Beta You're viewing our redesigned school page. Prefer the classic layout?

John Gates Elementary School

Public Grades PK, KG-5

1855^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,056 Illinois Elementary Schools

Better than 10% of Illinois elementary schools

Summary

John Gates Elementary School is a public elementary school serving grades PK-5 in Aurora, Illinois, which is part of the Aurora East Unified School District 131. The school has consistently ranked in the bottom 10-15% of Illinois elementary schools over the past 10 years, with a 0 or 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

John Gates Elementary School faces significant challenges in terms of academic performance, with only 19.6% of students proficient or better in English Language Arts and 11.4% proficient in math, compared to state averages of 53.1% and 38.5%, respectively. The school also has very high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 24.4% to 30.2% over the past few years, which is significantly higher than the state average. Additionally, the school has a very high percentage of students from low-socioeconomic backgrounds, with 71.4% to 75.81% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch.

Interestingly, the nearby schools within the same district also struggle academically, with similarly low test scores and high rates of chronic absenteeism and free/reduced-price lunch eligibility. This suggests that the challenges faced by John Gates Elementary School are systemic issues within the Aurora East Unified School District 131, rather than unique to the school. Despite the academic challenges, the school has relatively high per-student spending, indicating that the issue may not be a lack of funding, but rather how those resources are being utilized to support student learning.

427

Students ?

14.5

Student/teacher ratio ?

$21,285

Per pupil spending ?

60.4%

Free/discounted lunch ?

800 7th Ave
Aurora, IL 60505-5372

(630) 299-5600

District: Aurora East Unified School District 131

Students who attend John Gates Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	Fred Rodgers Magnet Academy
High:	East High School

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

96.3%

African American:

1.9%

White:

0.9%

See top rated Illinois elementary schools

Compare John Gates Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▲ Ranking trend: Improving — 5th percentile in 2015 → 10th in 2025

Strengths

✓Ranking is trending up — up 5 percentile points since 2015

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Illinois average (17% vs 44% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (10th percentile)

!English Language Arts scores 33 pts below the Illinois average

Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?

This school17%

District avg21%

Illinois avg44%

1,855^th of 2,056

Illinois public elementary schools ?

Bottom 10%▲ up 5 pts since 2015

From bottom 5% (2015) to bottom 10% (2025)

See the entire ranking list of Illinois Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

4^th of 12Elementary Schools in the Aurora East Unified School District 131

777^th of 811Aurora East Unified School District 131 among Illinois districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Illinois percentile	Rating
2025	12.6	1855 of 2056	9.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	13.7	1909 of 2067	7.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	18.0	1757 of 2077	15.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	15.8	1831 of 2082	12.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	15.1	1751 of 1948	10.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	16.9	1817 of 2086	12.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	15.5	1802 of 2037	11.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	12.5	1884 of 2044	7.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2016	11.8	1926 of 2046	5.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2015	12.0	1948 of 2052	5.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2014	9.9	1951 of 2093	6.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2013	13.6	1947 of 2167	10.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	14.2	1955 of 2166	9.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2011	15.5	1900 of 2147	11.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	20.9	1806 of 2139	15.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	12.2	1919 of 2120	9.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2008	18.2	1808 of 2092	13.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	31.5	1661 of 2095	20.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2006	44.6	1408 of 2086	32.5%	★★☆☆☆
2005	34.4	1503 of 2022	25.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2004	45.8	1293 of 2030	36.3%	★★☆☆☆
2003	30.0	1535 of 2020	24.0%	★☆☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Illinois percentile	Rating
2025	16.3	1002 of 1049	4.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	19.8	841 of 886	5.1%	☆☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Illinois percentile	Rating
2025	23.1	704 of 788	10.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	31.6	626 of 826	24.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	37.4	493 of 788	37.4%	★★☆☆☆
2022	29.9	626 of 768	18.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	38.9	318 of 537	40.8%	★★☆☆☆
2019	44.6	383 of 743	48.5%	★★☆☆☆
2018	36.0	483 of 718	32.7%	★★☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Illinois percentile	Rating
2025	9.9	1845 of 1942	5.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	10.6	1900 of 1942	2.2%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	18.1	1671 of 1957	14.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	18.3	1656 of 1970	15.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	12.8	1588 of 1680	5.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	17.5	1756 of 2019	13.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	16.3	1724 of 1964	12.2%	★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Illinois percentile	Rating
2025	18.2	879 of 982	10.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	18.9	876 of 959	8.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	25.9	791 of 970	18.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	20.7	863 of 954	9.5%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	23.4	650 of 742	12.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	24.3	811 of 955	15.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	23.2	804 of 938	14.3%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Illinois percentile	Rating
2025	20.0	1560 of 1800	13.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	21.4	1549 of 1793	13.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	24.9	1479 of 1808	18.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	22.3	1506 of 1763	14.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	26.0	1484 of 1816	18.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	25.0	1448 of 1765	18.0%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Illinois percentile	Rating
2025	16.6	1657 of 1947	14.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	18.2	1639 of 1959	16.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	19.3	1626 of 1984	18.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	14.9	1807 of 1977	8.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	17.9	1736 of 2019	14.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	16.5	1741 of 1972	11.7%	★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Illinois percentile	Rating
2025	11.9	1257 of 1292	2.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2024	15.6	1182 of 1195	1.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	20.9	1071 of 1113	3.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	20.6	1120 of 1194	6.2%	☆☆☆☆☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

