Summary:
ZIP code 60430 has one middle school, James Hart School, serving grades 6–8 in Homewood School District 153, with 681 students and a student–teacher ratio of 11.1:1 in 2024–2025. Because it is the only school in the list, there is no meaningful local school-to-school ranking; the key comparison is with Illinois. The most important finding is that James Hart is well ahead of the state in English language arts (ELA), but below it in math and grade 8 science.
James Hart is both the highest- and lowest-performing school in this one-school group by default, so its state comparisons are more useful than a local ranking. In 2025–2026, ELA proficiency was 69%, compared with 56% statewide—a 12-point advantage. Math was 34%, versus 40% statewide, a 6-point shortfall; grade 8 science was 47%, compared with 52%, a 5-point shortfall. ELA was above the state in all three grades, with advantages of 17 points in grade 6, 9 in grade 7, and 3 in grade 8. Math varied by grade: grade 6 was 3 points above the state, while grades 7 and 8 were 8 and 3 points below.
Results improved from 2024–2025 to 2025–2026, but the school’s relative progress differed by subject: ELA rose from 63% to 69% and its state advantage widened from 10 to 12 points; math increased from 32% to 34%, narrowing its shortfall from 7 to 6 points. Grade 8 science also rose, from 41% to 47%, but its gap with the state widened from 4 to 5 points because the state improved more. SchoolDigger lists James Hart at the 65th percentile in 2024–2025 and the 51st in 2025–2026; its 2023–2024 entry was at the 60th percentile, and these rankings use comparison sets of different sizes. As context, 47% of students were free/reduced lunch eligible in 2024–2025; the school reported chronic absenteeism of 18% in 2025–2026, compared with 24% statewide. These figures describe one school and do not allow meaningful comparisons among local schools.
Thank you for your feedback!