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OKeeffe Elementary School

Public Grades PK, KG-8
1845th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 2,056 Illinois Elementary Schools
Better than 10% of Illinois elementary schools
Summary

OKeeffe Elementary School is a public elementary school serving grades PK-8 in Chicago, Illinois, with an enrollment of 513 students. 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.

OKeeffe Elementary School consistently ranks in the bottom 10-15% of Illinois elementary schools, with significantly below-average performance on standardized tests in both English Language Arts and Mathematics. For example, in the 2024-2025 school year, only 26.8% of students were proficient or better in English Language Arts, compared to 42.8% for the district and 53.1% for the state. In Mathematics, the proficiency rate was just 8.7%, 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 58.5% over the past few years, which is significantly higher than the district and state averages.

Interestingly, the nearby schools, such as Parkside Elementary Community Academy, Bouchet Elementary Math & Science Academy, and South Shore Fine Arts Elementary School, generally perform better than OKeeffe Elementary School on academic measures, despite serving similar student populations. These nearby schools have higher proficiency rates and lower chronic absenteeism rates, suggesting that factors beyond just funding and staffing may be contributing to their better academic performance.

572
Students ?
13.1
Student/teacher ratio ?
$18,275
Per pupil spending ?
82%
Free/discounted lunch ?
 6940 S Merrill Ave
       Chicago, IL  60649-1721

(773) 535-0600

District: Chicago Public Schools District 299


Students who attend OKeeffe Elementary School usually attend:

High:    Chicago Vocational Career Academy High School
    South Shore International Col Prep High School
Racial breakdown:

African American:
85.8%
Hispanic:
12.2%
Two or more races:
1.6%
more
 See top rated Illinois elementary schools

 Compare OKeeffe Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
Ranking trend: Rebounding — 3rd percentile in 2021 → 10th in 2025
Strengths
Ranking is rebounding — up to 10th (2025) from a 3rd-percentile low (2021)
Worth a look
!Test scores below the Illinois average (15% vs 44% meeting standards)
!In the lower quartile statewide (10th percentile)
!High chronic absenteeism (58% vs 25% Illinois)
Students meeting standards (2024-2025) ?
This school15%
District avg33%
Illinois avg44%
Elementary school
1,845th of 2,056
Illinois public elementary schools ?
Bottom 10%▼ down 4 pts since 2015
From bottom 15% (2015) to bottom 10% (2025)
See the entire ranking list of Illinois Elementary Schools →
SchoolDigger rating ?
Middle school
1,220th of 1,368
Illinois public middle schools ?
Bottom 11%▲ up 7 pts since 2015
From bottom 4% (2015) to bottom 11% (2025)
See the entire ranking list of Illinois Middle Schools →
SchoolDigger rating ?
340th 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
202513.11845 of 205610.3%★☆☆☆☆
202415.71820 of 206711.9%★☆☆☆☆
202314.61887 of 20779.1%☆☆☆☆☆
202212.61970 of 20825.4%☆☆☆☆☆
202112.51885 of 19483.2%☆☆☆☆☆
20199.92017 of 20863.3%☆☆☆☆☆
201810.71948 of 20374.4%☆☆☆☆☆
201716.21789 of 204412.5%★☆☆☆☆
201621.91643 of 204619.7%★☆☆☆☆
201518.51752 of 205214.6%★☆☆☆☆
20145.72042 of 20932.4%☆☆☆☆☆
201313.81939 of 216710.5%★☆☆☆☆
20123.42128 of 21661.8%☆☆☆☆☆
20115.12086 of 21472.8%☆☆☆☆☆
20105.32059 of 21393.7%☆☆☆☆☆
20094.52055 of 21203.1%☆☆☆☆☆
20085.81990 of 20924.9%☆☆☆☆☆
20073.52017 of 20953.7%☆☆☆☆☆
20063.42003 of 20864.0%☆☆☆☆☆
20051.01991 of 20221.5%☆☆☆☆☆
20042.21966 of 20303.2%☆☆☆☆☆
20032.51953 of 20203.3%☆☆☆☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202538.5405 of 68841.1%★★☆☆☆
202433.4445 of 65532.1%★★☆☆☆
202335.3443 of 69236.0%★★☆☆☆
202230.3507 of 68425.9%★☆☆☆☆
202129.8332 of 42822.4%★☆☆☆☆
201927.5573 of 71119.4%★☆☆☆☆
201829.3530 of 69824.1%★☆☆☆☆

