Clay Elem School, Chicago IL - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Clay Elem School

Clay Elementary serves students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade in the South Side Chicago neighborhood, enrolling a small to mid-sized student population that is predominantly Hispanic, with substantial Black enrollment and small shares of other groups. The school sits within Chicago Public Schools, where governance is undergoing a major shift toward elected board members and district direction is moving toward strengthening neighborhood schools as a central strategy.

On state assessments administered in the most recent year, Clay's math proficiency across tested grades falls well below typical performance levels for Cook County districts. Proficiency rates in math range from single digits to roughly a quarter across grades three through eight, with particularly low performance in grade five and grades six through eight. English language arts proficiency shows somewhat more variability and generally runs modestly higher, with fourth-grade students showing roughly forty percent proficiency, eighth graders reaching roughly fifty-five percent, but younger and middle grades showing results in the twenties to low thirties. Science proficiency, administered in grades five and eight only, sits around fifteen percent in grade five and roughly a quarter in grade eight. Overall, proficiency across tested subjects and grades places the school in the bottom quartile among Cook County districts. These are measures a parent may want to discuss directly with the school to understand whether the school has identified specific academic needs and what supports or changes are in place.

The school's enrollment is stable across grade bands, with slightly larger cohorts in some years and slightly smaller in others, all within a narrow range typical for an elementary school of its size. Attendance data was not available. Free or reduced price lunch participation data was not provided. English learner and special education enrollment counts were not provided.

Clay is a regular public school serving its neighborhood, not a charter, magnet, or selective-enrollment school. Housing values in the zip code remain affordable relative to Cook County and state benchmarks, with rents slightly lower, supporting families in moderate-income brackets. The neighborhood sits within Chicago's South Side, part of the city's dense residential landscape where schools are embedded in their communities rather than isolated on campuses.

The district context includes meaningful structural changes. CPS transitioned from a fully mayor-appointed school board to a partially elected one in late 2024, with all 21 seats to be elected in 2026, giving parents direct ballot power over district governance for the first time in decades. The district's five-year strategic plan, adopted in 2024, emphasizes neighborhood schools as a priority, a shift away from the school-choice and selective-enrollment systems that have dominated CPS for decades. The district also rolled out a PreK-12 universal curriculum called Skyline in 2022, providing all district schools with standardized instructional materials at no school-level cost. In December 2024, CPS replaced its long-standing numeric school ratings with new holistic dashboards, changing how the public evaluates schools.

For families considering Clay, the school offers a neighborhood-based elementary and middle pathway with established grade progression. Academic performance on state measures is low, and a prospective parent should ask the school directly about its academic priorities, the supports it offers to students below grade level, and any recent or planned changes to instruction or staffing. The neighborhood context provides walkable, affordable housing and community-embedded schooling within the broader city structure.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 311%

School 11% · District 38% · ▼ 27 pts below district

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

Grade 428%

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

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

Grade 58%

School 8% · District 24% · ▼ 16 pts below district

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

Grade 69%

School 9% · District 23% · ▼ 14 pts below district

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

Grade 711%

School 11% · District 27% · ▼ 17 pts below district

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

Grade 810%

School 10% · District 23% · ▼ 14 pts below district

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

English language arts

Grade 331%

School 31% · District 36% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 440%

School 40% · District 39% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 8 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 525%

School 25% · District 43% · ▼ 18 pts below district

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

Grade 632%

School 32% · District 45% · ▼ 13 pts below district

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

Grade 721%

School 21% · District 46% · ▼ 25 pts below district

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

Grade 855%

School 55% · District 48% · ▲ 7 pts above district

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

Science

Grade 515%

School 15% · District 29% · ▼ 14 pts below district

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

Grade 826%

School 26% · District 31% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 1 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.