Sycamore CUSD 427

Sycamore CUSD 427 has seven schools—five elementary schools, one middle school and one high school—with reported enrollment of 3,720 students. The clearest district-wide pattern is that elementary math and fifth-grade science results are above state results, while elementary ELA is slightly below: the five-school averages are 51% in math versus 40% statewide, 55% in science versus 48%, and 54% in ELA versus 56%. The most important takeaway is that performance varies by subject: elementary math and science are strengths relative to the state, but ELA is not.

North Elementary leads elementary all-grades ELA at 67%, 24 percentage points above the low of 43% at South Prairie Elementary. North also leads math at 59.6%, narrowly ahead of North Grove Elementary at 59.2%; West Elementary is lowest at 40%, equal to the state. North Grove leads fifth-grade science at 59%, while the lowest school result, at Southeast Elementary, is still just above the state. At Sycamore Middle School, ELA and science are above state results, while math is slightly below. Sycamore High School is above the state in every reported test comparison and has a 95% graduation rate, but chronic absenteeism is 28%, compared with 24% statewide.

Recent elementary changes are mixed: average ELA fell by 1 percentage point and math by 1, while science rose by 4; the area’s advantage over the state narrowed in all three subjects. North made broad gains, including 13 points in ELA, while West’s science rose 15 points even as its ELA and math fell by 9 and 7 points. SchoolDigger ranks North highest among elementary schools at the 73rd percentile and West lowest at the 44th; Sycamore Middle’s rank fell from the 67th to the 54th percentile. Income measures offer context, not an explanation: in 2024–2025, free/reduced lunch eligible shares ranged from 8% at North Grove to 60% at West. Ratios also do not sort schools by results: West’s 11.2 students per teacher is lower than North’s 15.0, despite West’s lower overall results.