Dryden Elem School, Arlington Heights IL

Original Research by School Decision on Dryden Elem School

Dryden Elementary serves kindergarten through fifth grade in Arlington Heights, a northwest Chicago suburb with active downtown redevelopment and a diversified job market anchored by Northwest Community Healthcare, United Airlines, and corporate offices. The school sits on a residential campus, separated from the downtown Metra-transit core where most civic life concentrates.

The school enrolls a small to moderate cohort of students, with the largest grades in the second and third ranks. The student body is predominantly white, with smaller Asian and Hispanic populations; free-or-reduced-price-lunch eligibility data was not available. Kindergarten, newly expanded to full-day in the 2024-2025 school year via a voter-approved referendum, reflects a significant programmatic shift for families with young children: the district replaced its prior half-day program with 25 new classrooms across six elementary schools, funded by a narrow bond measure that also raised property taxes.

State testing data from the most recent school year shows mixed proficiency across grades. In third-grade math and reading, proficiency runs in the mid-to-upper range; fourth-grade reading is notably stronger. Fourth-grade math and fifth-grade reading and science show lower proficiency, with fifth-grade math performing below the midpoint. The pattern suggests variable performance across grades and subjects rather than uniform strength or weakness. Relative to the districts in Cook County, Dryden's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile, a meaningful distinction among the county's elementary schools.

Test participation rates are very high, typically near complete; a parent may want to look into the school's approach to any accommodations or alternative assessments. Science testing was limited to fifth grade, following state assessment windows; testing data for grades above fifth was not reported because the school does not serve those grades.

Housing in Arlington Heights averages in the mid-range for the Chicago region, with rents and home values reflecting suburban transit-oriented development. The area is experiencing downtown growth and new residential construction, including apartment buildings and mixed-use projects, alongside a long-pending mixed-use redevelopment of the former Arlington Park racetrack. This growth context may shape enrollment and community composition over the next several years.

The referendum that funded full-day kindergarten also authorized capital improvements across the district, anchoring it in a deliberate expansion phase. Families choosing Dryden should factor that the school operates within this reinvestment cycle and expect continued change in physical infrastructure and programming for early grades.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 375%

School 75% · District 74% · ▲ 1 pts above district

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

Grade 470%

School 70% · District 73% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▲ 33 pts above state median · ▲ 41 pts above county median

Grade 552%

School 52% · District 66% · ▼ 14 pts below district

▲ 22 pts above state median · ▲ 30 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 372%

School 72% · District 69% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 28 pts above state median · ▲ 34 pts above county median

Grade 481%

School 81% · District 75% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 33 pts above state median · ▲ 41 pts above county median

Grade 570%

School 70% · District 76% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▲ 18 pts above state median · ▲ 25 pts above county median

Science

Grade 565%

School 65% · District 67% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▲ 29 pts above state median · ▲ 38 pts above county median

This schoolArlington Heights SD 25, 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.