Murphy Elem School, Chicago IL - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Murphy Elem School

Murphy Elem School is a neighborhood school in the Graceland West area on Chicago's North Side, serving prekindergarten through eighth grade with an enrollment of around 500 students. The student body is majority Hispanic, with substantial White and Black populations, and a small presence of Asian and multiracial students. Demographic data on economic status and English learner populations were not available, so a parent may want to reach out to the school directly about those measures.

On state assessments, Murphy's proficiency picture is mixed and shows variation across grades. In third grade, students performed at a just-above-baseline level in math and somewhat below baseline in English language arts. By fourth grade, math proficiency dipped noticeably, and students continued to show stronger performance in ELA. Performance in grades five and six continued in that range, with ELA outpacing math. A steeper decline appears in grades seven and eight, where proficiency in math drops significantly and ELA shows a similar downward trend. In science, where only grades five and eight were tested, proficiency sat at roughly the midpoint in grade five but fell noticeably by grade eight. Across the school, average proficiency falls below the midpoint among districts in Cook County. A parent may want to ask the school about its instructional priorities in math, particularly in the upper grades, and what interventions or supports exist for students not yet meeting proficiency.

The broader context: Murphy sits in Chicago, where the district has adopted its first comprehensive PreK-12 curriculum called Skyline and has reframed how it measures school quality, moving away from numeric ratings to more granular dashboards that include resource allocation and school-experience metrics alongside test scores. The district is also reshaping governance through a transition to a fully elected school board and repositioning itself toward strengthening neighborhood schools. That shift creates an open question about how resources, professional development, and attention will flow to schools like Murphy in the near term.

Chicago's housing market in the school's zip code has appreciated modestly over the past year. Median home values sit in the mid-range for the Chicago market, and rental costs are roughly on par with citywide figures. The neighborhood has a solid walk score and direct access to Chicago's transit system, making car-free living feasible for families without vehicles. In community and economic terms, Chicago itself is in a growth phase after years of decline, with population rebounding and new housing approvals rising, though much recent development has concentrated downtown and along the lakefront rather than in North Side residential neighborhoods.

Murphy's enrollment is stable and spans the full range of elementary and middle grades. No data on graduation rates, discipline, staffing, or attendance metrics were available, so families should ask the school directly about those aspects of school environment. Program offerings beyond the core curriculum were not reported in the available data, and the school's website was not accessible to assess what additional services or enrichment it provides.

For families considering Murphy, the school represents a neighborhood option in a stable, transit-accessible part of the city where CPS policy is shifting to reinvest in schools like this one. The academic picture shows room for growth, particularly in math and upper grades, and a parent weighing this choice would benefit from conversations with the school about how it approaches intervention, instructional coaching, and support for students below grade level.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 353%

School 53% · District 38% · ▲ 15 pts above district

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

Grade 446%

School 46% · District 29% · ▲ 17 pts above district

▲ 9 pts above state median · ▲ 17 pts above county median

Grade 539%

School 39% · District 24% · ▲ 16 pts above district

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

Grade 636%

School 36% · District 23% · ▲ 13 pts above district

▲ 12 pts above state median · ▲ 19 pts above county median

Grade 723%

School 23% · District 27% · ▼ 4 pts below district

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

Grade 820%

School 20% · District 23% · ▼ 3 pts below district

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

English language arts

Grade 345%

School 45% · District 36% · ▲ 9 pts above district

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

Grade 454%

School 54% · District 39% · ▲ 16 pts above district

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▲ 14 pts above county median

Grade 552%

School 52% · District 43% · ▲ 9 pts above district

even with state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

Grade 654%

School 54% · District 45% · ▲ 9 pts above district

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

Grade 758%

School 58% · District 46% · ▲ 12 pts above district

▲ 7 pts above state median · ▲ 14 pts above county median

Grade 840%

School 40% · District 48% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 6 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 838%

School 38% · District 31% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▲ 11 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.