Jackson M Elem School, Chicago IL

Original Research by School Decision on Jackson M Elem School

Jackson M Elem serves grades pre-K through eighth grade in Chicago's South Side, specifically the community area bounded by West 88th Street. The school sits within the Chicago Public Schools District, which has undergone significant structural and policy changes in recent years. The district's transition to an elected school board (now underway, with a fully elected board taking office after the November 2026 vote) and its shift toward strengthening neighborhood schools rather than maintaining a school-choice model reshape the context in which Jackson M operates.

The student body is overwhelmingly Black, with a small Latinx population and minimal racial diversity otherwise. Enrollment is small to modest for an elementary-middle school, distributed across ten grades from pre-K through eighth. The school does not serve high school grades, so no graduation rate applies. Data on free-or-reduced-price lunch status and on special education and English learner populations were not available.

Academic performance, as measured by state testing in English language arts and math, is significantly below state norms. In math, students achieved proficiency rates ranging from near zero in sixth grade to the high single digits and low teens in other tested grades. In English language arts, performance was similarly low, with most grades showing single-digit proficiency except for eighth grade, where just over one-third of students tested at proficiency. Science results, available for grades five and eight, were in the low to mid-teens. Test participation rates were uniformly high, above ninety percent across grades and subjects, indicating that absences and opt-outs are not driving the results down. These outcomes reflect a school in significant academic distress. A parent considering Jackson M should understand that the school's students are struggling with grade-level content at substantial rates and should look directly to the school and district for specifics on intervention programs, tutoring, and support structures in place to address these gaps.

The school operates within a city that has resumed population growth after nearly a decade of decline and has approved record numbers of new housing units in recent years, though completions have concentrated in downtown and North Lakefront areas rather than in the South Side neighborhoods where Jackson M is located. The immediate housing market in the 60620 zip code shows modest home values and rents, with year-over-year appreciation in the low single digits. The South Side has not seen the same development momentum as other parts of the city, which may reflect or reinforce neighborhood investment patterns.

Chicago Public Schools has deployed a new universal curriculum (Skyline) across all district schools and replaced its long-standing numeric school ratings with new holistic accountability dashboards launched in late 2024. These system-level changes affect how all CPS schools operate and how families can access information about them. For Jackson M specifically, parents should expect to see this curriculum framework in place and should review the district's new dashboard portal for the school's full profile.

No data were available on the school's staffing, discipline practices, course offerings, attendance rates, or special programs. The school's website location was not provided. A family considering Jackson M should reach out directly to the school and district to understand what supports and resources exist for students and families, what the teaching and learning environment looks like, and what pathways the school offers as students approach middle school completion.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 312%

School 12% · District 38% · ▼ 26 pts below district

▼ 34 pts below state median · ▼ 27 pts below county median

Grade 49%

School 9% · District 29% · ▼ 20 pts below district

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

Grade 57%

School 7% · District 24% · ▼ 17 pts below district

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

Grade 60%

School 0% · District 23% · ▼ 23 pts below district

▼ 24 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

Grade 714%

School 14% · District 27% · ▼ 13 pts below district

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 817%

School 17% · District 23% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 5 pts below state median · even with county median

English language arts

Grade 315%

School 15% · District 36% · ▼ 22 pts below district

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

Grade 44%

School 4% · District 39% · ▼ 34 pts below district

▼ 44 pts below state median · ▼ 36 pts below county median

Grade 517%

School 17% · District 43% · ▼ 26 pts below district

▼ 35 pts below state median · ▼ 29 pts below county median

Grade 69%

School 9% · District 45% · ▼ 36 pts below district

▼ 42 pts below state median · ▼ 34 pts below county median

Grade 721%

School 21% · District 46% · ▼ 25 pts below district

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

Grade 831%

School 31% · District 48% · ▼ 17 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 516%

School 16% · District 29% · ▼ 13 pts below district

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

Grade 814%

School 14% · District 31% · ▼ 17 pts below district

▼ 25 pts below state median · ▼ 12 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.