1
What's the one class at Parsons Elementary School every student should take?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
505
Elementary
DISTRICT 455 · STATE 381
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·DECATUR SD 61·NCES 171185001432
Parsons Elementary School
3591 N MacArthur Rd, Decatur, IL 62526 · (217) 362-3330 · Macon County
GRADES KG–06ELEMENTARY13-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL505 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
15.8:1
32 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 18.3:1 · STATE 13.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
90%
452 students
DISTRICT 81% · 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 | 88 | 17% |
| Grade 1 | 73 | 14% |
| Grade 2 | 73 | 14% |
| Grade 3 | 72 | 14% |
| Grade 4 | 79 | 16% |
| Grade 5 | 66 | 13% |
| Grade 6 | 54 | 11% |
This year's kindergarten class (88) is 63% larger than its 6th grade class (54).
Student demographics
66%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 65% · 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
Parsons Elementary School→Stephen Decatur Middle School
Based on grade levels within Decatur SD 61. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
IAR + ISA 2024-25 . % Proficient (Levels 4-5)English Language Arts
14.0%
IL avg 51.0% . +8.6pp since 2023
Math
6.7%
IL avg 37.9% . +4.8pp since 2023
What this means: On the IAR + ISA, Illinois's statewide test, about 14 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 7 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 9 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 5 points.
IAR + ISA results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 14.0% | 6.7% |
| 2023-24 | 5.4% | 1.9% |
% 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
10.0%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
19.8%
based on IL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-9.8pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 10% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 20% 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 Parsons Elementary School
Parsons Elementary School's state test result (10.0% proficient) is higher than 2 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parsons Elementary School this school | 505 | 89.5% | 10.0% |
| Franklin Grove Elementary School Decatur | 461 | 89.8% | 5.7% |
| Dennis Lab School Decatur | 579 | 84.6% | 9.9% |
| Mark Denman Elementary School Danville | 545 | 95.2% | 17.0% |
| R K Welsh Elementary School Rockford | 483 | 87.4% | 14.6% |
| West View Elementary School Rockford | 521 | 85.8% | 27.4% |
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 Parsons Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Illinois | In Macon County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 10.0% | #1,878 of 1,925 | #12 of 16 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 6.7% | #1,999 of 2,077 ▲ 36 | #10 of 16 ▲ 4 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 14.0% | #2,021 of 2,077 ▲ 19 | #12 of 16 ▲ 2 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 505 | #534 of 2,419 | #5 of 19 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 15.8:1 | #1,681 of 2,035 | #9 of 18 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 65.5% | #329 of 2,042 | #4 of 18 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 89.5% | #291 of 2,132 | #3 of 19 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +56.3% | #26 of 615 | #3 of 10 |
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
505
+179 (+55%) vs 2020
+17% since 1990-91, when it was 431
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 | 505 | 32 | 15.8:1 | 90% (452) |
| 2023-24 | 488 | 28 | 17.4:1 | 66% (324) |
| 2022-23 | 462 | 29 | 15.9:1 | 80% (368) |
| 2020-21 | 326 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 323 | 23 | 14.0:1 | 59% (192) |
| 2015-16 | 364 | 17 | 21.4:1 | 76% (277) |
| 2010-11 | 294 | 14 | 21.0:1 | 83% (244) |
| 2000-01 | 364 | 19 | 19.2:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 431 | 19 | 22.7:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Parsons Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students up 56% (323 to 505); teachers up 39% (23 to 32).
About Parsons Elementary School
Parsons Elementary School is a medium-sized elementary school for students in Decatur, Illinois. The school counts 505 students across kindergarten through 6. The school's enrollment is 33% bigger than the 381 average for elementary schools in Illinois.
A total of 15 schools make up Decatur SD 61, with 7,840 students enrolled.
Enrollment at Parsons Elementary School is mixed, with Black students the largest group at 49%. After that, the student body is 27% White, 17% multiracial, and 6% Hispanic. Census figures show Macon County is about 16% Black. Parsons Elementary School has a diversity index of 66%, compared with 70% for all US public school students.
Parsons Elementary School counts 32 full-time-equivalent teachers, about 15.8 students for each one. Among elementary schools in Illinois, the typical ratio is 13.9:1. About 90% of enrolled students meet the income rules for free or reduced-price lunch. Among public schools in Macon County, the average eligibility rate is 61%.
Parsons Elementary School's actual average proficiency rate on state tests (10.0%) and its predicted rate (19.8%) put it outside the top and bottom 10% of Illinois schools.
Within Macon County, median household income is about $62,666, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 24% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 10%. Federal data list 43 public schools in Macon County, with a combined enrollment of about 14,702.
Nearest public school: Pershing Early Learning Center, about 0.9 miles away. The five-mile area around Parsons Elementary School holds at least 8 other public schools. Parsons Elementary School's average proficiency of 10.0% compares with 17.8% for its nearest scored neighbors.
On the NCES locale scale, the school is City: Small.
In 2020-21 the school reported 326 students, and in 2024-25 it reported 505. Grade changes, mergers, or boundary shifts can explain gaps this large.
Questions about sports schedules, lunch menus, and spirit week can be posted here. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
Macon County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
101,849
Census ACS
Median income
$62,666
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
24%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
10%
Below federal line
Schools in county
43
14,702 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Decatur SD 61
- MacArthur High SchoolHigh · 1,059 students
- Eisenhower High SchoolHigh · 909 students
- Johns Hill Magnet SchoolElementary · 627 students
- Montessori Academy for PeaceElementary · 586 students
- Dennis Lab SchoolElementary · 579 students
- Hope AcademyElementary · 501 students
Other schools in Decatur
- MacArthur High SchoolHigh · 1,059 students
- Eisenhower High SchoolHigh · 909 students
- Johns Hill Magnet SchoolElementary · 627 students
- Montessori Academy for PeaceElementary · 586 students
- Dennis Lab SchoolElementary · 579 students
- Hope AcademyElementary · 501 students
Other Parsons Elementary schools
5 other US public schools in 6 states are named Parsons Elementary. Parsons Elementary School is the 2nd largest of the 6.
- Parsons Elementary SchoolSuwanee, GA · 882 students
- Parsons Elementary SchoolROCKWOOD, MI · 418 students
- Parsons Elementary SchoolLUBBOCK, TX · 387 students
- Parsons Elementary SchoolColumbus, OH · 365 students
- Parsons ElementaryParsons, TN · 365 students
Nearby schools
- Pershing Early Learning Center0.9 mi · 416
- Stephen Decatur Middle School1.2 mi · 413
- Franklin Grove Elementary School1.7 mi · 461
- MacArthur High School2.4 mi · 1,059
- Hope Academy2.7 mi · 501
- Robertson Charter School2.9 mi · 327
Frequently asked questions
About Parsons Elementary SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Parsons Elementary School?
Parsons Elementary School enrolls approximately 505 students in grades KG-06.
Is Parsons Elementary School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Parsons Elementary School is an elementary school covering grades KG-06.
How many students per teacher at Parsons Elementary School?
Approximately 15.8:1 students per teacher at Parsons Elementary School.
How diverse is Parsons Elementary School?
Parsons Elementary School reports a student body of 27% White, 6% Hispanic, 49% Black, 0% Asian, 17% Two or more.
Who oversees Parsons Elementary School?
Parsons Elementary School is overseen by Decatur SD 61 in Macon County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.