The top reported proficiency rate is 93% in English language arts. The lowest is 81% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Taft High School
Taft High School is a grades 7–12 school in Chicago's far northwest side, part of Chicago Public Schools District 299. With an enrollment spanning a medium-sized cohort of students, the school serves the neighborhood alongside a significant portion of students who choose to attend from elsewhere in the city.
The student body is diverse. Roughly equal shares identify as Hispanic and White, with smaller but substantial populations of Asian and multiracial students, and smaller numbers of Black and Native American students. The school does not report free-or-reduced-price-lunch rates or data on English learners and students with disabilities, so a reader interested in economic diversity or support for language learners at this school may want to look into these details directly with the administration.
In state testing, Taft shows strength in English language arts across its middle grades. Grade 7 proficiency in ELA is near-universal, and grade 8 reaches well into the high range. In math, grade 7 is similarly strong, though grade 8 drops noticeably. Grade 8 science proficiency is solid and high. The school did not report results for grades 3 through 6 in most subjects, likely because state testing does not cover all elementary-grade levels or because Taft's lower grades are tested under different state assessments. Testing data for the high school grades (9–12) was not available, which is typical since Illinois does not mandate state testing at the high school level in the way it does for middle and elementary grades. Compared to other schools in Cook County, Taft's overall proficiency across reported subjects and grades places it in the top quartile.
A graduation rate, four-year attendance and chronic absenteeism data, and staff-to-student ratios were not provided, so parents seeking to understand college and career outcomes, daily attendance patterns, or the resources available per student should request those details from the school or district.
Taft is located on the northwest side of Chicago in a neighborhood with stable housing values. The Cook County real estate market has moderate supply and lower demand compared to recent years. Rental costs in the area are reasonable relative to incomes, and home values, while modest within the metro area, reflect a working to middle-class residential neighborhood.
Chicago itself is undergoing demographic renewal after nearly a decade of population loss, with recent population gains concentrated downtown and along the lakefront. The city has a vast public transit network, ranked among the most walkable in the nation. Civic anchors include the Chicago Park District, one of the largest park systems in the country, and the Chicago Public Library system. The district's major employers span both public agencies (Chicago Public Schools, the City of Chicago, Cook County) and private corporations in finance, healthcare, technology, and manufacturing.
CPS is in transition. A newly elected school board is taking shape following decades of mayoral appointment, with all seats to be elected by voters in November 2026. The district is also shifting away from its decades-long school-choice emphasis and toward strengthening neighborhood schools. In 2024 it replaced numeric school ratings with new holistic dashboards. At the classroom level, CPS has rolled out Skyline, a PreK-12 universal curriculum developed by the district itself, covering English language arts, math, science, social science, world languages, and arts, available free to all district schools beginning in 2021-2022.
For families considering Taft, the school offers a medium-sized, integrated student body, solid proficiency outcomes in middle grades, and a neighborhood location with reasonable housing costs and transit access. Parents should verify graduation and attendance data, special education and English learner support capacity, and the school's specific course offerings and extracurricular programs before enrollment, and can engage with the newly elected school board as district priorities continue to evolve.
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