Enrollment
250
Elementary
DISTRICT 262 · STATE 381
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CAHOKIA CUSD 187·NCES 170804000412
Penniman Elementary School
1820 Jerome Ln, Cahokia, IL 62206 · (618) 332-1915 · St. Clair County
GRADES 03–05ELEMENTARY21-SUBURBTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL250 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
18.0:1
14 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 17.4:1 · STATE 13.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
88%
220 students
DISTRICT 84% · STATE 56%
Community
0
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 3 | 56 | 22% |
| Grade 4 | 100 | 40% |
| Grade 5 | 94 | 38% |
Student demographics
12%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 21% · 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
7.3%
IL avg 51.0% . +4.1pp since 2023
Math
3.7%
IL avg 37.9% . +1.7pp since 2023
What this means: On the IAR + ISA, Illinois's statewide test, about 7 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 4 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 4 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 2 points.
IAR + ISA results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 7.3% | 3.7% |
| 2023-24 | 3.2% | 2.0% |
% 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
UNDERPERFORMING
Bottom 10% of IL schools after controlling for student poverty
Actual proficiency
4.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
20.7%
based on IL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-16.1pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 5% of students here test proficient in math and reading, below the roughly 21% typical for Illinois schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations compares each school with others at the same poverty level, not by raw scores, so a school lands here when its results trail those comparable schools, which is not the same as having low scores. A higher-scoring school can still fall in this tier if similar schools score higher still.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Where Penniman Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Illinois | In St. Clair County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 4.6% | #1,921 of 1,925 | #43 of 43 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 3.7% | #2,055 of 2,077 | #43 of 43 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 7.3% | #2,073 of 2,077 | #43 of 43 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 250 | #1,818 of 2,419 | #37 of 50 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 18.0:1 | #1,917 of 2,035 | #42 of 45 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 12.2% | #1,840 of 2,042 | #38 of 45 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 88.0% | #333 of 2,132 | #9 of 47 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -28.0% | #211 of 1,461 | #5 of 30 |
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.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
250
-38 (-13%) vs 2020
-38% since 1990-91, when it was 406
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 | 250 | 13.9 | 18.0:1 | 88% (220) |
| 2023-24 | 260 | 18.9 | 13.8:1 | 93% (242) |
| 2022-23 | 259 | 18 | 14.4:1 | 96% (249) |
| 2020-21 | 288 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 347 | 21.4 | 16.2:1 | 93% (322) |
| 2015-16 | 419 | 25 | 16.8:1 | 78% (327) |
| 2010-11 | 347 | 20 | 17.4:1 | 89% (308) |
| 2000-01 | 346 | 17 | 20.4:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 406 | 19 | 21.4:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Penniman Elementary School.
About Penniman Elementary School
Penniman Elementary School is a small elementary school for students in Cahokia, Illinois. School enrollment was 250 students in 2024-25, in grades 3 through 5. The average among elementary schools in Illinois is roughly 381 students; this school is 34% smaller than that.
Cahokia CUSD 187, which runs Penniman Elementary School, has 8 schools and 2,991 students.
At Penniman Elementary School, Black students make up 94% of the student body. It is also 2% White and 2% Hispanic. St. Clair County's residents are about 28% Black, 66 points below the school's share. The chance that two students picked at random at Penniman Elementary School belong to different racial or ethnic groups, known as the diversity index, is 12%.
Teachers at Penniman Elementary School total 13.9 full-time equivalents, and the ratio is 18.0:1. The 13.9:1 average for elementary schools in Illinois is lower than this school's figure. The school counts 220 students as eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, or 88%. Compared with the 54% average for public schools in St. Clair County, the school's rate is higher.
Test results at Penniman Elementary School are 16.1 points below what its student poverty level predicts. The average proficiency rate on state tests is 4.6%, compared with a predicted 20.7%, which ranks in the bottom 10% in Illinois.
Federal survey data for St. Clair County show that median household income is about $73,854, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 32% of adults, and the share of residents below the poverty line is 10%. A total of 96 public schools operate in St. Clair County, serving about 40,879 students.
The closest public school, Estelle Sauget School of Choice, is about 0.3 miles from Penniman Elementary School. Around the school, at least 8 other public schools are within five miles. Of the 8 nearby schools with scores, including this one, Penniman Elementary School is 8th on average proficiency.
The federal government classifies Penniman Elementary School's location as Suburb: Large.
Penniman Elementary School had 288 students in 2020-21 and 250 in 2024-25, a 13% decrease.
Discussion on this page can cover sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.
St. Clair County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
253,694
Census ACS
Median income
$73,854
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
32%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
10%
Below federal line
Schools in county
96
40,879 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Cahokia CUSD 187
- Cahokia High SchoolHigh · 850 students
- Wirth/Parks Middle SchoolMiddle · 571 students
- Maplewood Elementary SchoolElementary · 290 students
- Lalumier Elementary SchoolElementary · 276 students
- Huffman Elementary SchoolElementary · 268 students
- Elizabeth Morris Elementary SchoolElementary · 246 students
Other schools in Cahokia
- Cahokia High SchoolHigh · 850 students
- Wirth/Parks Middle SchoolMiddle · 571 students
- Maplewood Elementary SchoolElementary · 290 students
- Huffman Elementary SchoolElementary · 268 students
- Elizabeth Morris Elementary SchoolElementary · 246 students
- Estelle Sauget School of ChoiceElementary · 240 students
Nearby schools
- Estelle Sauget School of Choice0.3 mi · 240
- Cahokia High School0.7 mi · 850
- Elizabeth Morris Elementary School1.2 mi · 246
- Wirth/Parks Middle School1.3 mi · 571
- Maplewood Elementary School1.4 mi · 290
- Huffman Elementary School1.8 mi · 268
Frequently asked questions
About Penniman Elementary SchoolHow many students attend Penniman Elementary School?
Penniman Elementary School enrolls approximately 250 students in grades 03-05.
What age range does Penniman Elementary School serve?
Penniman Elementary School serves students from grade 03 through grade 05.
How many students per teacher at Penniman Elementary School?
Approximately 18.0:1 students per teacher at Penniman Elementary School.
How diverse is Penniman Elementary School?
Penniman Elementary School reports a student body of 2% White, 2% Hispanic, 94% Black, 2% Two or more.
What district is Penniman Elementary School in?
Penniman Elementary School is part of Cahokia CUSD 187.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.