1
Enrollment
501
Elementary
DISTRICT 375 · STATE 381
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·MARENGO-UNION E CONS D 165·NCES 170007705249
Locust Elementary School
539 Locust St, Marengo, IL 60152 · (815) 568-7632 · McHenry County
GRADES PK–03ELEMENTARY31-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL501 STUDENTS
A-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 77% of Illinois public elementary schools
- B+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
14.4:1
35 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 15.1:1 · STATE 13.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
55%
278 students
DISTRICT 56% · 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 | 81 | 16% |
| Kindergarten | 99 | 20% |
| Grade 1 | 94 | 19% |
| Grade 2 | 128 | 26% |
| Grade 3 | 98 | 20% |
| Grade 4 | 1 | 0% |
Student demographics
55%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 53% · 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 Marengo-Union E Cons D 165. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
IAR + ISA 2024-25 . % Proficient (Levels 4-5)English Language Arts
54.7%
IL avg 51.0% . +18.3pp since 2023
Math
67.4%
IL avg 37.9% . +36.8pp since 2023
What this means: On the IAR + ISA, Illinois's statewide test, about 55 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 67 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 18 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 37 points.
IAR + ISA results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 54.7% | 67.4% |
| 2023-24 | 36.4% | 30.6% |
% 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
51.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
39.5%
based on IL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+12.4pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 52% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 39% 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 Locust Elementary School
Locust Elementary School's state test result (51.9% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 3 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Locust Elementary School this school | 501 | 55.5% | 51.9% |
| Gavin Central Elementary School Ingleside | 467 | 52.0% | 32.8% |
| Franklin Elementary School Sterling | 407 | 55.3% | N/A |
| Lincoln Elementary School Rochelle | 491 | 54.4% | N/A |
| Harrison Elementary School Wonder Lake | 447 | 56.2% | 31.5% |
| Ridge Central Elementary School Chicago Ridge | 508 | 54.3% | 32.9% |
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 Locust Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Illinois | In McHenry County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 51.9% | #529 of 1,925 | #20 of 44 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 67.4% | #265 of 2,077 ▲ 517 | #1 of 44 ▲ 26 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 54.7% | #849 of 2,077 ▲ 65 | #31 of 44 ▼ 2 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 501 | #551 of 2,419 | #17 of 51 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 14.4:1 | #1,353 of 2,035 | #34 of 49 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 55.1% | #744 of 2,042 | #12 of 49 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 55.5% | #1,147 of 2,132 | #6 of 49 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +5.0% | #429 of 615 | #10 of 16 |
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
501
+51 (+11%) vs 2020
+75% since 1990-91, when it was 286
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 | 501 | 34.9 | 14.4:1 | 55% (278) |
| 2023-24 | 538 | 34.3 | 15.7:1 | 58% (310) |
| 2022-23 | 535 | 34.4 | 15.6:1 | 53% (286) |
| 2020-21 | 450 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 477 | 32.1 | 14.8:1 | 52% (246) |
| 2015-16 | 497 | 32 | 15.5:1 | 54% (268) |
| 2010-11 | 521 | 30 | 17.4:1 | N/A |
| 2000-01 | 386 | 18 | 21.4:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 286 | 17 | 16.8:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Locust Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students up 5% (477 to 501); teachers up 8% (32.1 to 34.9).
About Locust Elementary School
Locust Elementary School is classified as an elementary school. It is located in Marengo, Illinois. The school runs pre-K through 3 and enrolls 501 students. That compares with an average of about 381 students for elementary schools in Illinois.
Locust Elementary School is one school in Marengo-Union E Cons D 165, a system of 3 schools with 1,092 students.
Federal enrollment data show Locust Elementary School is 57% White. Other groups include 35% Hispanic and 6% multiracial. The county population is about 80% White. Its diversity index, the chance that two randomly chosen students belong to different racial or ethnic groups, is 55%.
With 34.9 full-time-equivalent teachers, the student-to-teacher ratio is about 14.4:1. The 13.9:1 average for elementary schools in Illinois is close to this figure. Roughly 55% of students come from households that qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. That rate is above the 35% average among public schools in McHenry County.
Among Illinois public elementary schools, Locust Elementary School outscored 77%, which works out to an A- on the allk12 Grade.
Locust Elementary School posts an average proficiency rate across its state test results of 51.9%, compared with a predicted 39.5%. It is not in the top or bottom 10% of Illinois schools on BeatsExpectations.
The county, McHenry County, is where the school is located. The median household earns about $104,802 a year, about 35% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 4%. The county has 89 public schools and about 50,123 students.
Of the public schools around it, Locust Elementary School is closest to Marengo Comm Middle School, about 0.3 miles away. The count of other public schools within five miles is 4. Compared with its nearest neighbors, Locust Elementary School ranks 4th of 9 on average proficiency.
Federal records code the school's setting as Town: Fringe.
From 2020-21 to 2024-25, enrollment increased from 450 to 501, an 11% rise.
The Locust Elementary School discussion page is a place for open houses, carpools, and field trips. You can also rate the school on this page.
McHenry County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
312,591
Census ACS
Median income
$104,802
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
35%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
4%
Below federal line
Schools in county
89
50,123 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Marengo-Union E Cons D 165
- Marengo Comm Middle SchoolMiddle · 342 students
- Ulysses S Grant Intermediate SchoolElementary · 249 students
Other schools in Marengo
- Marengo High SchoolHigh · 685 students
- Marengo Comm Middle SchoolMiddle · 342 students
- Riley Comm Cons SchoolElementary · 277 students
- Ulysses S Grant Intermediate SchoolElementary · 249 students
Other Locust Elementary schools
2 other US public schools in 3 states are named Locust Elementary. Locust Elementary School is the 2nd largest of the 3.
- Locust ElementaryLocust, NC · 563 students
- Locust ElementaryFontana, CA · 346 students
Nearby schools
- Marengo Comm Middle School0.3 mi · 342
- Ulysses S Grant Intermediate School0.3 mi · 249
- Marengo High School0.6 mi · 685
- Riley Comm Cons School3.8 mi · 277
- Westwood Elementary School7.6 mi · 385
- Prairiewood Elementary School8.3 mi · 374
Frequently asked questions
About Locust Elementary SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Locust Elementary School?
Locust Elementary School enrolls approximately 501 students in grades PK-03.
What age range does Locust Elementary School serve?
Locust Elementary School serves students from grade PK through grade 03.
How many students per teacher at Locust Elementary School?
Approximately 14.4:1 students per teacher at Locust Elementary School.
What is the student diversity at Locust Elementary School?
Student demographics at Locust Elementary School are roughly 57% White, 35% Hispanic, 1% Black, 1% Asian, 6% Two or more.
Who oversees Locust Elementary School?
Locust Elementary School is overseen by Marengo-Union E Cons D 165 in McHenry County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.