Summary:
ZIP code 60653 has eight elementary schools, all in Chicago Public Schools District 299; five serve PK–8, two serve PK–5, and Robinson Elementary School serves PK–3. Results vary widely, and chronic absenteeism averages 41%, compared with 24% statewide. Most importantly, all eight schools’ 2025–26 all-grades ELA results are below the state’s 56% proficiency rate, and all six schools with reported all-grades math results are below the state’s 40% rate.
Univ of Chicago Charter-Nth Kenwood leads the reported all-grades results, with 43% in ELA and 34% in math—13 and 5 percentage points below state rates. At the other end, Woodson South Elementary School has the lowest ELA result, 18%, or 39 points below the state; Ariel Elementary Community Academy has the lowest reported math result, 7%, or 32 points below. Wells Preparatory Elementary Academy is a notable exception in upper-grade ELA: its sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade results are 61%, 60%, and 69%, each above the corresponding state rate.
Recent changes are mixed: Mollison Elementary School had the largest ELA gain, rising 12 points to 26%, while James Farmer Junior Elementary gained 8 points in both ELA and math. Wells’ all-grades ELA score fell 12 points to 42%, despite its strong older-grade results. SchoolDigger ranks North Kenwood at the 32nd statewide percentile, Donoghue at the 18th, and Ariel at the 17th; these are rankings, not test scores. Other context does not form a simple pattern with results: Wells’ student–teacher ratio is 14.0, compared with Ariel’s 10.4, and their 2024–25 free/reduced lunch eligible shares are 83% and 71%, respectively. Wells also has the area’s lowest chronic absenteeism, 22%, just below the 24% state rate; Robinson’s 62% is the highest.
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