Gower School District 62

Gower School District 62 has two schools serving prekindergarten through grade 8: Gower West Elementary School (531 students, PK–4) and Gower Middle School (409 students, grades 5–8). In 2025–2026, both schools were well above state proficiency rates in English language arts (ELA) and math. The most important takeaway is that strong results extend across both schools and both subjects: each school exceeded the state in ELA and math.

The schools lead in different subjects, so neither stands out as the top performer across the board. In all-grades ELA, Gower Middle scored 84%, four points above Gower West at 80%; both were well above the state’s 56%. In math, Gower West led with 71%, seven points above Gower Middle at 64%. The state rate was 40%. Gower Middle also outperformed the state in science: in 2025–2026, its grade 5 score was 66% versus 48% statewide, and its grade 8 score was 76% versus 52%.

All-grades results rose from 2024–2025 to 2025–2026 at both schools in ELA and math, though the state gained slightly more in ELA while the schools’ average advantage over the state grew in math. SchoolDigger gives both schools five stars; its statewide percentiles were 90 for Gower West and 92 for Gower Middle in 2025–2026, down from earlier reported percentiles despite the recent test-score gains. Gower West had a student–teacher ratio of 14.2 in 2024–2025, compared with 12.3 at Gower Middle. In 2021–2022, 10% of Gower West students and 15% of Gower Middle students were free/reduced lunch eligible. These schools serve different grade spans, so their schoolwide results are not comparisons of students in the same grades.