Enrollment
394
Elementary
DISTRICT 382 · STATE 381
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·STERLING CUSD 5·NCES 174231004260
Washington Elementary School
815 W Le Fevre Rd, Sterling, IL 61081 · (815) 625-2372 · Whiteside County
GRADES 03–05ELEMENTARY32-TOWNTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL394 STUDENTS
B
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 56% of Illinois public elementary schools
- B-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- BBeats 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
12.3:1
32 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 13.3:1 · STATE 13.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
61%
240 students
DISTRICT 62% · 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 | 134 | 34% |
| Grade 4 | 132 | 34% |
| Grade 5 | 128 | 32% |
Student demographics
55%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 57% · 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
Based on grade levels within Sterling CUSD 5. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
QUIET COMMUNITY
Be the first to start a discussion at Washington Elementary School.
START A DISCUSSIONTest scores
IAR + ISA 2024-25 . % Proficient (Levels 4-5)English Language Arts
46.3%
IL avg 51.0% . +10.4pp since 2023
Math
41.8%
IL avg 37.9% . +12.8pp since 2023
What this means: On the IAR + ISA, Illinois's statewide test, about 46 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 42 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 10 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 13 points.
IAR + ISA results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 46.3% | 41.8% |
| 2023-24 | 35.9% | 29.0% |
% 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
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
41.5%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
36.3%
based on IL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+5.1pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 41% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 36% 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 Washington Elementary School
Washington Elementary School's state test result (41.5% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington Elementary School this school | 394 | 60.9% | 41.5% |
| Machesney Elementary School Machesney Park | 361 | 63.7% | 33.8% |
| Lotus School Spring Grove | 345 | 57.1% | 33.5% |
| Franklin Elementary School Sterling | 407 | 55.3% | N/A |
| Lincoln Elementary School Mendota | 319 | 61.1% | 32.7% |
| Lake in the Hills Elementary School Lk In The Hls | 502 | 62.5% | 36.0% |
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 Washington Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Illinois | In Whiteside County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 41.5% | #866 of 1,925 | #7 of 10 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 41.8% | #913 of 2,077 ▼ 65 | #5 of 10 no change |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 46.3% | #1,145 of 2,077 ▼ 208 | #8 of 10 ▼ 2 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 394 | #1,037 of 2,419 | #4 of 14 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 12.3:1 | #656 of 2,035 | #4 of 13 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 55.5% | #731 of 2,042 | #4 of 13 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 60.9% | #982 of 2,132 | #7 of 14 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -2.2% | #1,350 of 1,461 | #9 of 9 |
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
394
+31 (+9%) vs 2020
-19% since 1990-91, when it was 489
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 | 394 | 32 | 12.3:1 | 61% (240) |
| 2023-24 | 374 | 27.1 | 13.8:1 | 56% (211) |
| 2022-23 | 340 | 28.5 | 11.9:1 | 51% (175) |
| 2020-21 | 363 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 403 | 20 | 20.1:1 | 59% (238) |
| 2015-16 | 396 | 19 | 20.8:1 | 53% (211) |
| 2010-11 | 412 | 27 | 15.3:1 | 55% (227) |
| 2000-01 | 432 | 29 | 14.9:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 489 | 24 | 20.4:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Washington Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 2% (403 to 394); teachers up 60% (20 to 32).
About Washington Elementary School
Washington Elementary School is a medium-sized elementary school serving families in Sterling, Illinois. The student body numbers 394 students, from grades 3 through 5.
Sterling CUSD 5, which runs Washington Elementary School, has 6 schools and 3,253 students.
White students make up a majority at Washington Elementary School, at 57%. Other students are 34% Hispanic and 6% multiracial. That is lower than the 85% White share among all Whiteside County residents. Pick two students at random and there is a 55% chance they belong to different racial or ethnic groups; that figure is the school's diversity index.
Staffing totals 32 full-time-equivalent teachers, and the student-to-teacher ratio is 12.3:1. On average, elementary schools in Illinois have 13.9:1, compared with 12.3:1 here. The free or reduced-price lunch rate at Washington Elementary School is 61%.
Washington Elementary School is graded B by allk12, scoring above 56% of Illinois public elementary schools once test results, poverty-adjusted performance, and the recent trend are combined.
The model predicts 36.3% for a school in Illinois with Washington Elementary School's free or reduced-price lunch share. Washington Elementary School posts 41.5%.
Within Whiteside County, the median household income is $67,500, 21% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 8% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Besides Washington Elementary School, Whiteside County has 49 other public schools.
The nearest other public school, Sterling High School, is about 0.8 miles away. Inside a five-mile radius, there are at least 8 other public schools. The average proficiency across nearby scored schools is 37.3%; Washington Elementary School's is 41.5%, ranking 2nd of 7.
The NCES locale for Washington Elementary School is Town: Distant, which covers schools in a town some distance from an urbanized area.
Washington Elementary School's enrollment climbed from 363 in 2020-21 to 394 in 2024-25.
Conversations here can range across enrollment questions, class placement, and PTA news. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
Whiteside County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
54,947
Census ACS
Median income
$67,500
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
21%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
8%
Below federal line
Schools in county
50
8,445 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Sterling CUSD 5
- Sterling High SchoolHigh · 999 students
- Challand Middle SchoolMiddle · 726 students
- Jefferson Elementary SchoolElementary · 450 students
- Franklin Elementary SchoolElementary · 407 students
- Lincoln Elementary SchoolElementary · 277 students
Other schools in Sterling
- Sterling High SchoolHigh · 999 students
- Challand Middle SchoolMiddle · 726 students
- Jefferson Elementary SchoolElementary · 450 students
- Franklin Elementary SchoolElementary · 407 students
- Lincoln Elementary SchoolElementary · 277 students
- ROE 47 Student Support ALOPCombined
Other Washington Elementary schools
155 other US public schools in 28 states are named Washington Elementary. Washington Elementary School is the 63rd largest of the 156.
- Washington Elementary SchoolRockford, IL · 523 students
- Washington Elementary SchoolMundelein, IL · 467 students
- Washington Elementary SchoolMarion, IL · 465 students
- Washington Elementary SchoolElgin, IL · 446 students
- Washington Elementary SchoolDixon, IL · 424 students
Nearby schools
- Sterling High School0.8 mi · 999
- Challand Middle School1.0 mi · 726
- Jefferson Elementary School1.2 mi · 450
- Rock Falls Township High School1.5 mi · 530
- Lincoln Elementary School1.5 mi · 277
- Franklin Elementary School1.6 mi · 407
Frequently asked questions
About Washington Elementary SchoolHow many students attend Washington Elementary School?
Washington Elementary School enrolls approximately 394 students in grades 03-05.
Is Washington Elementary School an elementary, middle, or high school?
Washington Elementary School is an elementary school covering grades 03-05.
How many teachers does Washington Elementary School have?
Washington Elementary School employs 32 FTE teachers, for a student-to-teacher ratio of 12.3:1.
What is the student diversity at Washington Elementary School?
Student demographics at Washington Elementary School are roughly 57% White, 34% Hispanic, 2% Black, 1% Asian, 6% Two or more.
What district is Washington Elementary School in?
Washington Elementary School is part of Sterling CUSD 5.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.