The top reported proficiency rate is 89% in English language arts. The lowest is 72% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Avoca West Elem School
Avoca West Elementary serves kindergarten through fifth grade in Glenview, part of the small two-school Avoca School District 37 that also includes Marie Murphy School in Wilmette. The school's enrollment sits at around three hundred fifty students, with a student body that is substantially white, with meaningful representation of Asian students and smaller shares of Hispanic and multiracial students. The school's documented enrollment includes no Native American or Native Hawaiian students and very few Black students. Free-and-reduced-price lunch data for the school was not available.
On state assessments in early 2025, Avoca West's proficiency rates across math and reading ran solidly above the median among Cook County's districts. In third-grade math, roughly seven in eight students tested at proficient or above, while proficiency dipped somewhat by fourth and fifth grade, landing around seven in ten for fourth-grade math and slightly higher for fifth-grade reading. Third-grade reading proficiency was in the high eighties. In the one science test administered—fifth-grade science—roughly seven in ten students met proficiency. All three elementary grades that sat for state testing had participation rates of or near complete, indicating consistent test-taking.
The school's profile against the universe of Cook County districts places it in the top quartile for overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades. This positions Avoca West as a school where typical academic performance is solid and where students in the tested grades arrive at demonstrated competency at above-average rates for the county.
One material context shapes enrollment decisions: in March 2024, Glenview voters rejected a bond referendum that would have closed Avoca West and built a new elementary school on the Marie Murphy campus in Wilmette. The measure failed decisively, with roughly three-quarters voting no. The referendum would have added meaningful property-tax burden—on a median-priced home in the area, an estimated annual increase for up to thirty years. The referendum's defeat leaves Avoca West's facilities unaddressed; the school was built decades ago and has received six additions over time. The district has stated it intends to re-engage the community before seeking another referendum, and it currently has no capital projects fund for significant facility investment. For a family considering a move to the district, this means ongoing uncertainty about whether and when major renovation or capital work might occur, and the possibility of another referendum in future years.
Glenview itself is a predominantly residential North Shore suburb of several tens of thousands of people, about fifteen to twenty miles north of Chicago. The community has a dual commercial structure: a traditional walkable downtown anchored by a Metra commuter rail station, and The Glen, a large mixed-use redevelopment of the former naval air station now featuring homes, retail, offices, and a separate Metra station. Housing values have been rising, and homes sell relatively quickly. The community hosts strong civic anchors including a nationally recognized park district that has been a consecutive finalist for national park excellence, a well-regarded public library, and the Kohl Children's Museum. Employers including Astellas Pharma, Illinois Tool Works, and other corporate offices are based there. Walkability is concentrated in the downtown core and along The Glen but is limited in outlying residential neighborhoods.
The school sits within the district's serving boundaries. Students do not have access to high school, middle school, or upper elementary grades within Avoca West; they advance to Marie Murphy in Wilmette, which serves grades six through eight. After eighth grade, high school students from the district attend Glenbrook South, which is served by a separate high school district. Specific information about programs, special-education services, English-learner support, staffing, discipline data, or attendance was not available from the data provided. A family would benefit from contacting the school directly to understand those dimensions of the learning environment.
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