Hale Elem School, Chicago IL - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Hale Elem School

Hale Elem School serves a pre-K through eighth-grade population of about eight hundred students in the Melvina Avenue area on Chicago's southwest side. The enrollment is predominantly Hispanic, with a smaller proportion of white students and very small numbers from other racial and ethnic groups. The school is part of Chicago Public Schools District 299, which has recently moved toward strengthening neighborhood schools while phasing in a new approach to school governance and accountability.

The most recent state assessment data shows achievement that sits below the median among Cook County districts. In English language arts, proficiency rates vary significantly by grade. Third through fourth grade show lower proficiency, while proficiency improves markedly in the upper middle grades: grade five reaches just above half of students, grade six approaches that level, and grade seven peaks, while grade eight drops back somewhat. In mathematics, the pattern is more consistently lower across all tested grades, ranging from the low to mid-twenties in third through sixth grade, rising slightly to the mid-thirties in seventh grade, then declining again in eighth.

Science results are available only for fifth and eighth grade under Illinois testing. Grade five shows proficiency just under half of tested students. Grade eight proficiency is substantially lower. Participation rates in all tested subjects and grades are strong, near or at full participation, which means these results reflect the school's broad student population rather than a subset.

The school sits within a census tract where housing values have climbed modestly and rents have risen at a faster pace. The local market shows elevated supply relative to demand, and affordability metrics suggest that homeownership and rental costs are each substantial relative to typical household income in the area.

Chicago Public Schools is in the midst of significant structural change. The district transitioned from a mayor-appointed to an elected school board, with voters electing the first cohort in November 2024 and scheduled to elect all seats in November 2026. The district also adopted a strategic plan in 2024 titled "Together We Rise," which shifts emphasis toward strengthening neighborhood schools and away from the school-choice model that has long shaped CPS. The district simultaneously replaced its long-standing numeric school ratings with new holistic accountability dashboards launched in December 2024. Additionally, CPS has deployed Skyline, a district-developed PreK-12 universal curriculum across content areas, making standardized materials available to all district schools at no school-level cost.

A parent considering Hale should understand that the school is located in a dense urban residential neighborhood and operates as a traditional public school within a large urban district currently undertaking major governance and curricular transitions. Achievement data is available for grades three through eight, showing material variation by subject and grade, with English language arts proficiency stronger in the upper grades and mathematics proficiency lower across most grades. The school's enrollment is very concentrated by race and ethnicity. A parent may want to look into further what supports the school offers for English learners and students with special needs, as that data was not available in these public records. The district's shift toward neighborhood-school priorities and the change in how schools are now evaluated may also be worth exploring with the school directly to understand how those policies shape the learning environment at Hale.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 327%

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

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

Grade 426%

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

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

Grade 522%

School 22% · District 24% · ▼ 1 pts below district

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

Grade 626%

School 26% · District 23% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

Grade 734%

School 34% · District 27% · ▲ 7 pts above district

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

Grade 828%

School 28% · District 23% · ▲ 4 pts above district

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

English language arts

Grade 336%

School 36% · District 36%

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

Grade 427%

School 27% · District 39% · ▼ 12 pts below district

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

Grade 552%

School 52% · District 43% · ▲ 10 pts above district

even with state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

Grade 643%

School 43% · District 45% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 8 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 752%

School 52% · District 46% · ▲ 6 pts above district

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

Grade 846%

School 46% · District 48% · ▼ 2 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 548%

School 48% · District 29% · ▲ 19 pts above district

▲ 11 pts above state median · ▲ 21 pts above county median

Grade 835%

School 35% · District 31% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▼ 4 pts below state median · ▲ 9 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.