Male (2025)15th percentile+5 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2025)13th percentile+4 vs school

English Language Learner (2025)11th percentile~ school

Hispanic (2025)10th percentile~ school

Female (2025)5th percentile-5 vs school

Disabled (2025)4th percentile-5 vs school

Special Education (2025)3rd percentile-7 vs school

By subject vs Illinois (2024-2025) ?

Science21%-19 vs state

English Language Arts20%-33 vs state

Mathematics11%-27 vs state

3.0

2 ratings · 2 written reviews

5★1

4★0

3★0

2★0

1★1

Rate John Gates Elementary School

Have first-hand experience? A quick rating - and a sentence or two about what stands out (teachers, academics, safety, communication) - helps other families know what to expect.

Takes about a minute. We email you a link to verify your review - your address is never shown publicly.

Tap a star to rate

What people are saying

by a parent
Monday, April 29, 2013

This is a terrible school. Bullying is tolerated and the victim is accused of provoking bullies. Academically well you can see their rating for yourself! They are always looking for someone else to blame other than the way they run things. Close Quote

by a teacher
Friday, May 25, 2012

The school has teachers that care very much for the children, and have many activities during the year after school to give them a balanced education in sports, family time and homework help. There are also parent education classes offered for free in ESL, computer technology, book studies on parenting and leadership within the school to help develop the PTO. Close Quote

