Horizon Science Acad-mckinley Pk, Chicago IL

Original Research by School Decision on Horizon Science Acad-mckinley Pk

Horizon Science Academy McKinley Park is a charter school serving kindergarten through grade twelve in Chicago's McKinley Park neighborhood on the South Side. The school operates as a single-site institution, though it recently separated its high school program into a dedicated campus in nearby Bridgeport, opened in August 2025. This division has practical implications: it freed up classroom space at the main building, allowing younger elementary students to move out of modular classrooms back indoors and improving access to science labs across the lower grades.

The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with substantial African American representation and a small White enrollment. The school serves roughly mid-sized enrollment for a K-12 charter across its combined locations. Data on free-or-reduced-price lunch eligibility and English learner status were not available, so a parent should ask the school directly about the composition of economic need and English learner support.

In state testing, Horizon's performance shows a marked grade-level pattern. In the elementary grades, students perform considerably better: third and fourth graders show proficiency rates in math and reading that are solid, while proficiency dips noticeably in fifth and sixth grade across both subjects, with math proficiency dropping to the low range by fifth grade and remaining low through eighth grade. Reading proficiency holds up somewhat better in the middle grades, with eighth-grade performance rebounding substantially. Science proficiency in the tested grades (five and eight) is low. Overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades places the school above the midpoint among other districts in Cook County, a reflection of the stronger elementary results pulling up an uneven profile. The math decline from upper elementary into middle school is pronounced enough that a parent may want to look into the school's approach to the transition and whether there are specific supports or curriculum adjustments in place.

The school does not report graduation rate data, likely because the high school program was only recently established as a separate entity and prior years' students completed at the main building.

The neighborhood sits on Chicago's South Side in a moderately walkable area. Housing values in the McKinley Park zip code are below the state median; rents have been rising. The wider Chicago region has resumed population growth and development activity after years of decline, though housing approvals remain below 2023 levels. This is not a high-appreciation housing market, though it has been stabilizing.

The school's curriculum emphasizes science, reflected in its name and institutional focus. Beyond that curriculum identity, the data provided do not detail program breadth, elective offerings, extracurricular activities, or the nature of specialized science instruction. The recent high school campus opening was publicly framed as enabling expanded academic, vocational, and college-guidance programming, so parents considering the high school may want to ask about those new offerings directly.

Attendance data, discipline records, staffing, and special education or English learner enrollment counts were not available in the public record accessed here. A parent considering enrollment should request those details from the school.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 382%

School 82% · District 82%

▲ 36 pts above state median · ▲ 43 pts above county median

Grade 471%

School 71% · District 71%

▲ 35 pts above state median · ▲ 43 pts above county median

Grade 526%

School 26% · District 26%

▼ 4 pts below state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

Grade 622%

School 22% · District 22%

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

Grade 724%

School 24% · District 24%

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

Grade 822%

School 22% · District 22%

even with state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 376%

School 76% · District 76%

▲ 32 pts above state median · ▲ 39 pts above county median

Grade 475%

School 75% · District 75%

▲ 27 pts above state median · ▲ 35 pts above county median

Grade 559%

School 59% · District 59%

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▲ 13 pts above county median

Grade 668%

School 68% · District 68%

▲ 18 pts above state median · ▲ 26 pts above county median

Grade 754%

School 54% · District 54%

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

Grade 874%

School 74% · District 74%

▲ 21 pts above state median · ▲ 28 pts above county median

Science

Grade 534%

School 34% · District 34%

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

Grade 841%

School 41% · District 41%

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▲ 15 pts above county median

This schoolHorizon Science Acad-McKinley Pk, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.