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Whittier Elementary School

Public Grades PK, KG-5
269th
SchoolDigger Rank ?
of 1,737 Illinois Elementary Schools
Better than 85% of Illinois elementary schools
Summary

Whittier Elementary School serves 386 students in prekindergarten through fifth grade in Oak Park, in Oak Park Education Service District 97. In 2025–2026, students scored above the state in English Language Arts (ELA) and math, though the school’s clearest strength is math: proficiency was 72%, 10 percentage points above the district and 32 above the state, and 7 points above the average for its four same-district peers.

Whittier’s math result is second among those five schools, behind Horace Mann Elementary School. ELA is the main relative weakness: 69% of Whittier students were proficient, 13 points above the state but 7 below the district and 3 below the peer average. Grade-level results add nuance: Whittier’s third-grade math proficiency was 75%, second among the five, while its fourth-grade ELA result of 75% ranked fourth. In fifth-grade science, 68% proficiency was 3 points below the district and 21 above the state.

Results have improved overall since 2023–2024, although ELA has recently slipped: it rose from 51% to 74% and then eased to 69%, while math climbed from 49% to 68% and then 72%. SchoolDigger places Whittier at the 85th statewide percentile with four stars in 2025–2026; it ranks second locally, behind Horace Mann at the 97th percentile. Whittier also had the lowest reported student–teacher ratio among the five schools, at 10.3 in 2024–2025, and 21% of students were free/reduced lunch eligible that year. One notable SchoolDigger subgroup result is that its “Low Socio Economic Status Students” ranking rose from the 15th percentile in 2022–2023 to the 54th in 2024–2025, still below the school’s overall 89th-percentile ranking that year; this ranking describes how well the school serves that group.

386
Students ?
10.3
Student/teacher ratio ?
$28,901
Per pupil spending ?
20.7%
Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?
98.5%
Measles protection (all grades) (2025-26)
 715 N Harvey Ave
       Oak Park, IL  60302-1741

(708) 524-3115

District: Oak Park Education Service District 97


Students who attend Whittier Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:    Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School
High:    Oak Park & River Forest High School
Racial breakdown:

White:
52.8%
African American:
18.4%
Two or more races:
14.5%
more
 See top rated Illinois elementary schools

 Compare Whittier Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!
At a glance
▬ Ranking trend: Holding steady — 86th percentile in 2016 → 85th in 2026
Strengths
✓Test scores above the Illinois average (70% vs 48% meeting standards)
✓Ranks in the top 15% of Illinois elementary schools
✓Among the top-ranked schools in Oak Park Education Service District 97
Worth a look
!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing
Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?
This school70%
District avg70%
Illinois avg48%
269th of 1,737
Illinois public elementary schools ?
Top 15%▼ down 1 pts since 2016
See the entire ranking list of Illinois Elementary Schools →
★★★★★
SchoolDigger rating ?
2nd of 8Elementary Schools in the Oak Park Education Service District 97
121st of 738Oak Park Education Service District 97 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

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202681.7269 of 173784.5%★★★★☆
202587.8225 of 205689.1%★★★★☆
202481.4330 of 206784.0%★★★★☆
202385.6263 of 207787.3%★★★★☆
202288.5209 of 208290.0%★★★★★
202176.1401 of 194879.4%★★★★☆
201951.9936 of 208655.1%★★★☆☆
201864.8652 of 203768.0%★★★☆☆
201776.1444 of 204478.3%★★★★☆
201684.1289 of 204685.9%★★★★☆
201593.8115 of 205294.4%★★★★★
201483.8301 of 209385.6%★★★★☆
201384.1296 of 216786.3%★★★★☆
201280.4343 of 216684.2%★★★★☆
201172.4631 of 214770.6%★★★★☆
201076.2513 of 213976.0%★★★★☆
200963.5949 of 212055.2%★★★☆☆
200857.51103 of 209247.3%★★☆☆☆
200753.41241 of 209540.8%★★☆☆☆
200658.31097 of 208647.4%★★☆☆☆
200573.4554 of 202272.6%★★★★☆
200475.2514 of 203074.7%★★★★☆
200375.3525 of 202074.0%★★★★☆

African American

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202582.162 of 68891.0%★★★★★
202479.667 of 65589.8%★★★★☆
202269.8105 of 68484.6%★★★★☆
201925.4605 of 71114.9%★☆☆☆☆
201884.951 of 69892.7%★★★★★

