Summary:
ZIP code 60402 has one high school, J Sterling Morton West High School, serving grades 9–12 and enrolling 3,374 students. Because it is the only school listed, there is no local school-to-school comparison. In 2025–26, it scored above J S Morton HSD 201 in all nine reported test measures, but its results were below the state in every one, by about 14 to 18 points—the clearest finding for families comparing its results with state benchmarks.
Within the school’s results, ninth-grade PreACT Secure ELA was highest at 46%, while tenth-grade PreACT Secure math was lowest at 19%; these are different grades and tests, not a direct comparison of the same skill. Morton West exceeded its district in all nine measures: the advantage ranged from 1 point in ninth-grade PreACT ELA to 6 points in ninth-grade PreACT math. Even so, its highest result remained below the state’s 62% in ninth-grade PreACT ELA, and its lowest was below the state’s 36% in tenth-grade PreACT math.
Results changed unevenly from 2024–25 to 2025–26: math improved in all three matched tests, led by an 8-point rise in ninth-grade PreACT math, while all three ELA results fell, including a 6-point drop in grade 11 ACT ELA; science also declined in all three comparisons. SchoolDigger ranks Morton West 491st of 620 schools, in the 21st percentile, with one star for 2025–26; its prior-year ranking was 501st of 698 and the 28th percentile, so the ranking history is not a simple measure of progress. Other context includes a 15.4 student-teacher ratio and 78% free/reduced lunch eligible in 2024–25. In 2025–26, chronic absenteeism was 30%, compared with 24% statewide.
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