Prairieview Elementary School, Downers Grove IL

Original Research by School Decision on Prairieview Elementary School

Prairieview Elementary School serves third through fifth grade in Downers Grove, a western Chicago suburb in DuPage County with a mix of residential neighborhoods, downtown walkability anchored by the Main Street Metra station, and significant corporate presence. The school is part of Center Cass SD 66, which operates three schools across portions of Downers Grove and Darien.

The school enrolls a small-to-moderate number of students across its three grade bands. The student body is majority white, with a meaningful Asian population and notable representation of Hispanic and multiracial students. Demographic breakdowns for free-or-reduced-price lunch eligibility and special education or English learner enrollment were not available in the data.

On the most recent state assessments, Prairieview's math proficiency shows variation across grades. Third grade achieved proficiency below the midpoint relative to DuPage County districts overall, fourth grade slightly lower, and fifth grade higher. English language arts proficiency follows a similar pattern: third grade and fourth grade both fall below the middle of the county distribution, while fifth grade rises to a more middling position. A science assessment was administered in fifth grade only, showing proficiency in the lower-to-middle range. State testing data does not extend to sixth grade and above, as the school only serves through fifth. Overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades places the school below the midpoint among DuPage County districts.

Two features of the district context matter for families considering Prairieview. In November 2022, Center Cass voters narrowly approved a permanent increase to the district's limiting tax rate after an earlier referendum defeat in June 2022. The increase funds teacher staffing, facility maintenance, and reversal of prior cuts including shortened school days and reduced bus routes that had been implemented when the earlier referendum failed. This permanent tax increase has lasting implications for property values and school programming in the Downers Grove and Darien parts of the district.

Downers Grove itself is a densifying community. Downtown continues to add multifamily housing near the Metra station, while single-family neighborhoods show a notably high teardown-and-rebuild rate. This means the neighborhood around the school is actively changing in composition and housing stock. The village offers robust street life downtown with independent shops and restaurants, and civic anchors including the public library and community parks support neighborhood routines.

A parent may want to look into proficiency trends further with the school, given the below-midpoint position relative to peer districts, and discuss the pathway from Prairieview into the district's next school as students advance.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 360%

School 60% · District 60%

▲ 14 pts above state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

Grade 456%

School 56% · District 56%

▲ 20 pts above state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 564%

School 64% · District 64%

▲ 34 pts above state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 345%

School 45% · District 45%

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

Grade 454%

School 54% · District 54%

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

Grade 562%

School 62% · District 62%

▲ 9 pts above state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Science

Grade 553%

School 53% · District 53%

▲ 17 pts above state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

This schoolCenter Cass SD 66, 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.