Is Gardner Elementary School a good school?

Gardner Elementary School ranks 337 th of 2067 Illinois elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Gardner Elementary School?

In the 2023-24 school year, 384 students attended Gardner Elementary School.

What is the racial makeup of Gardner Elementary School?

Students at Gardner Elementary School are 93% White, 4% Hispanic, 2% Two or more races.

What schools do graduates of Gardner Elementary School attend?

Students who attend Gardner Elementary School usually go on to attend: Middle : Waterloo Junior High School High : Waterloo High School

Gardner Elementary School

Summary:

Gardner Elementary School is a public elementary school located in Waterloo, Illinois, serving grades 4-5 with a total enrollment of 399 students. The school is part of the Waterloo CUSD 5 district, which is ranked 90 out of 813 districts in Illinois and has a 4-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Gardner Elementary consistently ranks in the top 20% of Illinois elementary schools, with a statewide ranking between 205 and 427 over the past 5 years. The school's performance on state assessments is significantly higher than the state averages, particularly in science, where 74.3% of students were proficient or better in 2023-2024, compared to the state average of 53.2%. Gardner Elementary also performs exceptionally well for its special education and low socioeconomic status (SES) student populations, ranking in the top 15% and top 8% of Illinois elementary schools, respectively, in 2023-2024. However, the school's performance for its white student population is relatively lower, ranking in the top 33% of Illinois elementary schools in 2023-2024.

Gardner Elementary has seen a steady decline in chronic absenteeism, from 10.5% in 2021-2022 to 5.4% in 2023-2024, which is significantly lower than the state average. The school's spending per student has also increased from $7,830 in 2019-2020 to $10,718 in 2022-2023, which is higher than the state average. These factors, along with the school's consistent high performance, suggest that Gardner Elementary is providing a high-quality education to its diverse student population and is well-positioned to continue delivering positive outcomes for its students.

Detail:

Public 4-5

1 Ed Gardner Pl
Waterloo, IL 62298-1677

(618) 939-3060

District: Waterloo CUSD 5

SchoolDigger Rank:
337^th of 2,067 Illinois Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $10,984

Students who attend Gardner Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	Waterloo Junior High School
High:	Waterloo High School

Student/teacher ratio: 16.6

Number of students: 384

Racial breakdown:

White:

93.2%

Hispanic:

4.2%

Two or more races:

2.1%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 23.7%

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Performance Trends

Compare Details Gardner Elementary School ranks better than 83.7% of elementary schools in Illinois. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 81.19. (See more...)

Chronic absenteeism in a school refers to a situation where students repeatedly miss school, with the threshold often defined as missing 10% or more of school days for any reason, excused or unexcused.

Student Body

Compare Details Gardner Elementary School has the smallest elementary school student body size in the Waterloo CUSD 5 School District. Racial makeup is: White (93.2%), Hispanic (4.2%), two or more races (2.1%). (See more...)

Compare Details 23.7% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Gardner Elementary School is 16.6, which is the highest among 3 elementary schools in the Waterloo CUSD 5 School District! (See more...)

Compare Gardner Elementary School employs 23.1 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Gardner Elementary School is $10,984. 1 elementary schools in the Waterloo CUSD 5 School District spend more per student.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Gardner Elementary School:

SchoolDigger ranks Gardner Elementary School 337^th of 2067 Illinois public elementary schools. (See Gardner Elementary School in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Special Education students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Disabled students:

Male students:

White students:

Waterloo CUSD 5:

SchoolDigger ranks Waterloo CUSD 5 90^th of 813 Illinois school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Gardner Elementary School

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Rank History for all students at Gardner Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2012	78.61	412^th	2166	81.0%
2013	82.91	321^st	2167	85.2%
2014	83.21	314^th	2093	85.0%
2015	88.16	233^rd	2052	88.6%
2016	85.93	257^th	2046	87.4%
2017	88.98	179^th	2044	91.2%
2018	89.70	166^th	2037	91.9%
2019	85.33	259^th	2086	87.6%
2021	86.82	205^th	1948	89.5%
2022	81.60	351^st	2082	83.1%
2023	76.93	427^th	2077	79.4%
2024	81.19	337^th	2067	83.7%

