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Walden Elementary School

Public Grades K-5

116^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 1,737 Illinois Elementary Schools

Better than 93% of Illinois elementary schools

Summary

Walden Elementary School serves kindergarten through fifth grade and enrolls 445 students in suburban Deerfield, Illinois. In 2025–26, SchoolDigger ranked it 116th of 1,737 Illinois schools, in the 93rd percentile, with five stars. The clearest standout is fifth-grade science: 78% of students were proficient, 7 percentage points above Deerfield School District 109 and 31 points above the state, ranking second among 10 nearby schools with results.

Overall, Walden performs strongly compared with the state and nearby schools, though it sits just below its district in both tested subjects. In 2025–26, 83% were proficient in ELA and 72% in math—26 and 32 points above state results, respectively, but 2 points below the district in each subject. Among comparable nearby K–5 and PK–5 schools, Walden ranked second in ELA and third in math. Results vary by grade: fifth-grade ELA was 88%, 5 points above the district, while fourth-grade math was a relative soft spot at 70%, 6 points below the district.

Walden’s ELA results have climbed, while math has improved overall but dipped slightly from its recent peak. ELA proficiency rose from 63% in 2023–24 to 83% in 2025–26, narrowing its gap below the district from 10 points to 2; math increased from 62% to 72%, after reaching 74% in 2024–25. The school’s 11.9:1 student–teacher ratio in 2024–25 is around the middle of the nearby group, rather than unusually low. One subgroup result stands out: SchoolDigger’s ranking for how well Walden serves Special Education Students fell from the 97th percentile in 2023–24 to the 69th percentile in 2025–26 (rank 63 of 201, three stars), while the school’s overall result was in the 93rd percentile that year. SchoolDigger’s subgroup comparison groups vary by year, so this shift is a change in ranking, not a direct measure of changes in student outcomes.

445

Students ?

11.9

Student/teacher ratio ?

$20,685

Per pupil spending ?

2.4%

Free/reduced lunch eligible (2021-22) ?

98%

Measles protection (all grades) (2025-26)

630 Essex Ct
Deerfield, IL 60015-2367

(847) 945-9660

District: Deerfield School District 109

Students who attend Walden Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	Alan B Shepard Middle School
High:	Deerfield High School

Racial breakdown:

White:

82.7%

Hispanic:

9.0%

Asian:

4.5%

See top rated Illinois elementary schools

Compare Walden Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 99th percentile in 2016 → 93rd in 2026

Strengths

✓Test scores above the Illinois average (78% vs 48% meeting standards)

✓Ranks in the top 7% of Illinois elementary schools

✓Small classes — about 12 students per teacher

Worth a look

!Ranking has slipped — down 6 percentile points since 2016

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school78%

District avg77%

Illinois avg48%

116^th of 1,737

Illinois public elementary schools ?

Top 7%▼ down 6 pts since 2016

From top 1% (2016) to top 7% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Illinois Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

2^nd of 4Elementary Schools in the Deerfield School District 109

35^th of 738Deerfield School District 109 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
2026	90.5	116 of 1737	93.3%	★★★★★
2025	90.0	177 of 2056	91.4%	★★★★★
2024	92.3	152 of 2067	92.6%	★★★★★
2023	90.4	174 of 2077	91.6%	★★★★★
2022	92.6	120 of 2082	94.2%	★★★★★
2021	96.4	62 of 1948	96.8%	★★★★★
2019	98.0	15 of 2086	99.3%	★★★★★
2018	99.1	8 of 2037	99.6%	★★★★★
2017	98.0	21 of 2044	99.0%	★★★★★
2016	98.5	12 of 2046	99.4%	★★★★★
2015	99.2	11 of 2052	99.5%	★★★★★
2014	94.9	19 of 2093	99.1%	★★★★★
2013	93.2	50 of 2167	97.7%	★★★★★
2012	87.5	54 of 2166	97.5%	★★★★★
2011	87.0	72 of 2147	96.6%	★★★★★
2010	87.0	71 of 2139	96.7%	★★★★★
2009	88.3	45 of 2120	97.9%	★★★★★
2008	89.2	21 of 2092	99.0%	★★★★★
2007	85.6	66 of 2095	96.8%	★★★★★
2006	87.0	50 of 2086	97.6%	★★★★★
2005	89.0	38 of 2022	98.1%	★★★★★
2004	90.6	16 of 2030	99.2%	★★★★★
2003	88.6	68 of 2020	96.6%	★★★★★

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Illinois percentile	Rating
2025	78.1	145 of 1049	86.2%	★★★★☆
2024	82.9	71 of 886	92.0%	★★★★★

