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M J Cunningham Elementary School

Public Grades K-5

1581^st

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 1,737 Illinois Elementary Schools

Better than 9% of Illinois elementary schools

Summary

M J Cunningham Elementary School serves 484 students in grades K–5 in Joliet, Illinois, as part of Joliet PSD 86. Its clearest academic strength is math compared with nearby schools and the district, although its results remain below the state’s. The most important takeaway is that math is a relative strength, not a high overall result: 22% of students were proficient in 2025–2026, compared with 19% in the district and 40% statewide, so fewer than one in four met the proficiency mark.

Math also exceeded the average for nearby same-district schools, 18%, by 4 percentage points. ELA is weaker: 28% were proficient, below the district’s 37%, the state’s 56%, and the nearby-school average of 31%. Grade 3 math stands out positively at 41%, compared with 30% in the district and 35% at the next-highest nearby school. Fifth-grade science was another weak spot: 26% were proficient, versus 34% in the district, 48% statewide, and a 32% average among nearby schools with reported results. Chronic absenteeism is also elevated: 31% of students were chronically absent, compared with 26% in the district and 24% statewide.

Scores have improved, especially in ELA, which rose from 14% proficient in 2023–2024 to 22% in 2024–2025 and 28% in 2025–2026; math rose from 10% to 20% to 22%. Still, SchoolDigger ranks the school in the 9th statewide percentile for 2025–2026 and gives it 0 stars; its percentile fell 17 points from 2022–2023. The 2024–2025 student-teacher ratio was 14.5, below the nearby-school average of 17.1. In 2024–2025, 94% of students were free/reduced lunch eligible, close to the nearby-school average of 95%. SchoolDigger’s ranking for how well the school serves English Language Learner students was at the 51st percentile in 2022–2023, then the 11th percentile in 2023–2024—a 40-point drop.

484

Students ?

14.5

Student/teacher ratio ?

$15,762

Per pupil spending ?

94.0%

Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?

97.7%

Measles protection (all grades) (2025-26)

500 Moran St
Joliet, IL 60435-4532

(815) 723-0169

District: Joliet PSD 86

Students who attend M J Cunningham Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	Hufford Junior High School
High:	Joliet Central High School

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

84.7%

African American:

6.0%

White:

5.2%

See top rated Illinois elementary schools

Compare M J Cunningham Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

At a glance

▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 12th percentile in 2016 → 9th in 2026

Worth a look

!Test scores below the Illinois average (25% vs 48% meeting standards)

!In the lower quartile statewide (9th percentile)

!High chronic absenteeism (31% vs 24% Illinois)

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school25%

District avg30%

Illinois avg48%

1,581^st of 1,737

Illinois public elementary schools ?

Bottom 9%▼ down 3 pts since 2016

From bottom 12% (2016) to bottom 9% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of Illinois Elementary Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

8^th of 14Elementary Schools in the Joliet PSD 86

691^st of 738Joliet PSD 86 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	11.1	1581 of 1737	9.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	15.7	1771 of 2056	13.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	19.4	1699 of 2067	17.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	24.3	1539 of 2077	25.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	21.8	1609 of 2082	22.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	13.9	1817 of 1948	6.7%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	19.6	1742 of 2086	16.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	17.2	1752 of 2037	14.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2017	20.9	1654 of 2044	19.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2016	16.4	1799 of 2046	12.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2015	19.8	1713 of 2052	16.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2014	15.8	1834 of 2093	12.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2013	16.0	1891 of 2167	12.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2012	24.0	1780 of 2166	17.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2011	27.5	1707 of 2147	20.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2010	29.9	1650 of 2139	22.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2009	30.6	1630 of 2120	23.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2008	33.3	1570 of 2092	25.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2007	50.0	1326 of 2095	36.7%	★★☆☆☆
2006	52.1	1264 of 2086	39.4%	★★☆☆☆
2005	28.1	1623 of 2022	19.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2004	28.8	1598 of 2030	21.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2003	21.9	1647 of 2020	18.5%	★☆☆☆☆

African American

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Illinois percentile	Rating
2023	40.1	374 of 692	46.0%	★★☆☆☆
2018	23.7	617 of 698	11.6%	★☆☆☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Illinois percentile	Rating
2025	22.3	882 of 1049	15.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	22.7	780 of 886	12.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	26.5	707 of 907	22.1%	★☆☆☆☆

