Kilmer Elem School, Chicago IL - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Kilmer Elem School

Kilmer Elementary School serves prekindergarten through eighth grade in Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood on the North Lakefront, a dense, residential area with strong walkability and close access to public transit. The school enrolls students across a wide spectrum of backgrounds: roughly a third are Hispanic, a quarter are Black, a modest minority are Asian, and the remainder are split among white, multiracial, and Native American students. The enrollment sits at a moderate size for an urban school, with grades weighted toward the upper elementary and middle school spans.

Academic performance, as measured by the Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) in the most recent school year, shows consistent weakness across all tested grades and subjects. In English language arts, proficiency rates run from roughly one-fifth in seventh grade to close to two-fifths in sixth grade, with most grades hovering in the low- to mid-thirties. Math proficiency is lower still, climbing from roughly one-seventh in seventh grade to one-third in third grade, but dipping significantly through the middle grades. Science proficiency, tested only in grades five and eight, sits in the low-to-mid twenties. Across all three tested subjects and all tested grades, the school's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile of all schools in Cook County. These results suggest that a substantial majority of Kilmer's students are not yet meeting state standards, a pattern that warrants direct conversation with school leadership about remediation strategies, literacy and numeracy supports, and the school's approach to students working below grade level.

The school operates as a regular public school within Chicago Public Schools District 299, which is undergoing significant governance and strategic transitions. The district moved to a hybrid elected board in November 2024 and is shifting its long-term emphasis toward strengthening neighborhood schools rather than school-choice models. The district has also rolled out a new universal PreK-12 curriculum called Skyline across core subjects, which is now available to all district schools. Additionally, CPS replaced its longtime numeric school ratings with new holistic accountability dashboards in late 2024, so parents should expect a different reporting environment going forward.

Chicago itself is a large, walkable city with robust public transit, a strong park system, and diverse neighborhoods. The Rogers Park area where Kilmer sits is near the lakefront and well-served by the CTA's Red, Purple, and Brown lines. Housing costs in the 60626 zip code are moderate: home values sit slightly above the state median, and rental prices reflect an urban environment with modest growth over the past year. The broader Cook County housing market remains well-supplied relative to recent demand.

Kilmer does not have a published free-and-reduced-price-lunch rate or English learner enrollment count in available data. The school website and detailed program listings were not available for review, so prospective families would benefit from direct outreach to the school office to understand current support systems, intervention programs, after-school offerings, and any specialized pathways or partnerships that may not appear in state-reported metrics.

Parents weighing Kilmer should go in with clear eyes about academic performance, understand what resources the school has in place to support students working below grade level, and confirm whether the school's instructional model and school culture fit their family's needs. The school serves its immediate neighborhood and reflects the demographics of that community; for families living or planning to live in Rogers Park and looking for a local school option, a direct visit and conversation with administrators is the next logical step.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 335%

School 35% · District 38% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

Grade 423%

School 23% · District 29% · ▼ 6 pts below district

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

Grade 515%

School 15% · District 24% · ▼ 9 pts below district

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

Grade 625%

School 25% · District 23% · ▲ 2 pts above district

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

Grade 79%

School 9% · District 27% · ▼ 19 pts below district

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 13 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 329%

School 29% · District 36% · ▼ 7 pts below district

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

Grade 432%

School 32% · District 39% · ▼ 6 pts below district

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

Grade 530%

School 30% · District 43% · ▼ 13 pts below district

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

Grade 639%

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

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Grade 720%

School 20% · District 46% · ▼ 26 pts below district

▼ 32 pts below state median · ▼ 25 pts below county median

Grade 834%

School 34% · District 48% · ▼ 13 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 526%

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

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

Grade 821%

School 21% · District 31% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▼ 18 pts below state median · ▼ 5 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.