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Illinois percentile	Rating
2026	85.9	105 of 1286	91.8%	★★★★★
2025	86.7	217 of 1942	88.8%	★★★★☆
2024	87.6	201 of 1942	89.6%	★★★★☆
2023	88.1	196 of 1957	90.0%	★★★★★
2022	93.3	102 of 1970	94.8%	★★★★★
2021	94.7	57 of 1680	96.6%	★★★★★
2019	97.5	19 of 2019	99.1%	★★★★★
2018	97.8	11 of 1964	99.4%	★★★★★

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Illinois percentile	Rating
2026	84.2	150 of 1311	88.6%	★★★★☆
2025	90.2	146 of 1947	92.5%	★★★★★
2024	94.4	92 of 1959	95.3%	★★★★★
2023	90.2	155 of 1984	92.2%	★★★★★
2022	88.7	175 of 1977	91.1%	★★★★★
2021	94.2	72 of 1707	95.8%	★★★★★
2019	97.4	16 of 2019	99.2%	★★★★★
2018	99.4	5 of 1972	99.7%	★★★★★

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Illinois percentile	Rating
2026	69.7	63 of 201	68.7%	★★★☆☆
2025	95.5	46 of 1292	96.4%	★★★★★
2024	96.2	32 of 1195	97.3%	★★★★★
2023	90.2	63 of 1156	94.6%	★★★★★
2022	83.1	97 of 1113	91.3%	★★★★★
2021	91.9	27 of 640	95.8%	★★★★★
2019	94.7	33 of 1194	97.2%	★★★★★

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Illinois percentile	Rating
2026	80.1	167 of 1149	85.5%	★★★★☆
2025	80.7	216 of 1389	84.4%	★★★★☆
2024	85.0	153 of 1392	89.0%	★★★★☆
2023	79.8	214 of 1419	84.9%	★★★★☆
2022	85.2	134 of 1425	90.6%	★★★★★
2021	92.4	48 of 1308	96.3%	★★★★★
2019	94.8	20 of 1462	98.6%	★★★★★
2018	97.5	6 of 1463	99.6%	★★★★★

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)

Female (2026)92nd percentile~ school

Male (2026)89th percentile-5 vs school

Disabled (2025)86th percentile-5 vs school

White (2026)85th percentile-8 vs school

Special Education (2026)69th percentile-25 vs school

By subject vs Illinois (2025-2026) ?

English Language Arts83%+26 vs state

Science78%+31 vs state

Mathematics72%+32 vs state

★

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Schools Near Walden Elementary School

