Sunset Ridge Elementary School

Sunset Ridge Elementary School serves 274 students in grades 4–8 in Northfield, an area with several nearby middle and elementary schools. Its 2025–2026 results are strong overall, with 91% proficiency in English language arts (ELA) and 80% in math. The clearest concern is sixth-grade math: 70% of students were proficient, lower than at most nearby schools serving sixth graders and a noticeable dip from Sunset Ridge’s results in its other grades.

Sunset Ridge is among the strongest schools in the supplied comparisons: its ELA score is above the nearby-school average of 87%, and its math score is above the average of 77%. Its ELA proficiency is 5 percentage points above Sunset Ridge School District 29 and 35 points above the state; in math, it is just below the district and 41 points above the state. Grade-specific science is also a strength: proficiency is 91% in grade 5 and 87% in grade 8, respectively 44 and 35 points above state rates. In sixth-grade math, Sunset Ridge trails nearby Highcrest Middle School and The Skokie School, though its 70% result remains 34 points above the state.

Scores have risen since 2023–2024: ELA increased by 3 percentage points and math by 3, though the state’s faster improvement narrowed Sunset Ridge’s advantage. SchoolDigger gives the school five stars and ranks it 36th of 1,126 statewide, in the 97th percentile; its district ranks 12th of 738, in the 98th percentile. The school’s 2024–2025 student-teacher ratio of 8.1 is the lowest among nearby schools with reported figures. Its reported free/reduced lunch eligible share was 1.6% in 2021–2022, a contextual measure rather than an explanation of achievement. Chronic absenteeism was 12% in 2025–2026—below the state’s 24%, but above the district’s 8%.