Photo: Pdubs.94 · CC BY 4.0Rock Falls’s public schools score below 53% of Illinois districts on tests and graduation
19% of students in Rock Falls’s public schools are proficient in math, below the Illinois average (26%). The grade covers the three public school districts serving Rock Falls, from kindergarten through graduation, on state tests and graduation. Each state writes its own tests, so this is the one TownRatings grade compared within Illinois, not nationally.
From Illinois state tests taken in spring 2021, when nearly all of students in the tested grades sat them, and the class of 2023’s four-year graduation rate, as reported to the U.S. Department of Education.
Rock Falls’s schools, in brief
Better than its incomes would predict
Among the 754 Illinois towns with household incomes within a quarter of Rock Falls’s, its schools beat 62%, higher than their 47% against all the state’s districts. The grade ↓
Results trail the state
In spring 2021, 27% of tested students were proficient in reading and 19% in math, against 30% and 26% statewide; nearly all of students in the tested grades sat the tests. The grade ↓
Graduation
90–94% of the class of 2023 graduated in four years, against 88% across Illinois (the state reports Rock Falls’s rate as a range). Districts ↓
Spending and class size
Rock Falls Township High School District 301 spends $21,141 per student and Rock Falls Elementary School District 13 $17,302, against $21,567 across Illinois (FY2024). Neither counts toward the grade. Districts ↓
Two elementary schools, then one high school
Which elementary school depends on the address; from grade 9 the district’s path is Rock Falls Township High School. See the path ↓
Written from the figures on this page. Tests are from 2020–21, graduation from the class of 2023; each school’s own letter uses 2020–21 results.
What’s behind Rock Falls’s grade
B−: better than 47% of Illinois school districts, #473 of 768 Illinois towns. Graduation is above the Illinois average; test scores are below it.
Where will my kid go?
Pick a grade. These are the public schools that serve Rock Falls, with each school’s own grade.
Pre-K in Rock Falls · depends on your address
East Coloma - Nelson Elem Sch
Grades PK–8 · 214 students · 12:1 students per teacher
Riverdale PreSchool Center
Grades PK · 145 students · 27:1 students per teacher
Kindergarten in Rock Falls · depends on your address
Dillon Elementary School
Grades K–2 · 278 students · 13:1 students per teacher
East Coloma - Nelson Elem Sch
Grades PK–8 · 214 students · 12:1 students per teacher
1st grade in Rock Falls · depends on your address
Dillon Elementary School
Grades K–2 · 278 students · 13:1 students per teacher
East Coloma - Nelson Elem Sch
Grades PK–8 · 214 students · 12:1 students per teacher
2nd grade in Rock Falls · depends on your address
Dillon Elementary School
Grades K–2 · 278 students · 13:1 students per teacher
East Coloma - Nelson Elem Sch
Grades PK–8 · 214 students · 12:1 students per teacher
3rd grade in Rock Falls · depends on your address
Merrill Elem School
Grades 3–5 · 258 students · 13:1 students per teacher
East Coloma - Nelson Elem Sch
Grades PK–8 · 214 students · 12:1 students per teacher
4th grade in Rock Falls · depends on your address
Merrill Elem School
Grades 3–5 · 258 students · 13:1 students per teacher
East Coloma - Nelson Elem Sch
Grades PK–8 · 214 students · 12:1 students per teacher
5th grade in Rock Falls · depends on your address
Merrill Elem School
Grades 3–5 · 258 students · 13:1 students per teacher
East Coloma - Nelson Elem Sch
Grades PK–8 · 214 students · 12:1 students per teacher
6th grade in Rock Falls · depends on your address
Rock Falls Middle School
Grades 6–8 · 246 students · 11:1 students per teacher
East Coloma - Nelson Elem Sch
Grades PK–8 · 214 students · 12:1 students per teacher
7th grade in Rock Falls · depends on your address
Rock Falls Middle School
Grades 6–8 · 246 students · 11:1 students per teacher
East Coloma - Nelson Elem Sch
Grades PK–8 · 214 students · 12:1 students per teacher
8th grade in Rock Falls · depends on your address
Rock Falls Middle School
Grades 6–8 · 246 students · 11:1 students per teacher
East Coloma - Nelson Elem Sch
Grades PK–8 · 214 students · 12:1 students per teacher
9th grade in Rock Falls
Rock Falls Township High School
Grades 9–12 · 530 students · 14:1 students per teacher
10th grade in Rock Falls
Rock Falls Township High School
Grades 9–12 · 530 students · 14:1 students per teacher
11th grade in Rock Falls
Rock Falls Township High School
Grades 9–12 · 530 students · 14:1 students per teacher
12th grade in Rock Falls
Rock Falls Township High School
Grades 9–12 · 530 students · 14:1 students per teacher
Parts of Rock Falls (3% of its land) are served by Montmorency Community Consolidated School District 145 instead. To confirm the school for a specific address, ask the district.
Three districts serve Rock Falls
Spending and class size are shown but don’t count toward the grade. Each district’s own page has every school.
Below the state in reading
Rock Falls vs. its neighbors
Schools grades for the Illinois towns that share Rock Falls’s borders.
| Town | Schools | Main districts |
|---|---|---|
| Rock Falls | B− | Rock Falls Elementary School District 13 PK–8 · East Coloma-Nelson Consolidated Elementary School District 20 PK–8 · Rock Falls Township High School District 301 9–12 |
| Sterling | — | Sterling Community Unit District 5 |
| Sterling (city) | B− | Sterling Community Unit District 5 |
| Coloma | B− | Rock Falls Elementary School District 13 PK–8 · East Coloma-Nelson Consolidated Elementary School District 20 PK–8 · Rock Falls Township High School District 301 9–12 |
Every school in Rock Falls
3 schools. Each public school’s letter compares its own 2020–21 reading and math results with Illinois’s other public schools (the newest school-level results we have).
Questions about Rock Falls’s schools
Are Rock Falls’s schools good?
On Illinois’s tests they score below most of the state: the public schools Rock Falls children attend score below 53% of Illinois’s school districts on tests and graduation, a B− Schools grade, #473 of 768 Illinois towns. Among towns with similar incomes they beat 62%. Tests are from 2020–21, graduation from the class of 2023.
What school district is Rock Falls in?
Rock Falls Township High School District 301, which runs grades 9–12 and enrolls 530 students in 1 schools (2024–25). Small parts of Rock Falls are served by Montmorency Community Consolidated School District 145.
Where do Rock Falls kids go to high school?
Rock Falls Township High School, with 530 students; its own test results earn a B.
What is Rock Falls’s graduation rate?
90–94% of the class of 2023 in Rock Falls Township High School District 301 graduated in four years, against 88% across Illinois.
How much does Rock Falls spend per student?
$21,141 in Rock Falls Township High School District 301, $17,302 in Rock Falls Elementary School District 13 and $20,268 in East Coloma-Nelson Consolidated Elementary School District 20 (FY2024), against $21,567 across Illinois. Spending doesn’t count toward the grade.
Parents talk
What Rock Falls families are saying about school.
Looking for colleges? Colleges near Rock Falls → They have their own page.
School data: state test results (2020–21, with participation) and four-year graduation rates (class of 2023) reported to the U.S. Department of Education (EDFacts via ED Data Express); each school’s own letter uses its 2020–21 results (EDFacts via the Urban Institute); schools and enrollment from NCES (2024–25; private schools 2023–24); spending from the Census Bureau’s school finance survey (FY2024). The School Grade is our own summary, graded within Illinois. Stars are from neighbors.