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Hearst Elementary School

Public Grades PK, KG-8
1914th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 2,056 Illinois Elementary Schools
Better than 7% of Illinois elementary schools
Summary

Hearst Elementary School is a public school in Chicago, Illinois, serving 301 students from pre-kindergarten through 8th grade. The school is part of the Chicago Public Schools District 299, which is ranked 698 out of 811 districts in Illinois and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Hearst Elementary School consistently performs significantly below the state and district averages in both English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics proficiency. For example, in the 2024-2025 school year, only 22.3% of Hearst students were proficient or better in ELA, compared to 42.8% for the district and 53.1% for the state. In Mathematics, the proficiency rate was just 10.9%, compared to 27.3% for the district and 38.5% for the state. The school also has extremely high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 25.4% to 40.8% in recent years, which is significantly higher than the state and district averages. When compared to nearby schools like Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz and Pasteur Elementary School, the performance gap is quite stark, with these nearby schools significantly outperforming Hearst in both ELA and Mathematics proficiency, as well as other key metrics.

Hearst Elementary School's struggles extend to serving its diverse student population effectively, with the school's rankings for various student subgroups, such as female students, male students, African American students, Hispanic students, English Language Learners, Special Education students, and low-socioeconomic status students, consistently in the bottom quartile or bottom third of Illinois elementary schools. Despite spending significantly more per student ($26,912 in 2023-2024) compared to the state and district averages, this higher spending does not translate into improved academic outcomes. Hearst Elementary School's performance has remained consistently poor over the past several years, with little to no improvement in its statewide ranking or proficiency rates, suggesting that the school may be facing systemic challenges that require a comprehensive, long-term approach to address.

285
Students ?
8.9
Student/teacher ratio ?
$29,372
Per pupil spending ?
84.6%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 4640 S Lamon Ave
       Chicago, IL  60638-2044

(773) 535-2376

District: Chicago Public Schools District 299


Students who attend Hearst Elementary School usually attend:

High:    Kennedy High School
Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:
64.9%
African American:
31.6%
White:
2.8%
more
 See top rated Illinois elementary schools

