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What do you wish you knew before starting at Northwest Elem School?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
650
Elementary
DISTRICT 460 · STATE 381
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·LA SALLE ESD 122·NCES 172208002478
Northwest Elementary School
1735 Malcolm Ave, La Salle, IL 61301 · (815) 223-0786 · LaSalle County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY32-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL650 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
11.4:1
57 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 11.6:1 · STATE 13.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
68%
443 students
DISTRICT 72% · 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 | 101 | 16% |
| Kindergarten | 95 | 15% |
| Grade 1 | 82 | 13% |
| Grade 2 | 101 | 16% |
| Grade 3 | 88 | 14% |
| Grade 4 | 95 | 15% |
| Grade 5 | 88 | 14% |
This year's kindergarten class (95) is 8% larger than its 5th grade class (88).
Student demographics
60%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 60% · 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
Northwest Elementary School→Lincoln Jr High School
Based on grade levels within La Salle ESD 122. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
IAR + ISA 2024-25 . % Proficient (Levels 4-5)English Language Arts
39.0%
IL avg 51.0% . +8.1pp since 2023
Math
20.6%
IL avg 37.9% . +11.9pp since 2023
What this means: On the IAR + ISA, Illinois's statewide test, about 39 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 21 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 8 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 12 points.
IAR + ISA results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 39.0% | 20.6% |
| 2023-24 | 30.9% | 8.7% |
% 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
30.7%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
32.2%
based on IL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-1.4pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 31% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 32% 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 Northwest Elementary School
Northwest Elementary School's state test result (30.7% proficient) is higher than 1 of the 3 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northwest Elementary School this school | 650 | 68.2% | 30.7% |
| John F Kennedy Elementary School Spring Valley | 632 | 60.9% | 30.6% |
| Oak Ridge Elementary School Palos Hills | 774 | 66.0% | 70.5% |
| Jefferson Elementary School Sterling | 450 | 69.6% | N/A |
| Lake in the Hills Elementary School Lk In The Hls | 502 | 62.5% | 36.0% |
| Donald C Parker Early Educ Center Machesney Park | 571 | 70.2% | N/A |
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 Northwest Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Illinois | In LaSalle County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 30.7% | #1,248 of 1,925 | #15 of 17 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 20.6% | #1,581 of 2,077 ▲ 103 | #19 of 19 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 39.0% | #1,382 of 2,077 ▼ 241 | #14 of 19 ▼ 1 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 650 | #187 of 2,419 | #1 of 26 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 11.4:1 | #371 of 2,035 | #5 of 15 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 59.8% | #584 of 2,042 | #1 of 15 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 68.2% | #776 of 2,132 | #4 of 19 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +5.5% | #412 of 615 | #4 of 7 |
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
650
+22 (+4%) vs 2020
+217% since 1990-91, when it was 205
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 | 650 | 57 | 11.4:1 | 68% (443) |
| 2023-24 | 644 | 53 | 12.2:1 | 64% (415) |
| 2022-23 | 634 | 51.8 | 12.3:1 | 65% (411) |
| 2020-21 | 628 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 616 | 44.8 | 13.8:1 | 80% (491) |
| 2015-16 | 596 | 42 | 14.2:1 | 84% (498) |
| 2010-11 | 606 | 41 | 14.8:1 | 74% (449) |
| 2000-01 | 643 | 39 | 16.5:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 205 | 10 | 20.5:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Northwest Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students up 6% (616 to 650); teachers up 27% (44.8 to 57).
About Northwest Elementary School
Northwest Elementary School is the name of a large elementary school in La Salle, Illinois. Enrollment totals 650 students across pre-K through 5. Across elementary schools in Illinois, the average enrollment is about 381.
Federal data list 2 schools in La Salle ESD 122, with 919 students enrolled.
White students are 52% of those enrolled at Northwest Elementary School. Next come 35% Hispanic, 8% multiracial, and 5% Black. That compares with about 86% White among all LaSalle County residents. A diversity index of 60% means there is a 60% chance two randomly chosen students at Northwest Elementary School are from different groups.
Its ratio of 11.4:1 is based on 57 full-time-equivalent teachers. Elementary schools in Illinois average 13.9:1, 2.5 more students per teacher than here. The share of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch is 68%. That rate is above the 53% average among public schools in LaSalle County.
The BeatsExpectations prediction for Northwest Elementary School is 32.2%, and its average proficiency rate across its state test results is 30.7%.
In the wider LaSalle County area, the median household earns about $73,045 a year, about 21% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 11%. Northwest Elementary School shares LaSalle County with 53 other public schools.
Northwest Elementary School is about 0.6 miles from Lincoln Jr High School, its nearest public school. Within five miles are at least 8 other public schools. Of 7 schools in the immediate area with test results, Northwest Elementary School ranks 6th on average proficiency.
Federal data place Northwest Elementary School in the Town: Distant locale, which means it is in a town some distance from an urbanized area.
In 2024-25, the school enrolled 650, up from 628 in 2020-21.
This page is set up for the Northwest Elementary School community to discuss open houses, carpools, and field trips. Members of the school community can share what they know.
LaSalle County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
108,714
Census ACS
Median income
$73,045
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
21%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
11%
Below federal line
Schools in county
54
14,523 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in La Salle
- La Salle-Peru Twp High SchoolHigh · 1,167 students
- Lincoln Jr High SchoolMiddle · 269 students
- Dimmick Comm Cons SD 175Elementary · 153 students
Other Northwest Elementary schools
28 other US public schools in 18 states are named Northwest Elementary. Northwest Elementary School is the 4th largest of the 29.
- Northwest Elementary SchoolLincoln, IL · 271 students
- Northwest Elementary SchoolTulsa, OK · 959 students
- Northwest Elementary SchoolJACKSON, MI · 758 students
- NORTHWEST ELEMENTARY SCHOOLTAMPA, FL · 658 students
- Northwest ElementaryLexington, NC · 625 students
Nearby schools
- Lincoln Jr High School0.6 mi · 269
- La Salle-Peru Twp High School1.0 mi · 1,167
- Northview Elementary School1.3 mi · 594
- Parkside Middle School2.1 mi · 372
- Lincoln Elementary School3.3 mi · 328
- Dalzell Grade School3.7 mi · 45
Frequently asked questions
About Northwest Elementary SchoolHow many students attend Northwest Elementary School?
Northwest Elementary School enrolls approximately 650 students in grades PK-05.
What grades does Northwest Elementary School serve?
Northwest Elementary School serves grades PK-05.
How many teachers does Northwest Elementary School have?
Northwest Elementary School employs 57 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 11.4:1.
What is the student diversity at Northwest Elementary School?
Student demographics at Northwest Elementary School are roughly 52% White, 35% Hispanic, 5% Black, 8% Two or more.
Is Northwest Elementary School public or private?
Northwest Elementary School is a public K-12 school, overseen by La Salle ESD 122.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.