The top reported proficiency rate is 63% in English language arts. The lowest is 58% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Oakland Elementary School
Oakland Elementary School serves kindergarten through fifth grade in Lake Villa, a small residential village in northern Lake County anchored by Cedar and Deep Lakes. The school is part of Antioch CCSD 34, a five-school district currently implementing a districtwide shift to a Guaranteed and Viable Curriculum with Essential Standards identified for every grade level as part of its 2023-2028 Strategic Plan. This curriculum initiative sets consistent learning expectations across all grade levels in the district and shapes what teachers instruct and students are assessed on.
The school enrollment is modest, distributed across six grade levels with roughly equal cohorts from kindergarten through fifth grade. Demographically, the student body is predominantly white, with a meaningful Hispanic population reflecting the village's ethnic composition, and smaller numbers of Asian, Black, and multiracial students. The school's free-or-reduced-price lunch participation data was not available, so a parent seeking to understand the economic profile of the student population would need to inquire directly with the school.
On state assessments administered in the most recent school year, Oakland's performance showed a mixed picture across math and English language arts. In third-grade math, proficiency reached above the midpoint, with a substantial share of students demonstrating proficiency or above. Fourth-grade math proficiency dipped notably, sitting at around half the tested students meeting standards. Fifth-grade math proficiency recovered slightly and was similar to fourth grade. In English language arts, third-grade proficiency was below the school's math performance and below the midpoint for the district's peer schools, but fourth-grade ELA improved meaningfully and fifth-grade ELA was notably strong, with proficiency well above the school's own math results in that grade. In science, fifth-grade results were solid, with a substantial majority of students showing proficiency. State testing data for grades six through eight were not available because Oakland serves only through fifth grade. The school's proficiency index across tested subjects and grades places it above the midpoint among districts in Lake County, a position that reflects uneven but generally serviceable performance when taken as a whole.
Participation rates on the state assessments were high, at or near complete in most grades, suggesting reliable data and strong testing access.
Oakland sits in a community undergoing active redevelopment and growth. Lake Villa is adding residential developments, including a large single-family subdivision now under construction and senior housing approved nearby. The downtown is in the midst of a vision-planning and redevelopment phase anchored by a new mixed-use project, and the village recently acquired the former Pleviak Elementary School site for transformative development, signaling ongoing change in the school's surrounding environment. Housing values in the immediate area have risen modestly over the past year, and the local market shows a healthy supply of homes for sale. A Metra station with all-day weekday service provides regional transit access.
The school's peer context within Lake County shows it performing above the midpoint among county districts on the overall proficiency index, though notably some schools in the county perform substantially higher and others considerably lower. A parent evaluating Oakland would want to examine the specific grade-level and subject results closely, particularly the fourth-grade math dip and the variation between math and reading proficiency, to understand whether their child's needs align with the school's current instructional strengths. The district's curriculum initiative is still rolling out, and discussing its implementation timeline and how it will affect specific classrooms would be a useful next step in considering this school.
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