Burke Elem School, Chicago IL - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Burke Elem School

Burke Elementary sits on the South Side of Chicago, serving pre-K through grade eight in a neighborhood school setting. The school is small, with an enrollment weighted toward the early grades; pre-K through second grade make up more than a third of the student body, while the upper elementary and middle grades taper smaller.

The student body is predominantly Black, with a small representation of Hispanic students and other racial groups. Data on free-or-reduced-price lunch eligibility and English learner status were not available, limiting a full picture of economic and linguistic diversity. The school is a regular public school, not a charter, magnet, or selective-enrollment school, and sits within Chicago Public Schools' ongoing transition toward strengthening neighborhood-based school options over choice-driven enrollment pathways.

The academic performance reported here is substantially below state benchmarks. Across math and English language arts, Burke's proficiency rates in the most recent school year ranged from near zero in grade six mathematics to the highest rate of about a quarter in grade three math. English language arts proficiency was similarly low, with grade three showing the highest result at around one in eight students meeting state standards. Science proficiency, reported for grades five and eight, was in the single digits. Students participated in testing at rates in the high eighties to nineties across most grades, indicating that absences or refusals were not the source of the weak results; rather, few students are meeting state standards when assessed.

Against other schools in Cook County, Burke ranks in the bottom quartile on overall proficiency, the lowest position in that comparison set. Parents may want to look into whether the school and district have specific improvement plans in place, what support structures exist for students who are not yet meeting grade-level expectations, and how the school is addressing foundational skills gaps that appear to accumulate as students move through the grades.

The neighborhood context is Chicago proper, an established residential area on the South Side with a lakefront presence. The broader city is seeing renewed population growth after years of decline, and housing values and rents in Chicago's zip codes have risen modestly year over year. The district itself has undergone significant governance change—the school board is transitioning from mayoral appointment to full election, with voters selecting all 21 members for the first time in November 2026. The district has also launched a new strategic plan emphasizing neighborhood schools and has introduced a district-wide curriculum called Skyline. These are structural shifts that may influence resource allocation and school improvement work over the coming years.

For a family considering Burke, the key question is whether the school's current academic trajectory aligns with the support and pace they expect for their child. State testing data show a school where proficiency remains very low across subjects and grade levels. The school's response to this—what instructional changes are underway, whether there are tutoring or intervention programs, how teachers are supported in raising proficiency—would be important to understand directly from the school.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 328%

School 28% · District 38% · ▼ 10 pts below district

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

Grade 47%

School 7% · District 29% · ▼ 22 pts below district

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

Grade 54%

School 4% · District 24% · ▼ 20 pts below district

▼ 26 pts below state median · ▼ 18 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 77%

School 7% · District 27% · ▼ 20 pts below district

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

Grade 815%

School 15% · District 23% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 312%

School 12% · District 36% · ▼ 25 pts below district

▼ 32 pts below state median · ▼ 26 pts below county median

Grade 49%

School 9% · District 39% · ▼ 29 pts below district

▼ 39 pts below state median · ▼ 31 pts below county median

Grade 58%

School 8% · District 43% · ▼ 35 pts below district

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

Grade 619%

School 19% · District 45% · ▼ 26 pts below district

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

Grade 717%

School 17% · District 46% · ▼ 29 pts below district

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

Grade 811%

School 11% · District 48% · ▼ 37 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 54%

School 4% · District 29% · ▼ 25 pts below district

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

Grade 811%

School 11% · District 31% · ▼ 20 pts below district

▼ 28 pts below state median · ▼ 16 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.