Blackhawk Middle School, Bensenville IL

Original Research by School Decision on Blackhawk Middle School

Blackhawk Middle School is a middle school in Bensenville, Illinois, serving grades 6 through 8 in a district that has invested in facility upgrades without raising property taxes. The school enrolled students across the three middle grades, with a demographic composition heavily weighted toward Hispanic students, a smaller white enrollment, and small shares of Asian and Black students. Free-or-reduced-price lunch eligibility data was not available.

State testing results for the school show a mixed picture. In English language arts, students performed stronger in the upper grades. Sixth graders reached proficiency at a rate around midway between struggling and strong, while seventh graders and eighth graders both achieved proficiency at a somewhat higher rate, with eighth graders reaching just above the halfway mark. Math proficiency lagged behind ELA across all tested grades. In sixth grade, only about a third of students scored at proficiency; seventh grade was similar; and eighth grade showed modest improvement but still stood below what the state expects. Science testing occurred only in eighth grade, where proficiency fell at roughly the same rate as sixth-grade math. All students participated in testing at full rates.

When measured against other districts in DuPage County, Blackhawk's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile. The median district in the comparison group achieved roughly a midpoint proficiency rate; Blackhawk sits well below that median across tested subjects and grades. This positioning suggests that a parent looking at academic outcomes should recognize that the school is not meeting the performance bar typical for other schools in the county. A parent may want to look into further with the district what support structures are in place to help students reach proficiency in math and what recent efforts have targeted academic improvement.

The district itself recently completed a substantial renovation of Blackhawk Middle School using cash reserves rather than new borrowing or a tax referendum, meaning families benefited from a significant facility upgrade without a property tax increase. The district has also adopted a shared "Portrait of a Graduate" framework with partner districts, establishing competencies and attributes that shape the K-8 curriculum.

Bensenville itself is a mixed-character DuPage County village with a walkable downtown anchored by the Metra station, combined with large industrial and logistics zones bordering O'Hare Airport. The median home value in the area has shown modest appreciation, and the market remains active. Recent demographic shifts have drawn younger professional families attracted to O'Hare proximity and school reputation. The village's civic life centers on the downtown Metra station, public library, and Redmond Recreation Complex with ice arenas and aquatic facilities.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 630%

School 30% · District 30%

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▼ 21 pts below county median

Grade 729%

School 29% · District 29%

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▼ 27 pts below county median

Grade 837%

School 37% · District 37%

▲ 14 pts above state median · ▼ 15 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 647%

School 47% · District 47%

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▼ 27 pts below county median

Grade 748%

School 48% · District 48%

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▼ 25 pts below county median

Grade 853%

School 53% · District 53%

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▼ 22 pts below county median

Science

Grade 831%

School 31% · District 31%

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▼ 33 pts below county median

This schoolBensenville SD 2, 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.