See the entire list of Illinois Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for Special Education students at Gardner Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	69.11	130^th	763	83.0%
2019	85.20	88^th	1194	92.6%
2021	62.05	167^th	640	73.9%
2022	55.96	340^th	1113	69.5%
2023	68.46	254^th	1156	78.0%
2024	73.49	206^th	1195	82.8%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Elementary Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Gardner Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	83.27	131^st	1765	92.6%
2019	71.86	316^th	1816	82.6%
2021	85.41	85^th	1514	94.4%
2022	75.70	228^th	1763	87.1%
2023	68.86	366^th	1808	79.8%
2024	84.52	130^th	1793	92.7%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Elementary Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at Gardner Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	91.03	118^th	1964	94.0%
2019	84.52	232^nd	2019	88.5%
2021	88.65	125^th	1680	92.6%
2022	81.98	310^th	1970	84.3%
2023	73.49	446^th	1957	77.2%
2024	77.75	350^th	1942	82.0%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Elementary Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Disabled students at Gardner Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	77.35	117^th	907	87.1%
2024	72.64	124^th	886	86.0%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Elementary Schools for Disabled Students!

Rank History for Male students at Gardner Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	86.18	215^th	1972	89.1%
2019	84.30	255^th	2019	87.4%
2021	78.35	292^nd	1707	82.9%
2022	79.15	352^nd	1977	82.2%
2023	77.36	380^th	1984	80.8%
2024	81.79	304^th	1959	84.5%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Elementary Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for White students at Gardner Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	80.21	219^th	1463	85.0%
2019	70.11	370^th	1462	74.7%
2021	74.42	246^th	1308	81.2%
2022	64.25	446^th	1425	68.7%
2023	56.71	573^rd	1419	59.6%
2024	64.11	452^nd	1392	67.5%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Elementary Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: Illinois State Board of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Data source: Illinois State Board of Education

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Enrollment information for Gardner Elementary School

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Total
2011	392	2	4	2	0	0	2	402
2012	421	1	2	5	0	0	0	429
2013	396	2	4	6	5	0	5	418
2014	353	1	1	6	3	0	7	371
2015	372	2	2	9	0	0	4	389
2016	368	1	3	5	0	0	8	385
2017	371	0	2	7	2	0	13	395
2018	379	1	0	8	1	0	12	401
2019	408	2	0	6	2	0	13	431
2020	393	0	1	5	1	1	15	416
2021	337	0	1	4	0	1	12	355
2022	363	0	0	9	0	1	6	379
2023	380	0	1	12	0	0	6	399
2024	358	1	1	16	0	0	8	384

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Gardner Elementary School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
2011	402	20.0	20.1	20.9
2012	429	22.0	19.5	21.7
2013	418	23.2	17.9	11
2014	371	20.0	18.5	30.2
2015	389	21.0	18.5	26.5
2016	385	22.0	17.5	24.2
2017	395	22.4	17.5	23.3
2018	401	22.4	17.8	22.2
2019	431	22.5	19.1	19.7
2020	416	19.0	21.8	19
2021	355	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	379	20.5	18.4	11.3
2023	399	25.1	15.8	17.3
2024	384	23.1	16.6	23.7

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Gardner Elementary School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
2011	402	20.0	20.1	20.9
2012	429	22.0	19.5	21.7
2013	418	23.2	17.9	11
2014	371	20.0	18.5	30.2
2015	389	21.0	18.5	26.5
2016	385	22.0	17.5	24.2
2017	395	22.4	17.5	23.3
2018	401	22.4	17.8	22.2
2019	431	22.5	19.1	19.7
2020	416	19.0	21.8	19
2021	355	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	379	20.5	18.4	11.3
2023	399	25.1	15.8	17.3
2024	384	23.1	16.6	23.7

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.

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