaller than its 5th grade class (103).
Student demographics
64%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 66% · 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
79.0%
IL avg 51.0% . +12.2pp since 2023
Math
63.3%
IL avg 37.9% . +11.8pp since 2023
What this means: On the IAR + ISA, Illinois's statewide test, about 79 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 63 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 12 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 12 points.
IAR + ISA results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 79.0% | 63.3% |
| 2023-24 | 66.8% | 51.5% |
% 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
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
71.3%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
63.1%
based on IL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+8.2pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 71% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 63% 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 Grove Elementary School
Grove Elementary School's state test result (71.3% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grove Elementary School this school | 519 | 14.6% | 71.3% |
| Grove Avenue Elementary School Barrington | 511 | 16.6% | 74.8% |
| Prairie View Grade School Elgin | 615 | 16.3% | 61.3% |
| Marion Jordan Elementary School Palatine | 503 | 9.7% | 67.3% |
| Highlands Elementary School Naperville | 510 | 6.5% | 86.0% |
| Iles Elementary School Springfield | 414 | 21.7% | 90.2% |
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 Grove Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Illinois | In McLean County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 71.3% | #108 of 1,925 | #4 of 29 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 63.3% | #345 of 2,077 ▼ 62 | #4 of 29 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 79.0% | #162 of 2,077 ▼ 13 | #3 of 29 no change |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 519 | #478 of 2,419 | #2 of 32 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 17.6:1 | #1,899 of 2,035 | #27 of 30 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 63.6% | #428 of 2,042 | #17 of 30 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 14.6% | #2,039 of 2,132 | #27 of 31 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -15.6% | #634 of 1,461 | #8 of 23 |
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
519
-17 (-3%) vs 2020
-18% since 2010-11, when it was 634
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 | 519 | 29.5 | 17.6:1 | 15% (76) |
| 2023-24 | 502 | 30.3 | 16.6:1 | 15% (74) |
| 2022-23 | 513 | 28.6 | 17.9:1 | 12% (61) |
| 2020-21 | 536 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 615 | 31.1 | 19.8:1 | 10% (64) |
| 2015-16 | 609 | 29 | 21.0:1 | 7% (44) |
| 2010-11 | 634 | 32 | 19.8:1 | 5% (33) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Grove Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 16% (615 to 519); teachers down 5% (31.1 to 29.5).
About Grove Elementary School
Grove Elementary School is a medium-sized elementary school in Normal, Illinois, under McLean County USD 5. School enrollment was 519 students in 2024-25, in kindergarten through 5. The average among elementary schools in Illinois is roughly 381 students; this school is 36% bigger than that.
McLean County USD 5 has a total of 24 schools and 12,407 students, Grove Elementary School among them.
A majority of students at Grove Elementary School, 54%, are White. The remaining shares are 24% Asian, 7% multiracial, 7% Black, and 6% Hispanic. McLean County as a whole is about 78% White, so the school's share is lower. By the diversity index, Grove Elementary School comes in at 64%.
Staffing totals 29.5 full-time-equivalent teachers, and the student-to-teacher ratio is 17.6:1. That ratio is over the 13.9:1 average for elementary schools in Illinois. The free or reduced-price lunch rate at Grove Elementary School is 15%. The average for public schools in McLean County is 40%.
After adjusting for student poverty, Grove Elementary School lands between the top and bottom 10% of Illinois schools. Its average proficiency rate on state tests is 71.3%; the prediction is 63.1%.
Census Bureau estimates for McLean County show that median household income is about $79,905, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 47%, and about 7% of people live in poverty. A total of 60 public schools operate in McLean County, serving about 23,759 students.
The closest other public school is Normal Community High School, about 0.8 miles away. There are at least 8 other public schools within five miles. Local comparison: Grove Elementary School ranks 2nd of 9 nearby schools, at 71.3% versus a 49.4% average.
The NCES locale for Grove Elementary School is Suburb: Mid-size, which covers schools in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population between 100,000 and 250,000.
Between 2020-21 and 2024-25, the student count declined from 536 to 519.
Questions about science fairs, picture day, and bus routes can be posted here. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
McLean County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
171,556
Census ACS
Median income
$79,905
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
47%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
60
23,759 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in McLean County USD 5
- Normal Community High SchoolHigh · 2,079 students
- Normal Community West High SchoolHigh · 1,590 students
- Evans Junior High SchoolMiddle · 778 students
- Kingsley Jr High SchoolMiddle · 730 students
- Benjamin Elementary SchoolElementary · 607 students
- Parkside Jr High SchoolMiddle · 598 students
Other schools in Normal
- Normal Community High SchoolHigh · 2,079 students
- Normal Community West High SchoolHigh · 1,590 students
- Kingsley Jr High SchoolMiddle · 730 students
- University High SchoolHigh · 624 students
- Parkside Jr High SchoolMiddle · 598 students
- Chiddix Jr High SchoolMiddle · 597 students
Other Grove Elementary schools
4 other US public schools in 5 states are named Grove Elementary. Grove Elementary School is the 3rd largest of the 5.
- Grove ElementaryPiedmont, SC · 622 students
- Grove Elementary SchoolTulsa, OK · 552 students
- Grove ElementaryMarysville, WA · 392 students
- Grove ElementaryWisconsin Rapids, WI · 178 students
Nearby schools
- Normal Community High School0.8 mi · 2,079
- Northpoint Elementary School1.1 mi · 472
- Sugar Creek Elementary School2.0 mi · 468
- Prairieland Elementary School2.2 mi · 450
- Stevenson Elementary School2.4 mi · 299
- Colene Hoose Elementary School2.8 mi · 413
Frequently asked questions
About Grove Elementary SchoolHow large is Grove Elementary School?
Grove Elementary School enrolls approximately 519 students in grades KG-05.
What grades does Grove Elementary School serve?
Grove Elementary School serves grades KG-05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Grove Elementary School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Grove Elementary School is approximately 17.6:1 (29 FTE teachers).
How diverse is Grove Elementary School?
Grove Elementary School reports a student body of 54% White, 6% Hispanic, 7% Black, 24% Asian, 7% Two or more.
What district is Grove Elementary School in?
Grove Elementary School is part of McLean County USD 5.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.