The top reported proficiency rate is 69% in Math. The lowest is 68% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Concord Elem School
Concord Elementary serves prekindergarten through fourth grade in Darien, a residential suburb in southern DuPage County, about 17 miles west of Chicago. The school is a regular public school in Cass School District 63, a small district anchoring families in a car-oriented community of subdivisions and commerce organized around expressway interchanges.
The school enrolls families across a spectrum. Student body composition reflects suburban diversity: a majority white enrollment, with substantial shares of Asian and Hispanic students, and smaller populations of Black and multiracial children. The school draws no visible Title I designation, suggesting enrollment does not reach the federal free-and-reduced-price-lunch threshold that would trigger that status, though specific poverty data was not available. Enrollment sits at a small-to-moderate size for the grade band, spread across seven grades including a lone eighth grader. Prekindergarten and kindergarten account for a meaningful share of the population, making Concord anchored in the youngest learners.
On math assessment results from the most recent year, third and fourth graders posted proficiency rates in the low-to-moderate range, both below the midpoint seen across tested students statewide. Fourth-grade math performance was slightly lower than third. Grade five and beyond lack reported results because Concord does not serve those grades except for one eighth grader. English language arts tells a mixed story: fourth graders performed substantially better in reading than in math, at a solid level. Third graders in reading were notably weaker than their fourth-grade peers, falling below half proficiency. Science testing data was suppressed, preventing any view of science achievement. The school's overall proficiency index across reported subjects and grades placed it above the midpoint among districts in DuPage County, a positioning that reflects the relatively stronger ELA showing alongside the softer math floor.
Darien itself is a planned, car-dependent suburban environment where public life radiates outward from home and family rather than clustering in a walkable downtown. Civic anchors include the Indian Prairie Public Library, the Darien Sportsplex, and the Darien Park District. The housing market reflects the suburban character: median home values are substantial, and rental costs are moderate relative to household income in the region, though residents face the standard calculus of suburban real estate. The district approved a bond referendum in November 2022 to replace HVAC systems with geothermal equipment, upgrade fire alarms and video surveillance, and install new intercom systems at Concord and at Cass Junior High. Interior HVAC work began in May 2024, anchoring a multi-year property tax increase for families in the school's attendance area.
Concord's academic profile shows strength in upper-elementary reading and weakness in third-grade reading and across math grades. A parent may want to look into the school's reading intervention and math support directly, particularly the trajectory between third and fourth grade and the reasons for the sharp ELA shift. The school draws a diverse enrollment and sits in a stable, family-centered community with ongoing capital investment. Whether this fit depends on your weight of the school's reading and math performance, the suburban character of the area, and your family's comfort with the local property tax environment shaped by the recent bond approval.
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