1
What advice would you give to incoming students at Thomas Metcalf School?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
459
Elementary
DISTRICT 542 · STATE 381
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·ISU LABORATORY SCHOOLS·NCES 170009904504
Thomas Metcalf School
Isu Campus Box 7000, Normal, IL 61790 · (309) 438-7621 · McLean County
GRADES PK–08ELEMENTARY22-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL459 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
8.7:1
53 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 11.8:1 · STATE 13.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
7%
32 students
DISTRICT 7% · 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 | 54 | 12% |
| Grade 1 | 61 | 13% |
| Grade 2 | 46 | 10% |
| Grade 3 | 47 | 10% |
| Grade 4 | 48 | 10% |
| Grade 5 | 50 | 11% |
| Grade 6 | 51 | 11% |
| Grade 7 | 52 | 11% |
| Grade 8 | 50 | 11% |
This year's kindergarten class (54) is 8% larger than its 8th grade class (50).
Student demographics
48%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 48% · 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
Thomas Metcalf School→University High School
Based on grade levels within ISU Laboratory Schools. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
IAR + ISA 2024-25 . % Proficient (Levels 4-5)English Language Arts
72.4%
IL avg 51.0% . +1.8pp since 2023
Math
65.2%
IL avg 37.9% . +8.7pp since 2023
What this means: On the IAR + ISA, Illinois's statewide test, about 72 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 65 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 2 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 9 points.
IAR + ISA results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 72.4% | 65.2% |
| 2023-24 | 70.6% | 56.5% |
% 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
71.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
67.5%
based on IL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+4.0pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 71% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 67% 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 Thomas Metcalf School
Thomas Metcalf School's state test result (71.5% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas Metcalf School this school | 459 | 7.0% | 71.5% |
| Prairie Elementary School Naperville | 515 | 8.3% | 84.0% |
| Jackson Elementary School Elmhurst | 422 | 5.9% | 75.2% |
| Emerson Elementary School Elmhurst | 429 | 9.8% | 75.6% |
| Bell-Graham Elementary School Saint Charles | 520 | 7.7% | 80.1% |
| Burley Elementary School Chicago | 494 | 8.3% | 78.1% |
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 Thomas Metcalf School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Illinois | In McLean County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 71.5% | #106 of 1,925 | #3 of 29 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 65.2% | #309 of 2,077 ▼ 106 | #3 of 29 ▼ 1 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 72.4% | #289 of 2,077 ▼ 189 | #4 of 29 ▼ 2 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 459 | #715 of 2,419 | #6 of 32 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 8.7:1 | #38 of 2,035 | #1 of 30 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 47.7% | #971 of 2,042 | #21 of 30 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 7.0% | #2,112 of 2,132 | #31 of 31 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +7.5% | #352 of 615 | #2 of 6 |
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
459
+69 (+18%) vs 2020
+6% since 1990-91, when it was 435
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 | 459 | 52.8 | 8.7:1 | 7% (32) |
| 2023-24 | 449 | 48.9 | 9.2:1 | 8% (37) |
| 2022-23 | 425 | 44.1 | 9.6:1 | 6% (27) |
| 2020-21 | 390 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 427 | 41.2 | 10.4:1 | 6% (26) |
| 2015-16 | 430 | 37 | 11.6:1 | 8% (33) |
| 2010-11 | 397 | 33 | 12.0:1 | N/A |
| 2000-01 | 456 | 45 | 10.1:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 435 | 46 | 9.5:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Thomas Metcalf School.
Since 2017-18: students up 7% (427 to 459); teachers up 28% (41.2 to 52.8).
About Thomas Metcalf School
Thomas Metcalf School is classified as an elementary school. It is located in Normal, Illinois. The latest federal count shows 459 students in pre-K through 8. The average for elementary schools in Illinois is about 381 students, so this school is 20% bigger than average.
Within ISU Laboratory Schools, Thomas Metcalf School is one of 2 schools. The district enrolls 1,083 students.
A majority of students at Thomas Metcalf School, 71%, are White. The rest of enrollment is 10% Hispanic, 9% Asian, 7% multiracial, and 3% Black. The chance that two students picked at random at Thomas Metcalf School belong to different racial or ethnic groups, known as the diversity index, is 48%.
Thomas Metcalf School operates with 52.8 full-time-equivalent teachers, a ratio of about 8.7:1. That ratio is under the 13.9:1 average for elementary schools in Illinois. Thomas Metcalf School reports 7% of students eligible for free or reduced-price meals. Among public schools in McLean County, the average eligibility rate is 40%.
Thomas Metcalf School scores 71.5% on state tests, averaged across results. The predicted figure, based on its student poverty level, is 67.5%.
In McLean County (population about 171,556), median household income is about $79,905, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 47%, and about 7% of residents live below the federal poverty line. A total of 60 public schools operate in McLean County, serving about 23,759 students.
The next-closest public school is Kingsley Jr High School, about 0.2 miles away. In all, at least 8 other public schools sit within five miles of Thomas Metcalf School. On proficiency, Thomas Metcalf School is ahead of the 39.7% nearby average, ranking 1st of 8.
Locale data from NCES put Thomas Metcalf School in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population between 100,000 and 250,000 (Suburb: Mid-size).
From 2020-21 to 2024-25, Thomas Metcalf School went from 390 students to 459.
Threads on this page can be about enrollment questions, class placement, and PTA news. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
McLean County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
171,556
Census ACS
Median income
$79,905
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
47%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
7%
Below federal line
Schools in county
60
23,759 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Normal
- Normal Community High SchoolHigh · 2,079 students
- Normal Community West High SchoolHigh · 1,590 students
- Kingsley Jr High SchoolMiddle · 730 students
- University High SchoolHigh · 624 students
- Parkside Jr High SchoolMiddle · 598 students
- Chiddix Jr High SchoolMiddle · 597 students
Nearby schools
- Kingsley Jr High School0.2 mi · 730
- University High School0.4 mi · 624
- Oakdale Elementary School0.5 mi · 386
- Glenn Elementary School0.7 mi · 272
- Chiddix Jr High School0.8 mi · 597
- Fairview Elementary School1.1 mi · 280
Frequently asked questions
About Thomas Metcalf SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at Thomas Metcalf School?
Thomas Metcalf School enrolls approximately 459 students in grades PK-08.
What age range does Thomas Metcalf School serve?
Thomas Metcalf School serves students from grade PK through grade 08.
How many students per teacher at Thomas Metcalf School?
Approximately 8.7:1 students per teacher at Thomas Metcalf School.
What is the student diversity at Thomas Metcalf School?
Student demographics at Thomas Metcalf School are roughly 71% White, 10% Hispanic, 3% Black, 9% Asian, 7% Two or more.
What district is Thomas Metcalf School in?
Thomas Metcalf School is part of ISU Laboratory Schools.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.