Jordan Elem Community School, Chicago IL

Original Research by School Decision on Jordan Elem Community School

Jordan Elem Community School serves grades prekindergarten through eighth on Chicago's North Side, in a neighborhood of roughly mid-sized enrollment with a student body that is predominantly Hispanic, with substantial Black and Asian representation. The school is part of Chicago Public Schools, a district that has undergone significant recent shifts in governance, curriculum rollout, and strategic direction toward neighborhood-school emphasis.

The academic picture at Jordan is one that warrants close attention. State testing data from the 2024-2025 school year shows proficiency rates that fall well below the midpoint among Cook County schools. In math, third grade performs best at just under half proficient, but proficiency drops sharply by fourth grade and falls further as students progress through the upper grades, reaching near zero by eighth grade. English language arts shows a similar pattern: third grade at around two-fifths proficient, declining through the middle grades, with eighth grade at single digits. Science proficiency is notably low across the grades tested, with fifth grade at roughly one in six students meeting the standard and eighth grade at just a handful. Across all tested subjects and grades, the school's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile of Cook County schools.

Test participation rates are strong and near-universal, so these results reflect actual student performance rather than opt-out effects. The data does not yet show year-to-year trend information, making it impossible to assess whether performance is improving, stable, or declining. A parent considering this school would benefit from asking the administration directly about recent instructional changes, intervention strategies, and any internal measures being taken to support student growth in math and literacy.

The school's enrollment is stable at just over five hundred students across its grade span. The free-or-reduced-price lunch rate was not available in the data provided, so a family should ask the school directly about the share of students receiving meal support as one indicator of economic context. The neighborhood itself, on the North Side in the 60626 zip code, has a home-value median in the mid-range for the region and median rents that have risen over the past year. Housing supply in Cook County is moderate, and demand has ticked upward recently.

Chicago itself is a large, dense city with extensive transit, park, and cultural infrastructure. The neighborhood fabric is pedestrian-oriented, and Chicago Public Schools sits within neighborhoods rather than on isolated campuses. The district has moved recently toward strengthening neighborhood schools and away from choice-based models, which shapes the role a school like Jordan plays in its immediate area. The district also rolled out a comprehensive PreK-12 curriculum called Skyline starting in 2022, standardizing instructional materials across schools.

No information about the school's specific programs, staff size, special-education or English-learner services, attendance rates, or discipline practices was available in the data. These are areas a parent should explore directly with the school. The state's assessment framework changed cut scores recently, which creates some uncertainty in comparing proficiency results year to year. A family evaluating Jordan should seek clarity on the school's action plan for academic improvement and what support is in place for students who are not yet meeting grade-level standards.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 347%

School 47% · District 38% · ▲ 9 pts above district

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

Grade 428%

School 28% · District 29% · ▼ 1 pts below district

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

Grade 517%

School 17% · District 24% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Grade 633%

School 33% · District 23% · ▲ 10 pts above district

▲ 9 pts above state median · ▲ 16 pts above county median

Grade 714%

School 14% · District 27% · ▼ 14 pts below district

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

Grade 80%

School 0% · District 23% · ▼ 23 pts below district

▼ 23 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 340%

School 40% · District 36% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▼ 4 pts below state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

Grade 426%

School 26% · District 39% · ▼ 13 pts below district

▼ 22 pts below state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

Grade 524%

School 24% · District 43% · ▼ 18 pts below district

▼ 28 pts below state median · ▼ 21 pts below county median

Grade 633%

School 33% · District 45% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▼ 18 pts below state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

Grade 734%

School 34% · District 46% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

Grade 89%

School 9% · District 48% · ▼ 39 pts below district

▼ 44 pts below state median · ▼ 37 pts below county median

Science

Grade 515%

School 15% · District 29% · ▼ 13 pts below district

▼ 21 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Grade 85%

School 5% · District 31% · ▼ 27 pts below district

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

This schoolChicago Public Schools Dist 299, 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.