Schools Near John Gates Elementary School

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2025)				Ranking (2024)				ISA Science (2025)	IAR English Language Arts (2025)				IAR Mathematics (2025)				% Polio (2024)	% Measles (2024)	% Mumps (2024)	% Rubella (2024)	% Hepatitis B (2024)	% Varicella (2024)	% DTP (2024)	% Pneumococcal (2024)	Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
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/Discounted Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Statewide Rank (2024)	State Percentile (2024)	Rank Change from Previous Year	ISA Science 5th Grade	IAR English Language Arts 3rd Grade	IAR English Language Arts 4th Grade	IAR English Language Arts 5th Grade	IAR English Language Arts All Grades	IAR Mathematics 3rd Grade	IAR Mathematics 4th Grade	IAR Mathematics 5th Grade	IAR Mathematics All Grades	% Polio All Grades	% Measles All Grades	% Mumps All Grades	% Rubella All Grades	% Hepatitis B All Grades	% Varicella All Grades	% DTP All Grades	% Pneumococcal All Grades	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
John Gates Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	800 7th Ave	Aurora	60505	Kane County	Aurora East Unified School District 131	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(630) 299-5600	427	29	14.5	60.4%	4 (0.9%)	8 (1.9%)	411 (96.3%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.5%)	12.6	1855^th of 2056 public elementary schools	9.8%		13.7	1909^th of 2067 public elementary schools	7.6%	54	21.2	12.3	14.9	34.6	19.6	13.8	14.9	3.8	11.4	97.3	98.5	98.5	98.5	100.0	97.1	97.8		$21,285	$2,127	$19,158
W S Beaupre Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	954 E Benton St	Aurora	60505	Kane County	Aurora East Unified School District 131	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(630) 299-5390	226	16	13.8	63.3%	1 (0.4%)	22 (9.7%)	199 (88.1%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.9%)	10.5	1928^th of 2056 public elementary schools	6.2%		14	1890^th of 2067 public elementary schools	8.6%	38	15.0	12.1	12.9	30.0	16.7	15.2	12.9	5.0	11.9	99.4	98.2	98.2	98.2	100.0	98.2	99.4		$22,530	$2,023	$20,507
G N Dieterich Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1141 Jackson St	Aurora	60505	Kane County	Aurora East Unified School District 131	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(630) 299-8280	507	31	16.4	63.3%	16 (3.2%)	16 (3.2%)	461 (90.9%)	2 (0.4%)	3 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (1.8%)	8.1	1990^th of 2056 public elementary schools	3.2%		11.4	1995^th of 2067 public elementary schools	3.5%	5	11.8	14.5	9.7	18.8	14.3	16.1	5.6	5.8	8.9	97.5	96.8	96.8	96.8	100.0	95.5	97.1		$20,413	$1,866	$18,546
Olney C Allen Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	700 S Farnsworth Ave	Aurora	60505	Kane County	Aurora East Unified School District 131	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(630) 299-5200	712	41	17.4	60.5%	34 (4.8%)	159 (22.3%)	456 (64.0%)	25 (3.5%)	5 (0.7%)	5 (0.7%)	28 (3.9%)	13.2	1842^nd of 2056 public elementary schools	10.4%		14.2	1879^th of 2067 public elementary schools	9.1%	37	17.2	18.9	10.5	34.0	21.0	21.1	9.5	11.0	13.7	98.3	98.2	98.2	98.2	100.0	97.0	98.3		$19,436	$2,030	$17,406
C M Bardwell Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	550 S Lincoln Ave	Aurora	60505	Kane County	Aurora East Unified School District 131	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(630) 299-5300	679	40	16.9	67.2%	16 (2.4%)	20 (2.9%)	629 (92.6%)	3 (0.4%)	2 (0.3%)	2 (0.3%)	7 (1.0%)	8.7	1978^th of 2056 public elementary schools	3.8%		11.7	1986^th of 2067 public elementary schools	3.9%	8	9.9	19.8	12.0	23.9	18.6	13.5	5.4	4.3	7.8	94.3	96.0	96.0	96.0	100.0	93.0	95.5		$18,131	$2,099	$16,032
Edna Rollins Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	950 Kane St	Aurora	60505	Kane County	Aurora East Unified School District 131	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(630) 299-5480	508	26	19.5	69.5%	6 (1.2%)	40 (7.9%)	446 (87.8%)	2 (0.4%)	1 (0.2%)	3 (0.6%)	10 (2.0%)	12.4	1860^th of 2056 public elementary schools	9.5%		10.4	2026^th of 2067 public elementary schools	2.0%	166	12.1	15.6	10.9	35.6	20.4	16.9	16.4	8.5	14.1	98.6	99.0	99.0	99.0	100.0	95.4	98.4		$17,450	$2,412	$15,037
L D Brady Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	600 Columbia St	Aurora	60505	Kane County	Aurora East Unified School District 131	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(630) 299-5425	310	16	19.2	67.7%	2 (0.6%)	11 (3.5%)	292 (94.2%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.6%)	1 (0.3%)	2 (0.6%)	8.5	1983^rd of 2056 public elementary schools	3.6%		12.9	1947^th of 2067 public elementary schools	5.8%	36	9.5	10.9	16.3	11.9	13.0	15.2	14.0	7.1	12.2	99.3	99.3	99.3	99.3	83.6	97.4	99.3		$21,726	$2,226	$19,500
Rose E Krug Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	240 Melrose Ave	Aurora	60505	Kane County	Aurora East Unified School District 131	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(630) 299-5280	271	16	17.1	66.8%	6 (2.2%)	37 (13.7%)	218 (80.4%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.5%)	1 (0.4%)	5 (1.8%)	12.3	1864^th of 2056 public elementary schools	9.3%		15.7	1819^th of 2067 public elementary schools	12.0%	45	17.1	11.1	17.2	31.4	19.3	15.6	13.3	11.4	13.6	96.0	96.8	96.8	96.8	99.6	96.0	97.6		$21,745	$1,942	$19,802
Oak Park Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1200 Front St	Aurora	60505	Kane County	Aurora East Unified School District 131	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(630) 299-8250	353	25	14.3	67.4%	1 (0.3%)	3 (0.8%)	345 (97.7%)	1 (0.3%)	3 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	14.6	1798^th of 2056 public elementary schools	12.5%		11	2013^th of 2067 public elementary schools	2.6%	215	16.0	21.3	21.2	34.0	25.5	19.1	13.5	12.0	14.8	96.0	96.7	96.7	96.7	97.1	96.3	95.4	39.2	$18,306	$1,975	$16,332
Nicholson Elementary School	Public	K-5	649 N Main St	Montgomery	60538	Kane County	Aurora West Unified School District 129	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(630) 301-5013	337	21	15.9	58.8%	41 (12.2%)	33 (9.8%)	250 (74.2%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (3.3%)	32.3	1379^th of 2056 public elementary schools	32.9%		22.9	1597^th of 2067 public elementary schools	22.7%	218	33.3	28.6	27.5	46.2	32.5	42.9	25.8	23.7	30.7	97.9	97.9	97.9	97.9	98.2	97.9	97.9		$19,155	$1,701	$17,454

Frequently Asked Questions about John Gates Elementary School

What schools do graduates of John Gates Elementary School attend?

Students who attend John Gates Elementary School usually go on to attend:

Middle : Fred Rodgers Magnet Academy
High : East High School

What district is John Gates Elementary School in?

Aurora East Unified School District 131

Is John Gates Elementary School a good school?

John Gates Elementary School ranks in the bottom 9.8% of Illinois elementary schools.

What is the racial makeup of John Gates Elementary School?

Students at John Gates Elementary School are 96% Hispanic, 2% African American.

How many students attend John Gates Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 427 students attended John Gates Elementary School.

Rate John Gates Elementary School!

Other helpful SchoolDigger resources...

Compare to nearby schools

ILIllinois Elementary School Rankings

ILIllinois District Rankings

Schools in Aurora, IL

Sign up for updates!

Be the first to know when there is an update for John Gates Elementary School!

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.