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Illinois percentile	Rating
2025	24.9	682 of 788	13.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	25.1	735 of 826	11.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	43.5	384 of 788	51.3%	★★★☆☆
2022	42.6	393 of 768	48.8%	★★☆☆☆
2021	26.2	504 of 537	6.1%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	24.9	677 of 743	8.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2018	27.8	613 of 718	14.6%	★☆☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Illinois percentile	Rating
2026	5.9	1253 of 1286	2.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	20.0	1587 of 1942	18.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	19.8	1599 of 1942	17.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	25.4	1439 of 1957	26.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	20.4	1588 of 1970	19.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	12.3	1603 of 1680	4.6%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	17.5	1757 of 2019	13.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	10.9	1880 of 1964	4.3%	☆☆☆☆☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Illinois percentile	Rating
2026	20.0	449 of 536	16.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	23.1	819 of 982	16.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	28.9	713 of 959	25.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	39.0	571 of 970	41.1%	★★☆☆☆
2022	30.6	683 of 954	28.4%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	20.7	706 of 742	4.9%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	25.1	795 of 955	16.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	24.2	789 of 938	15.9%	★☆☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Illinois percentile	Rating
2026	19.5	866 of 1001	13.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2025	26.9	1395 of 1800	22.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	31.3	1279 of 1793	28.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	41.0	1024 of 1808	43.4%	★★☆☆☆
2022	37.8	1078 of 1763	38.9%	★★☆☆☆
2021	22.4	1324 of 1514	12.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	32.5	1307 of 1816	28.0%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	29.4	1321 of 1765	25.2%	★☆☆☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Illinois percentile	Rating
2026	9.8	1235 of 1311	5.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2025	13.7	1739 of 1947	10.7%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	20.0	1580 of 1959	19.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2023	25.1	1456 of 1984	26.6%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	25.0	1434 of 1977	27.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	14.0	1605 of 1707	6.0%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	23.3	1584 of 2019	21.5%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	27.7	1435 of 1972	27.2%	★☆☆☆☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Illinois percentile	Rating
2025	18.7	1126 of 1292	12.8%	★☆☆☆☆
2024	17.5	1130 of 1195	5.4%	☆☆☆☆☆
2023	20.5	1043 of 1156	9.8%	☆☆☆☆☆
2022	22.6	1009 of 1113	9.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2021	19.3	625 of 640	2.3%	☆☆☆☆☆
2019	23.5	1023 of 1194	14.3%	★☆☆☆☆
2018	27.9	569 of 763	25.4%	★☆☆☆☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	Illinois percentile	Rating
2018	34.6	983 of 1463	32.8%	★★☆☆☆

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)

African American (2023)46th percentile+20 vs school

White (2018)33rd percentile+19 vs school

Hispanic (2026)16th percentile+7 vs school

Disabled (2025)16th percentile~ school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)13th percentile+5 vs school

English Language Learner (2025)13th percentile~ school

Special Education (2025)13th percentile~ school

Male (2026)6th percentile-3 vs school

Female (2026)3rd percentile-6 vs school

By subject vs Illinois (2025-2026) ?