 Compare Hearst Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
Ranking trend: Improving — 2nd percentile in 2014 → 7th in 2025
Strengths
Ranking is trending up — up 5 percentile points since 2014
Small classes — about 9 students per teacher
Worth a look
!Test scores below the Illinois average (13% vs 44% meeting standards)
!In the lower quartile statewide (7th percentile)
!High chronic absenteeism (40% vs 25% Illinois)
Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?
This school13%
District avg33%
Illinois avg44%
Elementary school
1,914th of 2,056
Illinois public elementary schools ?
Bottom 7%▲ up 2 pts since 2015
See the entire ranking list of Illinois Elementary Schools →
SchoolDigger rating ?
Middle school
1,184th of 1,368
Illinois public middle schools ?
Bottom 13%▲ up 11 pts since 2015
From bottom 2% (2015) to bottom 13% (2025)
See the entire ranking list of Illinois Middle Schools →
SchoolDigger rating ?
377th of 451Elementary Schools in the Chicago Public Schools District 299
698th of 811Chicago Public Schools District 299 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)
Elementary school ranking
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202510.91914 of 20566.9%☆☆☆☆☆
202414.41872 of 20679.4%☆☆☆☆☆
202312.81943 of 20776.5%☆☆☆☆☆
202213.61926 of 20827.5%☆☆☆☆☆
201920.31718 of 208617.6%★☆☆☆☆
201813.21873 of 20378.1%☆☆☆☆☆
201713.81848 of 20449.6%☆☆☆☆☆
201614.31848 of 20469.7%☆☆☆☆☆
201512.01947 of 20525.1%☆☆☆☆☆
20144.82052 of 20932.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20134.02139 of 21671.3%☆☆☆☆☆
20121.62145 of 21661.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20115.02089 of 21472.7%☆☆☆☆☆
20105.42058 of 21393.8%☆☆☆☆☆
20091.42106 of 21200.7%☆☆☆☆☆
20082.62054 of 20921.8%☆☆☆☆☆
20073.12029 of 20953.2%☆☆☆☆☆
20061.32065 of 20861.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20050.91994 of 20221.4%☆☆☆☆☆
20042.11971 of 20302.9%☆☆☆☆☆
20032.41963 of 20202.8%☆☆☆☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
20259.5688 of 6880.0%☆☆☆☆☆
202328.0550 of 69220.5%★☆☆☆☆
202221.1674 of 6841.5%☆☆☆☆☆
201925.3607 of 71114.6%★☆☆☆☆
201823.5621 of 69811.0%★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
201825.7641 of 71810.7%★☆☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202517.01661 of 194214.5%★☆☆☆☆
202421.31554 of 194220.0%★☆☆☆☆
202318.21667 of 195714.8%★☆☆☆☆
201923.31595 of 201921.0%★☆☆☆☆
201816.11733 of 196411.8%★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202514.6924 of 9825.9%☆☆☆☆☆
202427.4730 of 95923.9%★☆☆☆☆
202322.0856 of 97011.8%★☆☆☆☆
202218.2898 of 9545.9%☆☆☆☆☆
201941.0552 of 95542.2%★★☆☆☆
201826.9744 of 93820.7%★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202515.31673 of 18007.1%☆☆☆☆☆
202421.11557 of 179313.2%★☆☆☆☆
202319.81636 of 18089.5%☆☆☆☆☆
202221.31541 of 176312.6%★☆☆☆☆
201933.41287 of 181629.1%★☆☆☆☆
201817.11654 of 17656.3%☆☆☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
20259.11872 of 19473.9%☆☆☆☆☆
202410.61915 of 19592.2%☆☆☆☆☆
202312.31883 of 19845.1%☆☆☆☆☆
202217.41707 of 197713.7%★☆☆☆☆
201923.71570 of 201922.2%★☆☆☆☆
201813.71828 of 19727.3%☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202323.9943 of 115618.4%★☆☆☆☆
Middle school ranking
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202516.51184 of 136813.5%★☆☆☆☆
202428.3935 of 136331.4%★★☆☆☆
202315.61214 of 136711.2%★☆☆☆☆
202222.51053 of 136923.1%★☆☆☆☆
201916.91159 of 135614.5%★☆☆☆☆
201814.31161 of 129310.2%★☆☆☆☆
201713.11195 of 12937.6%☆☆☆☆☆
201615.61171 of 12949.5%☆☆☆☆☆
20159.21272 of 13022.3%☆☆☆☆☆
201414.71182 of 132210.6%★☆☆☆☆
201326.81059 of 136722.5%★☆☆☆☆
201210.01273 of 13656.7%☆☆☆☆☆
20114.11307 of 13442.8%☆☆☆☆☆
201019.11129 of 132714.9%★☆☆☆☆
20093.81279 of 13183.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20084.81235 of 12934.5%☆☆☆☆☆
20077.41197 of 12877.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20062.71238 of 12722.7%☆☆☆☆☆
20052.81175 of 12092.8%☆☆☆☆☆
20048.01092 of 12049.3%☆☆☆☆☆
200314.51000 of 118515.6%★☆☆☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202526.8457 of 57420.4%★☆☆☆☆
202446.8233 of 54857.5%★★★☆☆
202321.4523 of 5698.1%☆☆☆☆☆
202220.7561 of 5732.1%☆☆☆☆☆
201922.7507 of 56510.3%★☆☆☆☆
201827.0409 of 51120.0%★☆☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202517.61052 of 124815.7%★☆☆☆☆
202423.1970 of 125122.5%★☆☆☆☆
202313.81175 of 12757.8%☆☆☆☆☆
202221.61022 of 128620.5%★☆☆☆☆
201922.71000 of 127621.6%★☆☆☆☆
201817.21052 of 122614.2%★☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202532.0441 of 66934.1%★★☆☆☆
202448.3282 of 64356.1%★★★☆☆
202324.5539 of 66118.5%★☆☆☆☆
202242.0352 of 66246.8%★★☆☆☆
201928.5494 of 63922.7%★☆☆☆☆
201815.5562 of 5904.7%☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202527.3937 of 122923.8%★☆☆☆☆
202441.5674 of 121944.7%★★☆☆☆
202321.21068 of 123413.5%★☆☆☆☆
202233.4810 of 122133.7%★★☆☆☆
201926.6959 of 121721.2%★☆☆☆☆
201817.81050 of 11619.6%☆☆☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202520.61002 of 127121.2%★☆☆☆☆
202434.9758 of 126440.0%★★☆☆☆
202319.21083 of 129216.2%★☆☆☆☆
202228.2904 of 128629.7%★☆☆☆☆
201915.61158 of 129610.6%★☆☆☆☆
201811.81163 of 12234.9%☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202545.5366 of 81254.9%★★★☆☆
201943.6335 of 79257.7%★★★☆☆
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)
Elementary school
Special Education (2023)18th percentile+12 vs school
Female (2025)14th percentile+8 vs school
English Language Learner (2018)11th percentile+3 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2025)7th percentile~ school
Hispanic (2025)6th percentile~ school
Male (2025)4th percentile-3 vs school
African American (2025)<1st percentile-7 vs school
Middle school
Special Education (2025)55th percentile+41 vs school
Hispanic (2025)34th percentile+21 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2025)24th percentile+10 vs school
Male (2025)21st percentile+8 vs school
African American (2025)20th percentile+7 vs school
Female (2025)16th percentile~ school
By subject vs Illinois (2024-2025) ?
English Language Arts22%-31 vs state
Mathematics11%-28 vs state
Science9%-34 vs state

1.0
1 rating · 1 written review
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What people are saying
by a student
Monday, September 7, 2009

Open Quote I would never send my child (if I had one) to this school I was once a student here several years ago, and although it was very disorganized and disorderly while I attended, it has gotten worse since then. Close Quote





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Frequently Asked Questions about Hearst Elementary School

Students at Hearst Elementary School are 65% Hispanic, 32% African American, 3% White.

Students who attend Hearst Elementary School usually go on to attend:

High : Kennedy High School

In the 2024-25 school year, 285 students attended Hearst Elementary School.

Hearst Elementary School ranks in the bottom 6.9% of Illinois elementary schools.


Rate Hearst Elementary School!



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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.





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