Best Public Schools in Zip Code 60450

Zip code 60450 has five schools serving 2,871 students from pre-K through grade 12, with elementary, middle, K–8 and high-school options. In 2025–26, the four schools with all-grades IAR results averaged 59% in ELA and 44% in math, compared with state results of 56% and 40%; school results ranged from 40% to 81% in ELA and 26% to 65% in math. All-grades results cover different grade spans, so grade-matched scores are fairest for direct school comparisons. The most important takeaway is that results vary substantially by school, grade and subject—not that one score describes the whole area.

Nettle Creek Elementary School has the highest all-grades results: 81% in ELA and 65% in math, respectively 25 and 26 points above state. It also stands out in grade 5, with 92% in ELA and 85% in science. Saratoga Elementary School shows strength across several grade-matched results, including 86% in grade 8 ELA—23 points above state—and leads reported results in several grades 6–8 comparisons. At the other end, Shabbona Middle School has the lowest all-grades math result, 26%, 13 points below state; however, its grade 8 science is 60%, 9 points above state. White Oak Elementary varies by grade: it is below state in the reported grade 5 subjects but scores 52% in grade 4 math, 10 points above state.

Recent changes are mixed: the four-school all-grades average rose from 53% to 59% in ELA from 2024–25 to 2025–26, with much of the increase coming from Nettle Creek; the math average moved from 43% to 44%. Morris Community High School remains above state in its supplied 2025–26 ACT comparisons, but its 11th-grade scores and state advantages declined from the prior year. SchoolDigger rankings also fell from 2024–25 to 2025–26 at Morris (82nd to 73rd percentile), Saratoga (70th to 52nd) and Shabbona (58th to 33rd). Student-teacher ratios range from 7.4 at Nettle Creek to 17.6 at Morris. For context, 2024–25 free/reduced lunch eligible figures were 4% at Nettle Creek, 41% at Saratoga, and 48% each at White Oak and Shabbona; Morris reported 20% for 2021–22, a different year.