Summary:
ZIP code 60632 has two middle schools: Hernandez Middle School, serving grades 6–8, and Shields Middle School, serving grades 5–8. In 2025–2026, both schools’ all-grades English language arts (ELA) and math proficiency rates were below Illinois averages. Their simple average was 42% in ELA, 15 percentage points below the state’s 56%, and 19% in math, 21 points below the state’s 40%; the most important shared concern is the larger shortfall in math.
Shields stands out in all-grades ELA, with 47% proficiency compared with 36% at Hernandez, a 10-point lead. The grade-level picture is mixed: Shields’ grade 7 ELA result was 68%, 11 points above the state, and it also led in grade 8; Hernandez led by 2 points in grade 6. Hernandez had the higher all-grades math result, 21% to Shields’ 17%, but the lead switches by grade: Hernandez was ahead in grades 6 and 8, while Shields led in grade 7. Eighth-grade science was nearly even—40.3% at Hernandez and 39.5% at Shields—and both were below the state’s 51.9%.
Scores increased from 2024–2025 to 2025–2026 at both schools: Hernandez rose 5 points in ELA and 3 in math, while Shields rose 9 in ELA and 3 in math. Eighth-grade science also improved substantially, up 19 points at Hernandez and 18 at Shields. However, SchoolDigger’s latest rankings were below the prior year: Hernandez moved from the 24th to the 13th percentile, and Shields from the 27th to the 24th, despite the test-score gains. Shields has a lower student-teacher ratio (10.8:1 versus 14.4:1); both schools reported high free/reduced lunch eligible shares in 2024–2025—97% at Shields and 95% at Hernandez. Chronic absenteeism was similar, at 29% and 30%, respectively, above the state’s 24%. Shields serves grade 5, so its all-grades average is not fully comparable with Hernandez’s.
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