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

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

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				ISA Science (2026)		IAR English Language Arts (2026)							IAR Mathematics (2026)							Vaccination (2025-26)		Per Pupil Expenditures (2026)
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/reduced lunch (2021-22)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	ISA Science 5th Grade	ISA Science 8th Grade	IAR English Language Arts 3rd Grade	IAR English Language Arts 4th Grade	IAR English Language Arts 5th Grade	IAR English Language Arts 6th Grade	IAR English Language Arts 7th Grade	IAR English Language Arts 8th Grade	IAR English Language Arts All Grades	IAR Mathematics 3rd Grade	IAR Mathematics 4th Grade	IAR Mathematics 5th Grade	IAR Mathematics 6th Grade	IAR Mathematics 7th Grade	IAR Mathematics 8th Grade	IAR Mathematics All Grades	Vaccination: Measles protection (all grades)	Vaccination: Exemption rate	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Walden Elementary School	Public	K-5	630 Essex Ct	Deerfield	60015	Lake County	Deerfield School District 109	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(847) 945-9660	445	37	11.9	2.4%	368 (82.7%)	5 (1.1%)	40 (9.0%)	20 (4.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (2.7%)	90.5	116^th of 1737 public elementary schools	93.3%		90	177^th of 2056 public elementary schools	91.4%	61	78.2		73.7	85.7	88.3				82.6	80.3	70.1	65.4				71.9	98%		$20,685	$321	$20,364
Kipling Elementary School	Public	K-5	700 Kipling Pl	Deerfield	60015	Lake County	Deerfield School District 109	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(847) 948-5151	452	38	11.8	2.0%	393 (86.9%)	4 (0.9%)	23 (5.1%)	18 (4.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (3.1%)	84.6	215^th of 1737 public elementary schools	87.6%		90.9	162^nd of 2056 public elementary schools	92.1%	53	58.4		75.8	82.1	77.9				78.5	69.6	82.1	63.6				71.7	99.1%		$20,260	$319	$19,941
Wilmot Elementary School	Public	K-5	795 Wilmot Rd	Deerfield	60015	Lake County	Deerfield School District 109	No	(n/a)	No	No	(847) 945-1075	477	43	11.1	2.1%	396 (83.0%)	0 (0.0%)	21 (4.4%)	22 (4.6%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	37 (7.8%)	86.5	184^th of 1737 public elementary schools	89.4%		92.2	129^th of 2056 public elementary schools	93.7%	55	75.0		69.9	88.3	78.6				79.1	76.7	71.4	56.0				67.5	98.5%		$21,726	$327	$21,400
North Shore Academy Elementary	Public	K-6	776 Red Oak Ln	Highland Park	60035	Lake County	TrueNorth Educl Cooprtv 804	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(847) 291-7905	0	6	.0	—	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Sherwood Elementary School	Public	K-5	2031 Sheridan Rd	Highland Park	60035	Lake County	North Shore School District 112	No	(n/a)	No	No	(224) 765-3800	342	38	9.0	6.8%	274 (80.1%)	13 (3.8%)	21 (6.1%)	16 (4.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	18 (5.3%)	86.5	180^th of 1737 public elementary schools	89.6%		86.1	263^rd of 2056 public elementary schools	87.2%	83	66.2		76.1	88.3	75.4				80.4	74.6	71.4	63.1				69.9	95.6%		$23,233	$370	$22,863
Bannockburn School	Public	K-8	2165 Telegraph Rd	Bannockburn	60015	Lake County	Bannockburn School District 106	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(847) 945-5900	165	18	9.0	20.3%	105 (63.6%)	3 (1.8%)	5 (3.0%)	40 (24.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (7.3%)	94.9	47^th of 1737 public elementary schools	97.3%		96.2	37^th of 2056 public elementary schools	98.2%	10	75.0	92.3	95.2	100.0	100.0	82.4	92.3	92.3	93.5	100.0	83.3	68.8	70.6		92.3	81.5	98.1%		$36,099	$633	$35,466
Red Oak Elementary School	Public	K-5	530 Red Oak Ln	Highland Park	60035	Lake County	North Shore School District 112	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(224) 765-3750	225	23	9.6	—	81 (36.0%)	0 (0.0%)	117 (52.0%)	9 (4.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	18 (8.0%)	77.9	332^nd of 1737 public elementary schools	80.9%		85.2	277^th of 2056 public elementary schools	86.5%	55	62.5		63.4	81.3	71.9				71.4	65.9	71.9	53.1				63.8	99%		$29,652	$582	$29,070
South Park Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	1421 Hackberry Rd	Deerfield	60015	Lake County	Deerfield School District 109	No	(n/a)	No	No	(847) 945-5895	424	35	12.0	1.0%	347 (81.8%)	3 (0.7%)	27 (6.4%)	27 (6.4%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	19 (4.5%)	94.2	62^nd of 1737 public elementary schools	96.4%		95.4	58^th of 2056 public elementary schools	97.2%	4	74.5		85.5	89.4	91.5				88.5	88.2	79.1	69.6				80.1	99.3%		$21,548	$325	$21,223
Ravinia Elementary School	Public	K-5	763 Dean Ave	Highland Park	60035	Lake County	North Shore School District 112	No	(n/a)	No	No	(224) 765-3700	285	24	11.8	1.2%	241 (84.6%)	0 (0.0%)	27 (9.5%)	4 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (4.6%)	90.5	117^th of 1737 public elementary schools	93.3%		92.2	130^th of 2056 public elementary schools	93.7%	13	85.5		72.1	86.4	87.3				82.4	76.7	63.6	80.0				73.9	98.2%		$27,683	$370	$27,312
Oak Terrace Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-5	240 Prairie Ave	Highwood	60040	Lake County	North Shore School District 112	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(224) 765-3100	494	41	12.1	—	187 (37.9%)	8 (1.6%)	269 (54.5%)	8 (1.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	22 (4.5%)	43.8	942^nd of 1737 public elementary schools	45.8%		69.3	616^th of 2056 public elementary schools	70.0%	326	39.7		62.5	66.7	49.1				58.6	42.5	35.4	43.9				40.7	99.4%		$27,204	$716	$26,489

Frequently Asked Questions about Walden Elementary School

What district is Walden Elementary School in?

Deerfield School District 109

What is the racial makeup of Walden Elementary School?

Students at Walden Elementary School are 83% White, 9% Hispanic, 4% Asian, 3% Two or more races, 1% African American.

What schools do graduates of Walden Elementary School attend?

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

Middle : Alan B Shepard Middle School
High : Deerfield High School

How many students attend Walden Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 445 students attended Walden Elementary School.

Is Walden Elementary School a good school?

Yes. Walden Elementary School ranks in the top 6.7% of Illinois elementary schools.

Rate Walden Elementary School!

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Latest Illinois data All new data »

2025–26 school spending dataNewOct 30, 2026

2025–26 attendance data, dropout rates & graduation ratesNewOct 30, 2026

2025–26 ACT, IAR, ISA & PreACT Secure test scoresNewOct 30, 2026

2013–14 through 2025–26 immunization rates (updated)Oct 19, 2026

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.