Summary:
ZIP code 60172 has three elementary schools—Frederick Nerge, Spring Hills and Waterbury—all serving grades 3–5, with Nerge also reporting grade 6. In 2025–2026, their unweighted average proficiency was 63% in English language arts (ELA), 56% in mathematics and 61% in 5th-grade science, each above the state result. The key takeaway is that those area averages mask a wide divide between Spring Hills’ consistently strong results and Waterbury’s lower scores.
Spring Hills led all three comparisons, with 79% proficient in ELA, 68% in mathematics and 74% in science—respectively 22, 29 and 27 points above state results. It also led the other two schools’ average by 24 points in ELA, 19 in mathematics and 20 in science. Waterbury was lowest in all three: 43% in ELA, 40% in mathematics and 51% in science. Its ELA score was 14 points below the state, though its mathematics result was just 0.2 points above. Nerge fell between them in all three measures, with 68% in ELA, 59% in mathematics and 58% in science.
Recent results show mixed movement: from 2024–2025, Nerge improved 3 points in ELA and 1 in mathematics, while Spring Hills declined 3 and 4 points, and Waterbury declined 6 and 7. The group average fell 2 points in ELA and 3 in mathematics as state scores rose, narrowing the schools’ average lead over the state. SchoolDigger’s statewide ranking percentile rose from 70 to 89 for Spring Hills over three years, while Nerge fell from 82 to 73 and Waterbury from 51 to 35. A lower student–teacher ratio did not correspond to higher results: Waterbury’s was 10.3, versus 13.1 at Nerge and 14.6 at Spring Hills (2024–2025). Free/reduced lunch eligible figures were 39% at Waterbury and 30% at Spring Hills (2024–2025); Nerge’s 10% figure is from 2021–2022, so it is from a different year.
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