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Ford Heights School District 169

New rankings! Illinois test scores for the 2025-26 school year were just released — SchoolDigger posted updated rankings this week.

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At a glance

729^thof 738 Illinois districts▲ 66

Better than 1% of Illinois districts

Elementary 1 Middle 1Grades PK, KG-8

910 Woodlawn Ave
Ford Heights, IL 60411-2299·(708) 758-1370·All Illinois district rankings →

Statewide performance 2018–2026

2026: better than 1.2% of districts

Schools

462

Students

Top rankedCottage Grove Upper Grade Center1019^th of 1,126 Illinois middle schools

▲

Biggest riser

Cottage Grove Upper Grade Center up 42 spots statewide this year

Compare Illinois districts →See the top-ranked Illinois schools →

Summary:

Ford Heights School District 169 has two listed schools serving PK–8: Medgar Evers Primary Academic Center serves PK–4, and Cottage Grove Upper Grade Center serves grades 5–8. In 2025–2026, Cottage Grove’s all-grades ELA proficiency was 35%, compared with 20% at Medgar Evers and 56% statewide; both schools’ reported ELA results remain substantially below the state level.

Cottage Grove stands out for higher all-grades ELA results in both years: it led Medgar Evers by 16 percentage points in 2025–2026 and 14 points in 2024–2025. In the latest year, its ELA result was 21 points below the state, while Medgar Evers’ was 37 points below. Cottage Grove’s 2025–2026 math proficiency was 7%, 33 points below the state; Medgar Evers’ math result is state-suppressed, so there is no current-year school comparison. Within Cottage Grove, eighth-grade ELA was highest at 49% and closest to its grade’s state result, while sixth grade was lowest at 29%. Attendance also differs sharply: chronic absenteeism was 42% at Medgar Evers and 2% at Cottage Grove, versus 24% statewide.

Both schools’ all-grades ELA scores rose year over year: Medgar Evers gained 3 percentage points and Cottage Grove gained 5. Cottage Grove narrowed its gap with the state by 2 points; Medgar Evers’ gap did not narrow. Cottage Grove’s math result rose by about 1 point, but its gap with the state widened slightly. SchoolDigger’s ranking history also differs: Medgar Evers fell from the 18th percentile in 2022–2023 to the 2nd in 2024–2025, while Cottage Grove rose from the 13th percentile in 2023–2024 to the 22nd, then fell to the 10th in 2025–2026. Medgar Evers has a 25.5 student-teacher ratio and 96% free/reduced lunch eligible (school year 2024–2025); at Cottage Grove, all students receive free meals (Community Eligibility, school year 2024–2025), and its ratio is 13.1. These meal measures are different types and are not directly comparable; the schools also serve different grades, so their all-grades scores are not same-grade comparisons.

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Vaccination Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				ISA Science (2026)		IAR English Language Arts (2026)							IAR Mathematics (2026)							Vaccination (2025-26)		Per Pupil Expenditures (2026)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/reduced lunch (2024-25)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	ISA Science 5th Grade	ISA Science 8th Grade	IAR English Language Arts 3rd Grade	IAR English Language Arts 4th Grade	IAR English Language Arts 5th Grade	IAR English Language Arts 6th Grade	IAR English Language Arts 7th Grade	IAR English Language Arts 8th Grade	IAR English Language Arts All Grades	IAR Mathematics 3rd Grade	IAR Mathematics 4th Grade	IAR Mathematics 5th Grade	IAR Mathematics 6th Grade	IAR Mathematics 7th Grade	IAR Mathematics 8th Grade	IAR Mathematics All Grades	Vaccination: Measles protection (all grades)	Vaccination: Exemption rate	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Medgar Evers Primary Academic Center	Public	PK, KG-4	1101 E 10th St	Ford Heights	60411	Cook County	Ford Heights School District 169	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(708) 758-2520	306	12	25.5	95.8%	0 (0.0%)	297 (97.1%)	9 (2.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)				27.5					19.6								94.8%		$26,953	$1,670	$25,282
Cottage Grove Upper Grade Center	Public	5-8	800 E 14th St	Ford Heights	60411	Cook County	Ford Heights School District 169	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(708) 758-1400	156	12	13.1	—	0 (0.0%)	145 (92.9%)	11 (7.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	12	1019^th of 1126 public middle schools	9.5%		22.3	1061^st of 1368 public middle schools	22.4%	42					30.3	28.6	34.3	48.6	35.4							6.8	99.4%		$26,963	$1,677	$25,286

Districts nearby

District	Distance	# of Schools	Statewide Rank
Ccsd 168	1.56 mi	3	738^th
Brookwood School District 167	1.92 mi	4	709^th
Bloom Township HSD 206	2.04 mi	3	723^rd
Chicago Heights School District 170	2.18 mi	12	490^th
Sandridge School District 172	2.33 mi	1

See the top IL Illinois districts

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau, the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Illinois State Board of Education.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.