1
What tradition at Howard B Thomas Grade School should never be changed?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
678
Elementary
DISTRICT 580 · STATE 381
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CENTRAL CUSD 301·NCES 170783000398
Howard B Thomas Grade School
44W575 Plato Rd, Burlington, IL 60109 · (847) 464-6008 · Kane County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY41-RURALREGULAR SCHOOL678 STUDENTS
B+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 67% 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.
- C+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
15.3:1
44 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.7:1 · STATE 13.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
19%
131 students
DISTRICT 18% · 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 | 56 | 8% |
| Kindergarten | 98 | 14% |
| Grade 1 | 107 | 16% |
| Grade 2 | 92 | 14% |
| Grade 3 | 111 | 16% |
| Grade 4 | 104 | 15% |
| Grade 5 | 110 | 16% |
This year's kindergarten class (98) is 11% smaller than its 5th grade class (110).
Student demographics
66%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 61% · 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
Based on grade levels within Central CUSD 301. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
IAR + ISA 2024-25 . % Proficient (Levels 4-5)English Language Arts
70.6%
IL avg 51.0% . +16.3pp since 2023
Math
56.0%
IL avg 37.9% . +21.6pp since 2023
What this means: On the IAR + ISA, Illinois's statewide test, about 71 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 56 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 16 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 22 points.
IAR + ISA results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 70.6% | 56.0% |
| 2023-24 | 54.3% | 34.4% |
% 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
60.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
60.4%
based on IL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+0.3pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 61% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 60% 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 Howard B Thomas Grade School
Howard B Thomas Grade School's state test result (60.6% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Howard B Thomas Grade School this school | 678 | 19.3% | 60.6% |
| Country Trails Elementary School Elgin | 751 | 17.6% | 67.0% |
| Steeple Run Elementary School Naperville | 622 | 21.1% | 68.8% |
| Hunting Ridge Elementary School Palatine | 639 | 23.8% | 59.9% |
| Grove Avenue Elementary School Barrington | 511 | 16.6% | 74.8% |
| Prairie View Grade School Elgin | 615 | 16.3% | 61.3% |
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 Howard B Thomas Grade School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Illinois | In Kane County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 60.6% | #309 of 1,925 | #15 of 72 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 56.0% | #507 of 2,077 ▲ 161 | #25 of 83 ▲ 6 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 70.6% | #331 of 2,077 ▲ 35 | #15 of 83 no change |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 678 | #148 of 2,419 | #8 of 88 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.3:1 | #1,601 of 2,035 | #55 of 87 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 66.5% | #286 of 2,042 | #4 of 87 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 19.3% | #1,969 of 2,132 | #65 of 77 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +8.8% | #308 of 615 | #20 of 32 |
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
678
+87 (+15%) vs 2020
+426% since 1990-91, when it was 129
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 | 678 | 44.4 | 15.3:1 | 19% (131) |
| 2023-24 | 644 | 39 | 16.5:1 | 22% (144) |
| 2022-23 | 603 | 37 | 16.3:1 | 21% (129) |
| 2020-21 | 591 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 623 | 37.5 | 16.6:1 | 10% (64) |
| 2015-16 | 544 | 37 | 14.7:1 | 13% (69) |
| 2010-11 | 348 | 25 | 13.9:1 | 14% (49) |
| 2000-01 | 332 | 22 | 15.1:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 129 | 8 | 16.1:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Howard B Thomas Grade School.
Since 2017-18: students up 9% (623 to 678); teachers up 18% (37.5 to 44.4).
About Howard B Thomas Grade School
Howard B Thomas Grade School is a high-enrollment elementary school serving families in Burlington, Illinois. It reported 678 students in pre-K through 5 in 2024-25. That compares with an average of about 381 students for elementary schools in Illinois.
Enrollment across the 7 schools in Central CUSD 301 totals 5,082 students.
White students account for 48% of enrollment at Howard B Thomas Grade School, more than any other group. Other groups make up 25% Asian, 20% Hispanic, 4% multiracial, and 2% Black. County-wide, 58% of Kane County residents are White. Measured by the diversity index, the student body scores 66%.
There are about 15.3 students for every full-time-equivalent teacher at Howard B Thomas Grade School, which has 44.4. By comparison, the average for elementary schools in Illinois is 13.9:1. Free or reduced-price lunch eligibility at Howard B Thomas Grade School is about 19%. The rate at public schools in Kane County averages 48%, higher than here.
Among Illinois public elementary schools, Howard B Thomas Grade School outscored 67%, which works out to a B+ on the allk12 Grade.
The school's average proficiency rate across its state test results is 60.6%. For its free or reduced-price lunch share, the predicted value is 60.4%.
In Kane County, home to about 517,255 people, median household income comes to about $103,163, 38% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 6% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Kane County's 167 public schools enroll about 87,252 students and include Howard B Thomas Grade School.
Howard B Thomas Grade School's closest public school neighbor is Central High School, about 0.2 miles away. Within five miles of Howard B Thomas Grade School, there are 3 other public schools. Its average proficiency rate of 60.6% is above the 58.1% average for nearby schools.
Howard B Thomas Grade School falls in the Rural: Fringe locale category, used for schools in rural territory close to an urban area.
Enrollment increased 15% over 4 years, reaching 678 in 2024-25.
Use the discussion section to ask about special education services, counseling, and support programs at Howard B Thomas Grade School. You can also rate the school on this page.
Kane County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
517,255
Census ACS
Median income
$103,163
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
38%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
167
87,252 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Central CUSD 301
- Central High SchoolHigh · 1,575 students
- Prairie Knolls Middle SchoolMiddle · 770 students
- Country Trails Elementary SchoolElementary · 751 students
- Prairie View Grade SchoolElementary · 615 students
- Central Middle SchoolMiddle · 418 students
- Lily Lake Grade SchoolElementary · 275 students
Nearby schools
- Central High School0.2 mi · 1,575
- Central Middle School0.3 mi · 418
- Lily Lake Grade School4.5 mi · 275
- Prairie View Grade School5.3 mi · 615
- Cambridge Lakes Charter School5.4 mi · 642
- Country Trails Elementary School5.5 mi · 751
Frequently asked questions
About Howard B Thomas Grade SchoolHow large is Howard B Thomas Grade School?
Howard B Thomas Grade School enrolls approximately 678 students in grades PK-05.
What age range does Howard B Thomas Grade School serve?
Howard B Thomas Grade School serves students from grade PK through grade 05.
How many students per teacher at Howard B Thomas Grade School?
Approximately 15.3:1 students per teacher at Howard B Thomas Grade School.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Howard B Thomas Grade School?
At Howard B Thomas Grade School, the student body is approximately 48% White, 20% Hispanic, 2% Black, 25% Asian, 4% Two or more.
Is Howard B Thomas Grade School public or private?
Howard B Thomas Grade School is a public K-12 school, overseen by Central CUSD 301.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.