Bass Elem School, Chicago IL - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Bass Elem School

Bass Elementary School serves students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade on Chicago's South Side, in the Englewood neighborhood. The school enrolls students of roughly that size for its grade range, with the vast majority identifying as Black, a pattern reflecting the neighborhood's demographics. Free or reduced lunch eligibility data was not available in the school profile.

The school's state assessment results show weak performance across tested subjects and grades. In English language arts, proficiency ranges from around single digits in grades three, four, and seven to roughly a third in eighth grade, with sixth grade showing the highest proficiency in ELA at roughly a quarter of students. In mathematics, the picture is broadly similar: proficiency is in single digits through grade five, remains near zero in sixth grade, and reaches roughly one-sixth by eighth grade. Science testing (grades five and eight) shows proficiency in the low teens. Across all tested grades and subjects, proficiency averages to roughly a seventh, placing the school in the bottom quartile among the county's districts.

The assessment data carries an important caveat: Illinois changed its proficiency cut scores for math, ELA, and science in the 2024-25 school year, making it unsafe to compare these results to prior years or to assume they represent the same standard as results from earlier years. This means a parent cannot yet tell whether Bass's performance reflects a shift in the school's actual outcomes or is partly a consequence of the revised assessment criteria. Testing participation rates were generally high across grades, and the school completed testing in nearly all tested grades.

The district context shapes what Bass can do. Chicago Public Schools is transitioning governance from a fully mayor-appointed board to a fully elected 21-member board by November 2026, giving families a direct vote on school policy for the first time. The district adopted a strategic plan in 2024 called "Together We Rise" that shifts resources and philosophy toward neighborhood schools, moving away from decades of school-choice enrollment policies. This reorienting affects staffing, programs, and funding allocation across all schools. The district also deployed Skyline, a new district-wide curriculum covering English language arts, math, science, social science, world languages, and arts, accessible to all district schools at no cost; Bass has access to these materials as a district-managed school.

Chicago itself is a dense, walkable city with robust public transit and a large, diverse economy anchored by finance, healthcare, technology, and education. Neighborhood schools like Bass sit embedded in their community fabric rather than on isolated campuses. The housing market in the 60621 zip code (Englewood and surrounding areas) values homes at a modest level relative to citywide and state benchmarks, with median rental costs well below the city average. The neighborhood has seen population and economic stress in recent decades, though the city as a whole has returned to growth after a prolonged decline.

Staff count, detailed special education or English learner enrollment, discipline records, attendance data, and program offerings beyond the standard curriculum were not available. A parent may want to speak directly with the school about instructional supports, teacher qualifications, or learning recovery efforts, particularly given the assessment results and the recent change in how Illinois measures proficiency.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 312%

School 12% · District 38% · ▼ 26 pts below district

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

Grade 43%

School 3% · District 29% · ▼ 26 pts below district

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

Grade 515%

School 15% · District 24% · ▼ 8 pts below district

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

Grade 60%

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

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

Grade 713%

School 13% · District 27% · ▼ 14 pts below district

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

Grade 817%

School 17% · District 23% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 5 pts below state median · even with county median

English language arts

Grade 39%

School 9% · District 36% · ▼ 28 pts below district

▼ 35 pts below state median · ▼ 29 pts below county median

Grade 410%

School 10% · District 39% · ▼ 29 pts below district

▼ 38 pts below state median · ▼ 30 pts below county median

Grade 519%

School 19% · District 43% · ▼ 24 pts below district

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

Grade 627%

School 27% · District 45% · ▼ 18 pts below district

▼ 23 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

Grade 79%

School 9% · District 46% · ▼ 37 pts below district

▼ 43 pts below state median · ▼ 36 pts below county median

Grade 833%

School 33% · District 48% · ▼ 14 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 512%

School 12% · District 29% · ▼ 17 pts below district

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

Grade 814%

School 14% · District 31% · ▼ 17 pts below district

▼ 25 pts below state median · ▼ 12 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.