Grissom Elem School, Chicago IL - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Grissom Elem School

Grissom Elem School is a small neighborhood elementary through middle school serving Pre-K through grade 8 in the South Side of Chicago. The school enrolls roughly a few hundred students, with the vast majority Hispanic and a smaller presence of Black students and others. The specific count of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch was not available; demographic data shows the enrollment composition but not income-level indicators.

The most direct picture of academic performance comes from state testing in English language arts and math. In ELA, Grissom shows a pronounced strength in the upper grades. Grade 8 demonstrates strong reading proficiency, with about seven in ten students proficient. Grade 7 also performs well. In the elementary grades, grade 5 shows solid ELA results, while grades 3 and 4 are noticeably lower. Math proficiency is substantially weaker across all grades. Grade 3 math is around one in four students proficient; grade 4 drops to about one in seven; grades 5 and 6 fall further, with grade 6 at roughly one in ten. Grade 7 math improves slightly to roughly one in four. Grade 8 math hovers just under one in five. In science, tested grades show proficiency around one in three for grade 5 and closer to two in five for grade 8.

The contrast between ELA and math performance, and the notable growth from early-to-middle grades in ELA, suggests the school has made headway in reading instruction, especially by the time students reach grades 7 and 8. Math appears to be a genuine area of challenge that warrants attention. Parents may want to look into what supports the school offers for math, whether there are intervention programs in place for younger grades, and how the school plans to build on momentum in reading while raising numeracy outcomes.

Relative to other schools serving students across Cook County, Grissom's overall proficiency index—combining all tested subjects and grades—falls below the midpoint for the comparison group, placing it in a lower tier of academic attainment in the region.

A graduation rate and chronic absenteeism data were not reported, likely because the school serves only through grade 8 and therefore has no high school exit cohort. Attendance and school environment details were not available in the source data.

Chicago Public Schools is undergoing significant transitions that affect all families. The district board is shifting from mayoral appointment toward full elected representation, with all seats to be filled by voters in November 2026; that change reshapes who sets school policy. More broadly, CPS has moved away from its long-standing school-choice model toward a neighborhood-schools emphasis, a strategic pivot announced in 2024. The district also rolled out Skyline, a new Pre-K-12 curriculum covering language arts, math, science, social science, and arts, available to all district schools at no additional cost. In December 2024, CPS replaced its former numeric school ratings with new holistic dashboards that go beyond test scores to capture broader school experience and resources. These changes mean the criteria for assessing schools, the policy environment, and the curriculum framework are all relatively new, and a parent exploring Grissom should expect some ongoing adjustment as the district implements these initiatives.

The neighborhood context shows Chicago has resumed population growth after years of decline. Housing values in the school's zip code and broader Cook County market remain relatively modest compared to national benchmarks, and rental rates are moderate. The area sits within the city's deep neighborhood network, with park space and the city's extensive transit system accessible; the Chicago Park District and CTA are major civic anchors.

For a family considering Grissom, the school represents a neighborhood option in a dense urban setting with a predominantly Hispanic student body, visible strength in upper-grade ELA, and areas for growth in math instruction. The school sits within a district in active transition, implementing new accountability measures and a curriculum overhaul, which creates both opportunity and uncertainty about how teaching and learning will evolve over the next few years.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 323%

School 23% · District 38% · ▼ 15 pts below district

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

Grade 415%

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

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

Grade 518%

School 18% · District 24% · ▼ 6 pts below district

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

Grade 611%

School 11% · District 23% · ▼ 12 pts below district

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

Grade 726%

School 26% · District 27% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 3 pts below state median · ▲ 5 pts above county median

Grade 819%

School 19% · District 23% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 4 pts below state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 339%

School 39% · District 36% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Grade 450%

School 50% · District 39% · ▲ 11 pts above district

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▲ 10 pts above county median

Grade 559%

School 59% · District 43% · ▲ 16 pts above district

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

Grade 639%

School 39% · District 45% · ▼ 6 pts below district

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

Grade 763%

School 63% · District 46% · ▲ 17 pts above district

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

Grade 869%

School 69% · District 48% · ▲ 22 pts above district

▲ 16 pts above state median · ▲ 23 pts above county median

Science

Grade 529%

School 29% · District 29%

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

Grade 840%

School 40% · District 31% · ▲ 8 pts above district

even with state median · ▲ 13 pts above 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.