Solomon Elem School, Chicago IL - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Solomon Elem School

Solomon Elementary School sits in Chicago's north lakeside area, serving prekindergarten through eighth grade. It is a regular public school within Chicago Public Schools District 299, located at a mid-sized enrollment of roughly a hundred students per grade level, with a notably diverse student body. The enrollment leans toward white and Asian students, with a substantial share of Hispanic and Black students as well, and the school draws from a neighborhood where housing values have been rising and remain moderate compared to national benchmarks.

Academic performance shows a pattern of uneven proficiency across grades and subjects. In English language arts, the school demonstrates strength in the upper middle grades, with proficiency rates climbing substantially by sixth and seventh grade and reaching high levels by eighth grade. Third grade ELA proficiency runs low, but by the time students reach the middle grades they show solid command of the content. Math tells a different story: proficiency across most grades hovers around or below the midpoint, with a notable dip in fourth grade where performance drops considerably below peers. Fifth and seventh grades show modest proficiency in math, while sixth and eighth grades recover to roughly the median. Science proficiency in fifth grade is particularly low; eighth-grade science results are notably stronger. Across all tested grades, student participation in state assessments has been consistently high, with nearly full attendance at testing, suggesting that absences or opt-outs are not driving these numbers downward.

Compared to other districts across Cook County, Solomon's overall proficiency index places it above the midpoint, meaning the school's aggregate performance in tested subjects and grades sits solidly above the county median. This positioning reflects strength in certain grades and subjects offsetting the below-median performance in others, particularly fourth-grade math and fifth-grade science. The school's upper-middle-grade reading proficiency is a genuine asset; the softer performance in elementary math and fifth-grade science warrants parent attention, and a family may want to discuss with the school what targeted support exists for students working below proficiency, especially in those grades and subjects where the numbers lag.

The school benefits from Chicago Public Schools' Skyline curriculum, a district-wide PreK-12 framework rolled out beginning in 2021-22 that standardizes instructional materials across English language arts, math, science, social science, world languages, and arts. All Solomon's teachers work within this system, reducing the variance that can come when individual schools select their own materials. Chicago Public Schools has also transitioned away from numeric school ratings and replaced them with holistic accountability dashboards, beginning in December 2024, so parents evaluating the school now work with broader school-experience and resource data rather than a single composite score.

The school's neighborhood is experiencing sustained housing market activity. Home values in the 60659 zip code have appreciated steadily, and rental costs have climbed as well, though median listing prices in Cook County remain within reach for many working families. The area is part of Chicago's lakeside network, with the park system and transit access supporting pedestrian life and connectivity.

One significant shift in the district is the shift in school board governance. Chicago transitioned from a fully mayor-appointed board to a hybrid structure in 2024, with 10 elected and 11 mayoral appointees, and will move to a fully elected 21-member board in November 2026. Alongside that change, the district adopted a five-year strategic plan in 2024 called Together We Rise that signals a pivot toward strengthening neighborhood schools and away from the school-choice model that has long driven enrollment patterns in CPS. For families considering Solomon, this means the district's long-term policy orientation is shifting toward investing in neighborhood-based options, which could affect both school resource allocation and enrollment stability going forward.

State assessment data was available for tested grades only. Enrollment counts, demographic data, and housing figures are shown in the school's data sections; proficiency rates and participation rates appear there as well. Information about teacher staffing, attendance patterns, and special-education or English-learner enrollment were not available in this profile.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 358%

School 58% · District 38% · ▲ 20 pts above district

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

Grade 421%

School 21% · District 29% · ▼ 8 pts below district

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

Grade 532%

School 32% · District 24% · ▲ 8 pts above district

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

Grade 659%

School 59% · District 23% · ▲ 36 pts above district

▲ 35 pts above state median · ▲ 42 pts above county median

Grade 748%

School 48% · District 27% · ▲ 21 pts above district

▲ 19 pts above state median · ▲ 27 pts above county median

Grade 858%

School 58% · District 23% · ▲ 35 pts above district

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

English language arts

Grade 332%

School 32% · District 36% · ▼ 4 pts below district

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

Grade 457%

School 57% · District 39% · ▲ 19 pts above district

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

Grade 548%

School 48% · District 43% · ▲ 5 pts above district

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

Grade 679%

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

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

Grade 774%

School 74% · District 46% · ▲ 28 pts above district

▲ 23 pts above state median · ▲ 29 pts above county median

Grade 884%

School 84% · District 48% · ▲ 36 pts above district

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

Science

Grade 529%

School 29% · District 29%

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

Grade 865%

School 65% · District 31% · ▲ 33 pts above district

▲ 25 pts above state median · ▲ 38 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.