Disabled

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202586.585 of 104991.9%★★★★★
202472.1129 of 88685.4%★★★★☆

Female

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202676.3236 of 128681.6%★★★★☆
202585.5244 of 194287.4%★★★★☆
202482.0280 of 194285.6%★★★★☆
202380.0328 of 195783.2%★★★★☆
202276.8398 of 197079.8%★★★★☆
202163.3534 of 168068.2%★★★☆☆
201951.9910 of 201954.9%★★★☆☆
201869.2548 of 196472.1%★★★★☆

Hispanic

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202594.631 of 98296.8%★★★★★
202393.033 of 97096.6%★★★★★

Low Socio Economic Status

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202551.5831 of 180053.8%★★★☆☆
202445.4914 of 179349.0%★★☆☆☆
202323.31530 of 180815.4%★☆☆☆☆
202234.11162 of 176334.1%★★☆☆☆
201916.91699 of 18166.4%☆☆☆☆☆
201852.5742 of 176558.0%★★★☆☆

Male

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202670.6341 of 131174.0%★★★★☆
202586.3227 of 194788.3%★★★★☆
202475.4419 of 195978.6%★★★★☆
202385.3237 of 198488.1%★★★★☆
202289.2166 of 197791.6%★★★★★
202179.3269 of 170784.2%★★★★☆
201952.0876 of 201956.6%★★★☆☆
201858.5727 of 197263.1%★★★☆☆

Multi-racial

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202350.145 of 9351.6%★★★☆☆

Special Education

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202663.076 of 20162.2%★★★☆☆
202586.8117 of 129290.9%★★★★★
202470.7232 of 119580.6%★★★★☆
202386.590 of 115692.2%★★★★★
202287.563 of 111394.3%★★★★★

White

YearAvg scoreStatewide rankIllinois percentileRating
202681.4152 of 114986.8%★★★★☆
202587.8108 of 138992.2%★★★★★
202475.8267 of 139280.8%★★★★☆
202390.772 of 141994.9%★★★★★
202290.865 of 142595.4%★★★★★
202168.9341 of 130873.9%★★★★☆
201949.2748 of 146248.8%★★☆☆☆
201863.6490 of 146366.5%★★★☆☆
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)
Hispanic (2025)97th percentile+8 vs school
Disabled (2025)92nd percentile+3 vs school
African American (2025)91st percentile~ school
White (2026)87th percentile~ school
Female (2026)82nd percentile-3 vs school
Male (2026)74th percentile-11 vs school
Special Education (2026)62nd percentile-22 vs school
Low Socio Economic Status (2025)54th percentile-35 vs school
Multi-racial (2023)52nd percentile-36 vs school
By subject vs Illinois (2025-2026) ?
Mathematics72%+32 vs state
English Language Arts69%+13 vs state
Science68%+21 vs state

5.0
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What people are saying
by a parent
Thursday, June 6, 2019

Open Quote Whittier is one of the smaller schools in Oak Park, which has been a plus for us. Our two kids have had just a wonderful experience with this school. We've been very impressed with the caliber of teaching and the warmth of the community. Parents are very involved, and the PTO is active and vibrant. The school is racially and economically diverse, and has a good number of special needs kids as well, and works hard to ensure that everyone has a sense of belonging. We'd had some unfortunate experiences with private schools in the city and are SO glad we landed here. Be aware that Whittier has a high opt out rate for the PARCC ( about 20), as do many of the Oak Park schools, which makes it difficult to assess if you look at test scores. You might be able to get other data from the school if you are concerned. Our kids are high achievers and we have been really pleased. Close Quote





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Frequently Asked Questions about Whittier Elementary School

Whittier Elementary School ranks 269th of 1737 Illinois elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

Students at Whittier Elementary School are 53% White, 18% African American, 15% Two or more races, 11% Hispanic, 2% Asian.

In the 2024-25 school year, 386 students attended Whittier Elementary School.

Rate Whittier Elementary School!



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Latest Illinois data All new data »
2025–26 school spending dataOct 30, 2026
2025–26 attendance data, dropout rates & graduation ratesOct 30, 2026
2025–26 ACT, IAR, ISA & PreACT Secure test scoresOct 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.

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