The top reported proficiency rate is 32% in English language arts. The lowest is 18% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Hernandez Middle School
Hernandez Middle School is a regular public middle school in Chicago's 60632 zip code (Southwest Chicago), serving about three-quarters of the way into the middle grades: sixth, seventh, and eighth. The school enrolls a small-to-moderate student population across those three grades.
The student body is predominantly Hispanic; the school also enrolls a small number of Black, white, and Native American students. Data on free- or reduced-price lunch eligibility and on special populations—students with IEPs or English learners—was not available, limiting a full picture of economic need and support requirements at the building level.
State testing results from the most recent year are available for grades six through eight in English language arts, mathematics, and science (grade eight only). In English language arts, Hernandez students show modest proficiency: about one-third of eighth graders scored at proficient or above, about one-third of seventh graders, and about one-third of sixth graders. Math proficiency is notably lower. Fewer than one-quarter of seventh graders achieved proficiency in math; about one-sixth of sixth graders; and about one-seventh of eighth graders reached proficiency. In science, about one-fifth of eighth graders scored at proficient or above. Participation rates were very high across all tested subjects and grades, with nearly all students taking the assessments.
Measured against middle schools and high schools across Cook County, Hernandez's overall proficiency index places the school in the bottom quartile among its county peers. This reflects a consistent pattern: English language arts performance exceeds math performance, but both are well below the county median. A parent may want to look into further with the school what instructional supports are in place for mathematics, where the gap is most pronounced, and what intervention or acceleration structures the school offers to move proficiency upward.
The school sits in Southwest Chicago, a neighborhood with moderate housing values and rental costs relative to the city and county. The area reflects Chicago's broader character: mixed-use residential and commercial streets, transit access via CTA bus, and dense neighborhood fabric typical of the city's community areas.
Chicago Public Schools is undergoing significant transitions. A majority-elected school board will take office in 2027 after voters elect candidates in late 2026, giving parents direct democratic voice in district governance for the first time. The district's strategic direction has also shifted away from the school-choice model toward strengthened neighborhood schools. CPS has also introduced Skyline, a new PreK-12 curriculum now available across all district schools, and launched new school accountability dashboards in late 2024 that move beyond numeric ratings to holistic measures of school quality. These changes create an evolving context for families choosing or already in CPS.
Hernandez does not appear to have magnet, charter, or selective-enrollment status; it is a neighborhood school assigned by attendance boundary. For families in the area, it is the default middle school option, and the question becomes what supports and pathways the building offers to strengthen academic outcomes, particularly in mathematics, where results currently trail state expectations by a substantial margin.
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