Elmhurst schools and rankings (Naperville, Evanston: middle-class, homes, school districts)

[Windycityfood90]

We are considering a move to Elmhurst and have been researching schools and noticed the elementary schools are ranked lower than I expected compared to the other towns we are considering (La Grange/Western Springs, Hinsdale/Clarendon Hills). Do rankings really reflect the quality of the elementary schools or does anyone have any first hand experience with schools in Elmhurst and whether you were happy with them? We are definitely not that focused on rankings but are just using those as a reference when comparing towns/school districts. Thanks!

[fusillirob1983]

Originally Posted by Windycityfood90

We are considering a move to Elmhurst and have been researching schools and noticed the elementary schools are ranked lower than I expected compared to the other towns we are considering (La Grange/Western Springs, Hinsdale/Clarendon Hills). Do rankings really reflect the quality of the elementary schools or does anyone have any first hand experience with schools in Elmhurst and whether you were happy with them? We are definitely not that focused on rankings but are just using those as a reference when comparing towns/school districts. Thanks!

What rankings?

[Hiruko]

Ranked according to who? Review the Illinois School Report Cards and talk with actual live parents, students, instructors, and alumni. Your kid can have a terrible experience at a "top ranked" public school, so I do not understand why people make such important decisions and live or die based on rankings based on algorithms created by people who have zero familiarity with the school.

Look at what happened to Columbia University. LOL

[Windycityfood90]

I was looking at US News and World Report rankings. We do not know people in the area so it was just a reference point.

[Hiruko]

Originally Posted by Windycityfood90

I was looking at US News and World Report rankings. We do not know people in the area so it was just a reference point.

No sane local would view Elmhurst, Hinsdale, or La Grange area school systems as having major discrepancies between one another. These are all predominately upper-middle-class communities with relatively well-funded schools.

This state-run website is your friend for hard data: Illinois Report Card

With that said, I'd still take those numbers with a grain of salt because race and socio-economics seem to be the determining factor in standardized test performance.

This forum has seemed to get less and less active, but there have been Elmhurst-based posters on here that have complained about Elmhurst and other local school districts due to the COVID-19 lockdowns.

[DannFrankenstein]

Coming from a private school myself and then moving and going to highly ranked public schools, I would like to remind the OP how bad all public schools are in Illinois. They are shameful. Until Geography is taught alongside 1st grade math and cursive is brought back with an extra recess to boot, I’d take a lower ranking in Elmhurst as a sign of increased diversity in the schools, though off the top of my head, I don’t know if recent census demographics indicate that that is the case.

[Caglee]

Originally Posted by Windycityfood90

We are considering a move to Elmhurst and have been researching schools and noticed the elementary schools are ranked lower than I expected compared to the other towns we are considering (La Grange/Western Springs, Hinsdale/Clarendon Hills).

The problem with "School ratings" is that you have to learn how to read between the lines. A primary reason why an otherwise good school can be rated lower is the introduction of a category called "equity". This rating looks at the academic performance of minority students or the achievement gap between racial or income groups. There is a universal breakdown of achievement between racial groups that is fairly uniform and standard across the entire country, and that's Asian students performing the best, followed by White students, Hispanic students, and then Black students. A school with a small minority population that performs below the white students (the majority population in Elmhurst) will suffer in the ratings due to this lower "equity" score.

While I'm not familiar with Elmhurst schools, I looked at the lowest ranked Elmhurst schools and can identify right away why they are rated the way they are.

Conrad Fisher Elementary (Rated 3/10): https://www.greatschools.org/illinoi...entary-School/
- This is a majority hispanic (56%) /low-income (63%) school, two categories that often coincide with lower academic achievement.

Lincoln Elementary (Rated 4/10): https://www.greatschools.org/illinoi...entary-School/
- An equity score of 1/10 is the likely culprit for bringing down the overall rating. Looking into the numbers, I see that hispanic students are only 7% of the student population but have significantly lower academic achievement and triple the amount of chronic absence and attendance issues as the white students. As for test scores overall, the school performs far above Illinois state averages. The school has almost uniform 5 star ratings from user reviews. I would consider this to be a very good school regardless of what the ratings say, even if you are a non-white student.

