Mosaic School of Fine Arts, Chicago IL

Original Research by School Decision on Mosaic School of Fine Arts

Mosaic School of Fine Arts is a neighborhood magnet school serving pre-kindergarten through eighth grade in the Rogers Park area on Chicago's North Side. It enrolls roughly seven hundred students across grades, with a student body that is notably diverse: about two-fifths identify as Hispanic, more than a third as Asian, and the remainder split among Black, white, and multiracial students. The school's name reflects its dual focus on arts integration and academic instruction, though students are placed by lottery application rather than selective testing.

The state testing data for 2024-25 show academic performance that is mixed and worth considering closely. In English language arts, fifth grade stands out at a solid proficiency level, seventh grade performs reasonably well, and eighth grade shows modest performance. In contrast, third and fourth grades show low proficiency, and sixth grade lags. Mathematics proficiency is weaker across most grades. Third, fourth, and sixth grades all sit in the low range, while fifth and seventh grades perform at a moderate level, and eighth grade proficiency falls sharply. Science testing, available for fifth and eighth grades only, shows fifth grade at a moderate level and eighth grade quite low. Across the school, performance sits in the bottom quartile when compared to other district schools in Cook County. A parent should look into this further with the school: what academic supports exist for students who are not yet meeting grade-level benchmarks, and what the school's plans are for addressing these gaps, especially in elementary math and middle school science.

The school's enrollment is stable, with relatively even distribution across grades. Attendance data were not available, making it unclear whether chronic absenteeism or other access issues are factors in academic outcomes. Free-or-reduced-price-lunch eligibility and special education and English learner percentages were also not reported, so a parent cannot assess how well the school is serving economically disadvantaged or language-learning students directly from the available metrics.

The neighborhood context supports academic and civic engagement. Rogers Park and the broader North Side sit on a transit-accessible residential corridor with commercial strips and lake access nearby. Housing values in the broader area are stable and moderate for Chicago, with inventory and affordability metrics suggesting a moderately tight market. The Chicago Public Schools district is undergoing substantive change: a shift toward strengthening neighborhood schools rather than emphasizing choice and selective admissions, a transition to a fully elected school board (with the first elections in November 2024 and a fully elected board arriving in 2027), and the rollout of the Skyline universal curriculum across the district. These systemic shifts may affect classroom instruction and resource allocation over time.

What matters most is whether the school's arts mission, combined with the stated academic pathway, aligns with a family's educational goals and whether the current proficiency patterns and school's support structures fit that student's needs. A parent should visit, speak with teachers and current families, and ask the school directly about how it addresses performance gaps, given the data picture.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 317%

School 17% · District 38% · ▼ 21 pts below district

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

Grade 416%

School 16% · District 29% · ▼ 13 pts below district

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

Grade 535%

School 35% · District 24% · ▲ 11 pts above district

▲ 5 pts above state median · ▲ 13 pts above county median

Grade 617%

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

▼ 7 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 735%

School 35% · District 27% · ▲ 8 pts above district

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

Grade 86%

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

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 315%

School 15% · District 36% · ▼ 21 pts below district

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

Grade 426%

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

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

Grade 564%

School 64% · District 43% · ▲ 21 pts above district

▲ 12 pts above state median · ▲ 18 pts above county median

Grade 629%

School 29% · District 45% · ▼ 16 pts below district

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

Grade 742%

School 42% · District 46% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 2 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 539%

School 39% · District 29% · ▲ 10 pts above district

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▲ 12 pts above county median

Grade 812%

School 12% · District 31% · ▼ 19 pts below district

▼ 27 pts below state median · ▼ 15 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.