Carleton W Washburne School

Carleton W Washburne School is a middle school serving grades 7–8 and 376 students in Winnetka, a North Shore community, as part of Winnetka School District 36. Its 2025–2026 test results are strong, especially compared with Illinois as a whole: 87% of students were proficient in ELA and 80% in math, compared with 56% and 40% statewide. The clearest takeaway is that Washburne’s proficiency is far above state levels, with its biggest state advantage in math.

Washburne also performs well among nearby schools, but does not lead them across the board. Its all-grades results are above nearby-school averages in ELA and math, ranking sixth of 11 schools in ELA and fourth in math; these all-grades comparisons include schools serving different grade spans. Within the district, Washburne is 1 point below the ELA result and 3 points below the math result. Its 8th-grade ELA is a local strength, ranking second among nine nearby schools with results, while 7th-grade ELA is a relative weak spot, ranking seventh of nine. Attendance is less favorable: chronic absenteeism was 13%, above the district’s 6% but below the state’s 24%; only two nearby schools had higher rates.

Results have risen since 2023–2024: ELA proficiency increased 16 points and math increased 7 points. The ELA lead over the state widened slightly, from 30 to 31 points, while the math lead narrowed from 44 to 40 points. SchoolDigger ranks Washburne 34th of 1,126 Illinois schools, in the 97th percentile with five stars; it also gives the district a five-star rating and a rank of 14th among 738 districts. The 2024–2025 student–teacher ratio was 8.9. Washburne reported that 1% of students were free/reduced lunch eligible in 2021–2022. One subgroup result stands out: SchoolDigger’s measure of how well the school serves students with disabilities was at the 72nd percentile in 2025–2026, down 28 points from the previous year, while the overall percentile rose from 95 to 97.