English Language Arts28%-29 vs state

Science26%-21 vs state

Mathematics22%-17 vs state

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Schools Near M J Cunningham 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 (2024-25)	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
M J Cunningham Elementary School	Public	K-5	500 Moran St	Joliet	60435	Will County	Joliet PSD 86	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(815) 723-0169	484	33	14.5	94.0%	25 (5.2%)	29 (6.0%)	410 (84.7%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (3.9%)	11.1	1581^st of 1737 public elementary schools	9.0%		15.7	1771^st of 2056 public elementary schools	13.9%	190	26.3		20.3	29.9	31.3				27.5	40.6		18.8				22.4	97.7%		$15,762	$766	$14,996
Farragut Elementary School	Public	K-5	701 Glenwood Ave	Joliet	60435	Will County	Joliet PSD 86	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(815) 723-0394	568	34	16.8	94.2%	25 (4.4%)	178 (31.3%)	340 (59.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	25 (4.4%)	4.9	1706^th of 1737 public elementary schools	1.8%		11.2	1901^st of 2056 public elementary schools	7.5%	195	17.4		21.0	24.0	27.6				24.2	21.0						12.9	96.5%		$17,147	$905	$16,242
Taft Elementary School	Public	K-5	1125 Oregon St	Joliet	60435	Will County	Joliet PSD 86	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(815) 725-2700	424	21	19.9	94.6%	59 (13.9%)	57 (13.4%)	279 (65.8%)	3 (0.7%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	25 (5.9%)	12.8	1545^th of 1737 public elementary schools	11.1%		28.9	1463^rd of 2056 public elementary schools	28.8%	82	37.0		22.4	37.7	38.0				33.0	23.9	29.0	13.9				21.9	99%		$17,318	$691	$16,627
Chaney-Monge School	Public	K-8	400 Elsie Ave	Crest Hill	60403	Will County	Chaney-Monge School District 88	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(815) 722-6673	479	0		68.5%	133 (27.8%)	42 (8.8%)	257 (53.7%)	3 (0.6%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	43 (9.0%)	22.1	1336^th of 1737 public elementary schools	23.1%		23.3	1591^st of 2056 public elementary schools	22.6%	255	34.7	33.3		32.1	60.0	45.1	32.7	42.1	37.9	19.6						8.9	97.9%		$21,832	$761	$21,071
Sator Sanchez Elementary School	Public	K-5	1101 Harrison Ave	Joliet	60432	Will County	Joliet PSD 86	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(815) 740-2810	635	50	12.7	97.8%	9 (1.4%)	52 (8.2%)	567 (89.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (0.9%)	5.3	1695^th of 1737 public elementary schools	2.4%		10.3	1938^th of 2056 public elementary schools	5.7%	243	26.1		20.9	20.0	24.5				21.8	23.9	12.0					14.0	98.5%		$16,941	$842	$16,099
Pershing Elementary School	Public	K-5	251 N Midland Ave	Joliet	60435	Will County	Joliet PSD 86	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(815) 725-0986	621	33	19.0	96.1%	60 (9.7%)	107 (17.2%)	432 (69.6%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	21 (3.4%)	9.9	1608^th of 1737 public elementary schools	7.4%		14.5	1806^th of 2056 public elementary schools	12.2%	198	28.3		22.9	35.5	28.1				29.0	35.4	15.1					18.8	100%		$17,474	$1,002	$16,472
Lynne Thigpen Elementary School	Public	K-5	207 S Midland Ave	Joliet	60436	Will County	Joliet PSD 86	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(815) 741-7629	620	40	15.3	93.9%	45 (7.3%)	139 (22.4%)	397 (64.0%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	37 (6.0%)	8.1	1639^th of 1737 public elementary schools	5.6%		14.8	1790^th of 2056 public elementary schools	12.9%	151	36.5		17.1	29.1	29.2				25.2	19.0	15.5					13.4	96.8%		$16,939	$888	$16,051
Edna Keith Elementary School	Public	K-5	400 4th Ave	Joliet	60433	Will County	Joliet PSD 86	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(815) 723-3409	402	25	16.0	95.0%	14 (3.5%)	122 (30.3%)	248 (61.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	18 (4.5%)	4.7	1707^th of 1737 public elementary schools	1.7%		7.9	1996^th of 2056 public elementary schools	2.9%	289	18.2			18.8	25.4				19.4	25.4	15.0					14.1	95.4%		$19,402	$1,203	$18,199
Forest Park Individual Educational School	Public	K-5	1220 California Ave	Joliet	60432	Will County	Joliet PSD 86	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(815) 723-0414	263	15	18.1	—	21 (8.0%)	24 (9.1%)	213 (81.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (1.9%)	47.5	881^st of 1737 public elementary schools	49.3%		59.8	816^th of 2056 public elementary schools	60.3%	65	55.0		46.5	73.6	77.5				66.2	30.2	43.4	25.0				33.8	98.4%		$16,102	$655	$15,447
Carl Sandburg Elementary	Public	K-5	1100 Lilac Ln	Joliet	60435	Will County	Joliet PSD 86	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(815) 725-0281	371	20	18.7	95.1%	26 (7.0%)	157 (42.3%)	165 (44.5%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	22 (5.9%)	6.6	1670^th of 1737 public elementary schools	3.9%		9.3	1959^th of 2056 public elementary schools	4.7%	289			22.0	27.1	28.3				25.6	25.4						16.5	96.7%		$17,263	$660	$16,603

Frequently Asked Questions about M J Cunningham Elementary School

What is the racial makeup of M J Cunningham Elementary School?

Students at M J Cunningham Elementary School are 85% Hispanic, 6% African American, 5% White, 4% Two or more races.

What schools do graduates of M J Cunningham Elementary School attend?

Students who attend M J Cunningham Elementary School usually go on to attend:

Middle : Hufford Junior High School
High : Joliet Central High School

How many students attend M J Cunningham Elementary School?

In the 2024-25 school year, 484 students attended M J Cunningham Elementary School.

Is M J Cunningham Elementary School a good school?

M J Cunningham Elementary School ranks in the bottom 9.0% of Illinois elementary schools.

What district is M J Cunningham Elementary School in?

Joliet PSD 86

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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.