Gurnee School District 56

Gurnee School District 56 serves Gurnee families through four schools spanning prekindergarten through grade 8: Spaulding Elementary School (PK–2), Prairie Trail School (grades 3–5), Viking School (grades 6–8) and River Trail School (K–8). The most important finding is that River Trail has the strongest reported overall test results, but it remains below state proficiency rates.

River Trail stands out at the top of the 2025–26 all-grades results: 37% in ELA and 22% in math, compared with averages of 26% and 14% for Prairie Trail and Viking. Even so, River Trail is 19 points below the state in ELA and 18 points below in math. Viking is lowest, at 24% in ELA and 12% in math—9 and 7 points below the average of River Trail and Prairie Trail, respectively. Grade-level results add nuance: Prairie Trail leads grade 3 and grade 5 ELA, while River Trail leads several other reported grade comparisons. Spaulding has no test results in the supplied data.

Over two years, the three tested schools’ average results were nearly flat while state rates rose, widening the average gap from 24 to 27 points in ELA and from 22 to 23 in math. River Trail improved in both subjects; Viking’s ELA fell while its math rose, and Prairie Trail’s ELA was nearly unchanged as its math declined. SchoolDigger’s 2025–26 rankings put River Trail at the 11th percentile, Prairie Trail at the 5th and Viking at the 3rd; all three ranked lower than in 2023–24. Context measures also differ: in 2024–25, free/reduced lunch eligible ranged from 52% at River Trail to 59% at Prairie Trail, while student-teacher ratios ranged from 11.8 at Viking to 14.0 at Prairie Trail among the tested schools. In 2025–26, chronic absenteeism was 29% at Viking versus 16% at River Trail, compared with 21% districtwide. These figures offer context, not explanations for school results.