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What's the most underrated thing about Nelson Prairie School that outsiders don't know?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
388
Elementary
DISTRICT 344 · STATE 381
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·NEW LENOX SD 122·NCES 172814003777
Nelson Prairie School
2366 Nelson Rd, New Lenox, IL 60451 · (815) 462-2874 · Will County
GRADES 01–03ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL388 STUDENTS
A-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 76% of Illinois public elementary schools
- ATest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- B-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
18.4:1
21 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 16.4:1 · STATE 13.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
14%
53 students
DISTRICT 15% · STATE 56%
Community
1
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 1 | 132 | 34% |
| Grade 2 | 118 | 30% |
| Grade 3 | 138 | 36% |
Student demographics
27%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 33% · 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
65.0%
IL avg 51.0% . +3.2pp since 2023
Math
77.4%
IL avg 37.9% . +24.7pp since 2023
What this means: On the IAR + ISA, Illinois's statewide test, about 65 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 77 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 3 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 25 points.
IAR + ISA results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 65.0% | 77.4% |
| 2023-24 | 61.8% | 52.7% |
% 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
66.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
63.6%
based on IL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+2.9pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 67% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 64% 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 Nelson Prairie School
Nelson Prairie School's state test result (66.5% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nelson Prairie School this school | 388 | 13.7% | 66.5% |
| Manhattan Intermediate School Manhattan | 417 | 14.6% | N/A |
| Arnold J Tyler School New Lenox | 372 | 15.1% | 62.4% |
| Alice Gustafson Elementary School Batavia | 403 | 14.1% | 60.3% |
| Grace McWayne Elementary School Batavia | 372 | 9.9% | 69.4% |
| Wm Hammerschmidt Elementary School Lombard | 381 | 13.9% | 50.6% |
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 Nelson Prairie School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Illinois | In Will County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 66.5% | #182 of 1,925 | #19 of 94 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 77.4% | #107 of 2,077 ▲ 151 | #10 of 100 ▲ 10 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 65.0% | #502 of 2,077 ▼ 275 | #37 of 100 ▼ 21 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 388 | #1,056 of 2,419 | #71 of 116 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 18.4:1 | #1,941 of 2,035 | #100 of 107 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 27.2% | #1,455 of 2,042 | #105 of 108 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 13.7% | #2,052 of 2,132 | #92 of 103 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -5.4% | #1,176 of 1,461 | #57 of 71 |
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
388
-30 (-7%) vs 2020
-26% since 2000-01, when it was 522
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 | 388 | 21.1 | 18.4:1 | 14% (53) |
| 2023-24 | 383 | 21 | 18.2:1 | 14% (54) |
| 2022-23 | 406 | 22 | 18.4:1 | 13% (53) |
| 2020-21 | 418 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 410 | 23.5 | 17.4:1 | 11% (45) |
| 2015-16 | 416 | 20 | 20.8:1 | 9% (37) |
| 2010-11 | 474 | 25 | 19.0:1 | 14% (67) |
| 2000-01 | 522 | 25 | 20.9:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Nelson Prairie School.
Since 2017-18: students down 5% (410 to 388); teachers down 10% (23.5 to 21.1).
About Nelson Prairie School
Nelson Prairie School is an elementary school located in New Lenox, Illinois, in Will County. The school has 388 students in 2024-25 across grades 1 through 3.
Nelson Prairie School belongs to New Lenox SD 122, a district of 12 schools and 4,956 students.
Nelson Prairie School is 85% White by enrollment. The remaining shares are 11% Hispanic and 3% multiracial. Census estimates put the White share of Will County's population at about 62%. On the diversity index, which measures the chance that two random students are from different groups, Nelson Prairie School scores 27%.
There are 21.1 full-time-equivalent teachers at the school, a ratio of 18.4:1. The average for elementary schools in Illinois, 13.9:1, is lower. Of all students at Nelson Prairie School, 14% are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. Among public schools in Will County, the average eligibility rate is 44%.
On the allk12 Grade, Nelson Prairie School lands at A-, ahead of 76% of Illinois public elementary schools.
Given its share of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, Nelson Prairie School would be expected to post about 63.6%. Its actual average proficiency rate across its state test results is 66.5%.
In Will County, home to about 701,462 people, the median household earns about $109,984 a year, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 38% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 6%. Nelson Prairie School shares Will County with 208 other public schools.
Less than a tenth of a mile separates Nelson Prairie School from the closest public school, Nelson Ridge School. The five-mile area around Nelson Prairie School holds at least 8 other public schools. Nearby schools average 61.8% on proficiency, and Nelson Prairie School is above that at 66.5%.
Nelson Prairie School is coded as Suburb: Large in federal locale data.
From 2020-21 to 2024-25, enrollment fell from 418 to 388, a 7% decrease.
The Nelson Prairie School discussion page is a place for homework, tutoring, and testing dates. You can also rate the school on this page.
Will County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
701,462
Census ACS
Median income
$109,984
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
38%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
6%
Below federal line
Schools in county
209
113,008 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in New Lenox SD 122
- Alex M Martino Jr High SchoolMiddle · 591 students
- Liberty Junior High SchoolMiddle · 573 students
- Spencer CrossingMiddle · 544 students
- Spencer PointeElementary · 437 students
- Nelson Ridge SchoolMiddle · 432 students
- Bentley Elementary SchoolMiddle · 380 students
Other schools in New Lenox
- Lincoln Way WestHigh · 2,047 students
- Lincoln-Way Central High SchoolHigh · 1,991 students
- Alex M Martino Jr High SchoolMiddle · 591 students
- Liberty Junior High SchoolMiddle · 573 students
- Spencer CrossingMiddle · 544 students
- Spencer PointeElementary · 437 students
Nearby schools
- Nelson Ridge School0.1 mi · 432
- Lincoln Way West1.6 mi · 2,047
- Spencer Pointe2.0 mi · 437
- Spencer Crossing2.0 mi · 544
- Arnold J Tyler School2.1 mi · 372
- Spencer Trail2.2 mi · 367
Frequently asked questions
About Nelson Prairie SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Nelson Prairie School?
Nelson Prairie School enrolls approximately 388 students in grades 01-03.
Is Nelson Prairie School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Nelson Prairie School is an elementary school covering grades 01-03.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Nelson Prairie School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Nelson Prairie School is approximately 18.4:1 (21 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Nelson Prairie School?
At Nelson Prairie School, the student body is approximately 85% White, 11% Hispanic, 1% Black, 1% Asian, 3% Two or more.
Who oversees Nelson Prairie School?
Nelson Prairie School is overseen by New Lenox SD 122 in Will County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.