Mayer Elem School, Chicago IL - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Mayer Elem School

Mayer Elementary is a PreK-8 school in the Clifton Avenue corridor of Chicago, serving a student body that is predominantly white with smaller shares of Asian, Hispanic, and Black students. The school's enrollment is roughly stable across its grade bands, with the largest groups in the early primary years and a noticeable drop in seventh grade.

On state math assessments, Mayer shows variable but generally solid performance. Third grade sits at around 59 percent proficiency, fourth grade climbs to above 70 percent, and fifth and sixth grades stay in the 60 to 70 percent range. Seventh grade is the school's strongest math grade, with proficiency in the low 80s. Eighth grade drops back to just over 60 percent. The pattern suggests stronger performance in the upper elementary years and a dip in the final middle school grade.

In English language arts, the profile is notably stronger. Third grade reaches around 74 percent proficiency, fourth grade crosses above 84 percent, and fifth grade moves into the 90 percent range. Grades six through eight all remain in the upper 70s to 90 percent range, with seventh and eighth grades both at 90 percent or above. ELA is plainly the school's area of greater consistency.

Science data is available only for fifth and eighth grades. Fifth grade shows around 74 percent proficiency, and eighth grade reaches 72 percent.

Across tested subjects and grades, Mayer's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile among the districts that serve Cook County. This is a meaningful strength: the school is performing above the typical performance in its regional context.

Student test participation rates are consistently high, ranging from around 97 to 100 percent, indicating strong engagement with state assessments. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch data was not available in the school profile, so a parent may want to look into the school's demographic makeup and support services directly with the school.

The school is part of Chicago Public Schools, which is currently undergoing significant governance and curricular shifts. The district is in the midst of transitioning to a fully elected school board (with elections scheduled for all 21 seats in November 2026) and has adopted a strategic direction favoring neighborhood schools over the school-choice model that previously dominated enrollment. CPS also introduced Skyline, a comprehensive PreK-12 curriculum across multiple subjects, available to all district schools at no cost. The district replaced its numeric school ratings with holistic accountability dashboards as of December 2024, changing how families assess schools.

The school's neighborhood, Chicago, is a large, dense city with 77 community areas. Clifton Avenue sits in an area with good transit access via the CTA's extensive rail and bus network. Housing values in the area are substantial, with median home values in the zip code in the mid-to-upper hundreds of thousands and median monthly rents in the thousands. The neighborhood combines residential streets with commercial corridors and is part of a city with strong walkability and municipal park access.

Mayer serves a neighborhood school population, drawing students from its attendance area rather than through selective admissions. The school does not have magnet or charter status. Its grade configuration PreK through 8 means it does not serve high school, so no graduation rate applies.

Information on specialized programs, special education services, English learner support, and school discipline was not available in the provided data. A parent considering Mayer should request details on academic support, any specialty offerings, class sizes, and the school's community engagement from the school directly.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 359%

School 59% · District 38% · ▲ 21 pts above district

▲ 13 pts above state median · ▲ 20 pts above county median

Grade 471%

School 71% · District 29% · ▲ 42 pts above district

▲ 35 pts above state median · ▲ 43 pts above county median

Grade 570%

School 70% · District 24% · ▲ 46 pts above district

▲ 40 pts above state median · ▲ 49 pts above county median

Grade 661%

School 61% · District 23% · ▲ 38 pts above district

▲ 37 pts above state median · ▲ 44 pts above county median

Grade 784%

School 84% · District 27% · ▲ 56 pts above district

▲ 55 pts above state median · ▲ 62 pts above county median

Grade 863%

School 63% · District 23% · ▲ 40 pts above district

▲ 41 pts above state median · ▲ 46 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 374%

School 74% · District 36% · ▲ 38 pts above district

▲ 30 pts above state median · ▲ 37 pts above county median

Grade 484%

School 84% · District 39% · ▲ 45 pts above district

▲ 36 pts above state median · ▲ 44 pts above county median

Grade 590%

School 90% · District 43% · ▲ 47 pts above district

▲ 38 pts above state median · ▲ 44 pts above county median

Grade 679%

School 79% · District 45% · ▲ 34 pts above district

▲ 28 pts above state median · ▲ 36 pts above county median

Grade 791%

School 91% · District 46% · ▲ 45 pts above district

▲ 40 pts above state median · ▲ 46 pts above county median

Grade 890%

School 90% · District 48% · ▲ 42 pts above district

▲ 37 pts above state median · ▲ 44 pts above county median

Science

Grade 574%

School 74% · District 29% · ▲ 45 pts above district

▲ 38 pts above state median · ▲ 47 pts above county median

Grade 872%

School 72% · District 31% · ▲ 41 pts above district

▲ 32 pts above state median · ▲ 45 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.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income8%Higher-income63%54 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income10%Higher-income72%62 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income73%Higher-income83%10 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income17%Higher-income57%40 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income10%Higher-income54%44 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income36%Higher-income62%25 pp gap