The top reported proficiency rate is 27% in English language arts. The lowest is 11% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on C F Simmons Middle School
C F Simmons Middle School serves sixth through eighth grade in Aurora and is part of Aurora East USD 131, a district now undertaking a multi-year shift toward dual language instruction across all grade levels, with the goal of graduating bilingual and biliterate students. This is a material curriculum choice: dual language instruction affects how reading, writing, and subject content are taught from kindergarten on, so incoming sixth graders have arrived with years of this model already in place, and the program continues through middle school. The school sits on the west side of Aurora, in a mixed-use suburban city that is the second-largest in Illinois and part of the Chicago metropolitan area.
The school enrollment is small to mid-sized for a middle school, distributed across three grades. The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with much smaller shares of students identifying as Black, Asian, White, or other races. Specific data on free or reduced price lunch eligibility, English learner status, and special education enrollment were not available in the dataset, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about those demographics to understand the socioeconomic composition and support infrastructure.
State testing results show considerable academic challenges. On the Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) in math, sixth grade proficiency was in the single digits, seventh grade around one-eighth, and eighth grade around one-seventh, all well below typical benchmarks. English language arts results were stronger: sixth grade proficiency was around one-fifth, seventh grade roughly three-tenths, and eighth grade around one-quarter. On the science assessment given to eighth graders, proficiency was around one-quarter. When compared against other districts in Kane County, the school's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile. State assessment data for sixth grade in ELA was not reported, and data for seventh and eighth grade science were not available. The participation rate across tested grades was consistently in the mid-to-high nineties, so low proficiency reflects actual performance rather than absent test-takers.
No graduation rate is available because this is a middle school and does not serve high school grades. Discipline, attendance, and chronic absenteeism data were not in the dataset.
The Aurora area housing market is moderately valued relative to national benchmarks. The school is situated in a city undergoing active downtown revitalization, with new apartment developments breaking ground and the district investing in facilities improvements including heating and air conditioning upgrades at multiple schools. The area has diverse employment, anchored by manufacturers like Caterpillar, health systems including Rush-Copley and Ascension Mercy, and a growing tech sector with JPMorgan Chase operating a major hub in the city.
The district adopted a new five-year strategic plan in 2024 centered on equity, operational excellence, collaborative leadership, and closing the opportunity gap, which shapes how individual schools set priorities and allocate resources. For a student family, this middle school represents a sixth through eighth grade experience within a district framework that is deliberately building toward bilingual literacy and attempting to address achievement gaps through its current strategic direction, though current proficiency results suggest there is substantial distance to travel.
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