I would think just based on what I know about the towns you mentioned, it makes sense to me that Elmhurst would be the least desirable of school districts between Elmhurst, Hinsdale, Clarendon Hills, and Lagrange Park. Elmhurst is also the largest city of that group, probably the most affordable place to live, with a greater amount of racial and socioeconomic diversity. However, in no way would I consider Elmhurst schools as a whole to be bad or underperforming from looking at the numbers here.

[Hiruko]

Originally Posted by Caglee

The problem with "School ratings" is that you have to learn how to read between the lines. A primary reason why an otherwise good school can be rated lower is the introduction of a category called "equity". This rating looks at the academic performance of minority students or the achievement gap between racial or income groups. There is a universal breakdown of achievement between racial groups that is fairly uniform and standard across the entire country, and that's Asian students performing the best, followed by White students, Hispanic students, and then Black students. A school with a small minority population that performs below the white students (the majority population in Elmhurst) will suffer in the ratings due to this lower "equity" score.

While I'm not familiar with Elmhurst schools, I looked at the lowest ranked Elmhurst schools and can identify right away why they are rated the way they are.

Conrad Fisher Elementary (Rated 3/10): https://www.greatschools.org/illinoi...entary-School/
- This is a majority hispanic (56%) /low-income (63%) school, two categories that often coincide with lower academic achievement.

Lincoln Elementary (Rated 4/10): https://www.greatschools.org/illinoi...entary-School/
- An equity score of 1/10 is the likely culprit for bringing down the overall rating. Looking into the numbers, I see that hispanic students are only 7% of the student population but have significantly lower academic achievement and triple the amount of chronic absence and attendance issues as the white students. As for test scores overall, the school performs far above Illinois state averages. The school has almost uniform 5 star ratings from user reviews. I would consider this to be a very good school regardless of what the ratings say, even if you are a non-white student.

I would think just based on what I know about the towns you mentioned, it makes sense to me that Elmhurst would be the least desirable of school districts between Elmhurst, Hinsdale, Clarendon Hills, and Lagrange Park. Elmhurst is also the largest city of that group, probably the most affordable place to live, with a greater amount of racial and socioeconomic diversity. However, in no way would I consider Elmhurst schools as a whole to be bad or underperforming from looking at the numbers here.

The OP didn't mention GreatSchools. Even so, I don't like their metrics as an entire concept, but if you're going to have a ranking, I think that factoring in equity is actually highly valuable. GS is trying to compensate for its previous metrics that left more socioeconomically diverse but well-regarded public schools in communities like Skokie, Oak Park, Evanston, and Highland Park looking like lesser performers vis-a-vis less diverse schools in Hinsdale and Naperville that had less funding per pupil and larger class sizes.

[Caglee]

Originally Posted by Hiruko

The OP didn't mention GreatSchools. Even so, I don't like their metrics as an entire concept, but if you're going to have a ranking, I think that factoring in equity is actually highly valuable. GS is trying to compensate for its previous metrics that left more socioeconomically diverse but well-regarded public schools in communities like Skokie, Oak Park, Evanston, and Highland Park looking like lesser performers vis-a-vis less diverse schools in Hinsdale and Naperville that had less funding per pupil and larger class sizes.

GreatSchools is used by Realtor.com which is a major resource people use when looking for homes.

Agree to disagree on "Equity".

[fusillirob1983]

Originally Posted by Hiruko

The OP didn't mention GreatSchools. Even so, I don't like their metrics as an entire concept, but if you're going to have a ranking, I think that factoring in equity is actually highly valuable. GS is trying to compensate for its previous metrics that left more socioeconomically diverse but well-regarded public schools in communities like Skokie, Oak Park, Evanston, and Highland Park looking like lesser performers vis-a-vis less diverse schools in Hinsdale and Naperville that had less funding per pupil and larger class sizes.

Yes, in looking at GS rankings they seem to compensate for equity. I think it's valuable depending on if one finds that necessary for their situation.

I agree with Hiruko though that taking a look at Illinois Report Card is helpful.