Lavizzo Elem School, Chicago IL - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Lavizzo Elem School

Lavizzo Elem School is a small public elementary and middle school on Chicago's South Side serving grades pre-K through 8. The enrollment is distributed fairly evenly across its grade band, with slightly larger classes in early elementary and middle school grades. The student body is substantially Black, with a small Hispanic population and fewer than one student each from other racial or ethnic groups.

The school's test results in 2024-25, measured by Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) in English language arts and mathematics, and the Illinois Science Assessment, show very low proficiency rates across nearly all grades and subjects. In mathematics, proficiency ranges from zero in grade 5 and grade 8, to single-digit or low teen percentages in grades 3, 4, 6, and 7. In English language arts, proficiency is somewhat higher, with roughly a quarter of third and fourth graders meeting the standard, a third of fifth and sixth graders, a low teen percentage in grade 7, and roughly a fifth of eighth graders. In science, which was tested in grade 5 and grade 8, about one in ten students met proficiency in grade 5 and slightly more in grade 8. A parent may want to look into what instructional supports and improvement strategies the school is deploying, what these results mean for student trajectory into high school, and how the school's own internal assessments and student work samples compare to the state test picture.

Participation rates in state testing are generally high to near-universal, meaning the proficiency figures are not inflated by absenteeism among lower-performing students. The state also flagged that proficiency cut scores changed in recent years for all tested subjects, so year-over-year comparison is not straightforward.

In the context of Cook County school districts, Lavizzo's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile. The school has no reported graduation rate because it serves only through grade 8; students leave for high school before any district tracks completions. Chronic absenteeism data was not available.

The school sits in a neighborhood where housing values are modest relative to national benchmarks and have shown modest recent appreciation. Rental costs have risen more sharply. The neighborhood has a solid market of active and pending listings, pointing to an active real estate environment, though buyer demand by some measures is moderate. No free-or-reduced-price-lunch rate, special education rate, or English learner rate was reported for the school.

Lavizzo is a regular public school, not a charter or magnet school, and is part of Chicago Public Schools District 299. The district's strategic direction now emphasizes neighborhood schools as the core of the system, moving away from decades of school-choice-driven enrollment policies. For a family considering this school, that shift means the district is investing in stable, local attendance models. The district has also adopted a new curriculum framework called Skyline across all core subjects, which Lavizzo uses. The board is undergoing a transition from mayoral appointment to full public election, with all 21 seats to be voted on in November 2026, giving parents a direct voice in district governance. And the district replaced its old numeric school ratings with new holistic dashboards in late 2024, so families now evaluate schools on a broader set of measures than test scores alone.

Chicago as a whole is a dense, mixed-income city organized into distinct neighborhoods, with strong public transit, parks, and cultural institutions. The city resumed population growth after a long decline, and housing approvals have climbed. South Side neighborhoods, where Lavizzo sits, have their own character and community anchors, and many families have deep roots there. For families committed to a neighborhood school or seeking stability within their community, this location offers that pathway.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 39%

School 9% · District 38% · ▼ 28 pts below district

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

Grade 418%

School 18% · District 29% · ▼ 11 pts below district

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

Grade 50%

School 0% · District 24% · ▼ 24 pts below district

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

Grade 68%

School 8% · District 23% · ▼ 15 pts below district

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

Grade 74%

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

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

Grade 80%

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

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

English language arts

Grade 328%

School 28% · District 36% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▼ 16 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Grade 426%

School 26% · District 39% · ▼ 13 pts below district

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

Grade 533%

School 33% · District 43% · ▼ 9 pts below district

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

Grade 633%

School 33% · District 45% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Grade 713%

School 13% · District 46% · ▼ 34 pts below district

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

Grade 822%

School 22% · District 48% · ▼ 26 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 510%

School 10% · District 29% · ▼ 19 pts below district

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

Grade 812%

School 12% · District 31% · ▼ 19 pts below district

▼ 27 pts below state median · ▼ 15 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.