Best Elementary Schools in Illinois

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Find the best Illinois elementary schools with SchoolDigger.com! Focused on test scores for accurate rankings, our user-friendly site simplifies your search. Empower your decisions by exploring top-rated schools, only on SchoolDigger.com - the ultimate guide to K-12 schools!

Year after year, SchoolDigger is always the first to publish Illinois test scores and rankings. Other sites use stale test score data that are several years old! Be in the know with the very latest performance metrics.

The list is updated annually upon the release of the ISA and IAR test scores by the Illinois State Board of Education. The most recent update was on Thursday, October 30, 2025.

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School														Students/Teachers											Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)							Ranking (2025 vs 2024)					ID
Rank (of 2056)	School	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Disc Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Per Pupil Expenditures: Total	Personnel from Federal Funds	Non-Personnel from Federal Funds	Total from Federal Funds	Personnel from State and Local Funds	Non-Personnel from State and Local Funds	Total from State and Local Funds	Average Standard Score (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Rank (2024)	Rank Change from 2024	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	ID
431	Liberty Elementary School	Public	K-5	1401 Essington Rd	Bolingbrook	60490	Will County	Plainfield School District 202	No	(n/a)	No	No	(815) 609-3037	522	40	13.2	26.8%	217 (41.6%)	70 (13.4%)	86 (16.5%)	118 (22.6%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	29 (5.6%)	$14,971			$465			$14,505	78.1	76.5	448	17		173174005750
432	Forest Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1375 S 5th Ave	Des Plaines	60018	Cook County	Ccsd 62	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(847) 824-1380	658	53	12.4	50.3%	279 (42.4%)	23 (3.5%)	206 (31.3%)	128 (19.5%)	2 (0.3%)	1 (0.2%)	19 (2.9%)	$29,780			$970			$28,810	78.1	86.9	239	193		171212001464
433	Scales Mound Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	210 Main St	Scales Mound	61075	Jo Daviess County	Scales Mound CUSD 211	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(815) 845-2215	138	12	11.1	18.8%	127 (92.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (2.2%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (4.3%)	$23,277			$423			$22,855	78	77.1	437	4		173561004827
434	Hawthorn Townline Elementary School	Public	1-5	810 N Aspen Dr	Vernon Hills	60061	Lake County	Hawthorn CCSD 73	No	(n/a)	No	No	(847) 990-4901	306	32	9.7	40.2%	152 (49.7%)	16 (5.2%)	34 (11.1%)	91 (29.7%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (3.6%)	$19,127			$280			$18,847	78	80.9	342	92		171857000077
435	Cowden-Herrick Grade School	Public	K-5	301 N Broadway St	Herrick	62431	Shelby County	Cowden-Herrick CUSD 3A	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(618) 428-5223	175	15	11.6	58.9%	171 (97.7%)	3 (1.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	$12,309			$1,457			$10,852	77.9	79.2	383	52		170017602401
436	Unity West	Public	K-5	1035 County Road 600 N	Tolono	61880	Champaign County	Tolono CUSD 7	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(217) 485-3918	399	35	11.4	33.1%	334 (83.7%)	11 (2.8%)	16 (4.0%)	3 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	35 (8.8%)	$14,140			$4,209			$9,930	77.9	64.1	660	224		173912004645
437	Emmons Grade School	Public	K-8	24226 W Beach Grove Rd	Antioch	60002	Lake County	Emmons School District 33	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(847) 395-1105	288	28	10.1	23.3%	230 (79.9%)	0 (0.0%)	45 (15.6%)	3 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (3.5%)	$19,387			$402			$18,986	77.9	75.3	471	34		171425001767
438	Oakland Elementary School	Public	K-5	818 E Grass Lake Rd	Lake Villa	60046	Lake County	Antioch CCSD 34	No	(n/a)	No	No	(847) 838-8600	515	44	11.8	25.2%	332 (64.5%)	23 (4.5%)	107 (20.8%)	20 (3.9%)	1 (0.2%)	3 (0.6%)	29 (5.6%)	$16,013			$233			$15,780	77.9	77.8	423	15		170384000074
439	Kolmar Avenue Elementary School	Public	K-5	10425 S Kolmar Ave	Oak Lawn	60453	Cook County	Oak Lawn-Hometown School District 123	No	(n/a)	No	No	(708) 422-1800	391	35	11.2	30.9%	204 (52.2%)	11 (2.8%)	149 (38.1%)	15 (3.8%)	2 (0.5%)	1 (0.3%)	9 (2.3%)	$17,091			$1,106			$15,985	77.8	71.9	522	83		172919003053
440	Central Elementary School	Public	K-5	1526 E Thacker St	Des Plaines	60016	Cook County	Ccsd 62	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(847) 824-1575	322	28	11.5	37.9%	168 (52.2%)	10 (3.1%)	74 (23.0%)	48 (14.9%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (1.9%)	16 (5.0%)	$24,803			$1,027			$23,776	77.8	63.2	673	233		171212001461

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New! SchoolDigger ranking lists for IL student subgroups:

Female Students Male Students Asian Students African American Students Hispanic Students White Students Multi-racial Students English Language Learner Students Special Education Students Low Socio Economic Status Students Homeless Students Disabled Students

About our rankings:

Schooldigger calculates school rankings based on IAR English Language Arts, IAR Mathematics, ISA Science test scores released by the Illinois State Board of Education.
These rankings were last updated on October 30, 2025, and are based on the most recent test scores available. We update rankings as we receive new test scores from the Illinois State Board of Education, usually on a yearly basis.
Our sources of data include the National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education and the Illinois State Board of Education.
For more information about our ranking process, please see our Ranking FAQ. Details about our methodology are here.

Educational resources:

Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA): Transforming Education in America

Alternative Schools vs Public Schools: A Comparison

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.