Disabled

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202517.0997 of 10495.0%☆☆☆☆☆
202420.4813 of 8868.2%☆☆☆☆☆
202321.6822 of 9079.4%☆☆☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202516.01683 of 194213.3%★☆☆☆☆
202419.81597 of 194217.8%★☆☆☆☆
202318.51659 of 195715.2%★☆☆☆☆
202212.21887 of 19704.2%☆☆☆☆☆
20219.91663 of 16801.0%☆☆☆☆☆
201910.71929 of 20194.5%☆☆☆☆☆
20188.71924 of 19642.0%☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202521.61526 of 180015.2%★☆☆☆☆
202421.51545 of 179313.8%★☆☆☆☆
202322.11573 of 180813.0%★☆☆☆☆
202218.21643 of 17636.8%☆☆☆☆☆
202118.61427 of 15145.7%☆☆☆☆☆
201915.91713 of 18165.7%☆☆☆☆☆
201816.41661 of 17655.9%☆☆☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202511.71797 of 19477.7%☆☆☆☆☆
202413.41824 of 19596.9%☆☆☆☆☆
202311.81902 of 19844.1%☆☆☆☆☆
202214.11835 of 19777.2%☆☆☆☆☆
201911.31924 of 20194.7%☆☆☆☆☆
201814.51798 of 19728.8%☆☆☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202517.71142 of 129211.6%★☆☆☆☆
202419.11094 of 11958.5%☆☆☆☆☆
202318.11102 of 11564.7%☆☆☆☆☆
202222.41011 of 11139.2%☆☆☆☆☆
201926.0956 of 119419.9%★☆☆☆☆
201820.2738 of 7633.3%☆☆☆☆☆
Middle school ranking
Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202514.41220 of 136810.8%★☆☆☆☆
202421.71066 of 136321.8%★☆☆☆☆
202317.71167 of 136714.6%★☆☆☆☆
202216.31206 of 136911.9%★☆☆☆☆
202111.51208 of 12412.7%☆☆☆☆☆
201913.81220 of 135610.0%★☆☆☆☆
201814.81149 of 129311.1%★☆☆☆☆
201710.71240 of 12934.1%☆☆☆☆☆
201615.11176 of 12949.1%☆☆☆☆☆
201510.31252 of 13023.8%☆☆☆☆☆
20145.11287 of 13222.6%☆☆☆☆☆
201340.8842 of 136738.4%★★☆☆☆
20125.51318 of 13653.4%☆☆☆☆☆
201111.21241 of 13447.7%☆☆☆☆☆
20107.41247 of 13276.0%☆☆☆☆☆
200923.01077 of 131818.3%★☆☆☆☆
20083.61256 of 12932.9%☆☆☆☆☆
200715.01112 of 128713.6%★☆☆☆☆
20065.71197 of 12725.9%☆☆☆☆☆
20052.31186 of 12091.9%☆☆☆☆☆
200410.51057 of 120412.2%★☆☆☆☆
20036.81103 of 11856.9%☆☆☆☆☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202534.5378 of 57434.1%★★☆☆☆
202444.8252 of 54854.0%★★★☆☆
202339.8317 of 56944.3%★★☆☆☆
202238.5312 of 57345.5%★★☆☆☆
202124.7348 of 3859.6%☆☆☆☆☆
201934.4371 of 56534.3%★★☆☆☆
201837.1312 of 51138.9%★★☆☆☆

Disabled

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202421.6617 of 6393.4%☆☆☆☆☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202512.61143 of 12488.4%☆☆☆☆☆
202423.3965 of 125122.9%★☆☆☆☆
202315.31136 of 127510.9%★☆☆☆☆
202215.11154 of 128610.3%★☆☆☆☆
201911.61195 of 12766.3%☆☆☆☆☆
201813.21122 of 12268.5%☆☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202520.01064 of 122913.4%★☆☆☆☆
202432.0833 of 121931.7%★★☆☆☆
202327.4938 of 123424.0%★☆☆☆☆
202223.61019 of 122116.5%★☆☆☆☆
202116.3977 of 10194.1%☆☆☆☆☆
201920.41052 of 121713.6%★☆☆☆☆
201822.2975 of 116116.0%★☆☆☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202518.21076 of 127115.3%★☆☆☆☆
202422.2975 of 126422.9%★☆☆☆☆
202322.81005 of 129222.2%★☆☆☆☆
202218.41091 of 128615.2%★☆☆☆☆
201918.11101 of 129615.0%★☆☆☆☆
201818.21044 of 122314.6%★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202526.4582 of 81228.3%★☆☆☆☆
202417.0780 of 8022.7%☆☆☆☆☆
202227.3635 of 78118.7%★☆☆☆☆
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
African American (2025)41st percentile+31 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2025)15th percentile+5 vs school
Female (2025)13th percentile+3 vs school
Special Education (2025)12th percentile~ school
Male (2025)8th percentile-3 vs school
Disabled (2025)5th percentile-5 vs school
Middle school
African American (2025)34th percentile+23 vs school
Special Education (2025)28th percentile+18 vs school
Male (2025)15th percentile+5 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2025)13th percentile+3 vs school
Female (2025)8th percentile~ school
Disabled (2024)3rd percentile-18 vs school
By subject vs Illinois (2024-2025) ?
English Language Arts27%-26 vs state
Science13%-30 vs state
Mathematics9%-30 vs state

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Frequently Asked Questions about OKeeffe Elementary School

OKeeffe Elementary School ranks in the bottom 10.3% of Illinois elementary schools.

Students at OKeeffe Elementary School are 86% African American, 12% Hispanic, 2% Two or more races.

In the 2024-25 school year, 572 students attended OKeeffe 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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