Stem Magnet Academy Elem, Chicago IL

Original Research by School Decision on Stem Magnet Academy Elem

STEM Magnet Academy Elementary sits in Chicago's Lower West Side, in the 60607 zip code near Fillmore Street in a dense urban neighborhood. It is a kindergarten-through-eighth-grade school serving a population of roughly four hundred students drawn from across the city through its STEM focus.

The student body reflects Chicago's diversity. Close to two-fifths of students are Black, a third are Asian, and roughly a fifth are Hispanic, with smaller shares of white and multiracial students. The school does not report free-or-reduced-price-lunch rates or special-education or English-learner enrollment counts in the available data, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about those populations and the supports available to them.

In math proficiency, STEM Magnet shows strength in the younger grades. Third graders scored at a high level, while grades four through seven dipped into the low-to-mid range in the most recent assessment period. Eighth grade recovered to a solid level. In English language arts, the pattern is notably different: third-grade performance was moderate, but fourth through eighth grades clustered at solid to strong levels, with eighth grade reaching a high proficiency rate. In the science assessments that were reported, fifth and eighth grades both achieved proficiency rates in the mid-to-high range. Across tested grades and subjects, the school's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile among districts across Cook County.

The academic picture suggests a school where students build stronger language and literacy foundations than math foundations in the elementary years, with some recovery in math by middle school. A parent weighing this school might want to ask staff whether the STEM curriculum emphasizes problem-solving and deeper math understanding in ways that are not fully captured by state test snapshots, or whether the middle grades focus more intensely on the numeracy work needed to support success in high school mathematics.

Participation rates were high; most grades showed better than nine-in-ten students taking the assessments, which gives reliable confidence in the reported results.

The school's enrollment has remained relatively stable, though it is slightly smaller in the middle-grade years than in the primary grades. Class sizes in the early elementary years are manageable, with each grade from kindergarten through fifth containing fifty to fifty-six students, but grades six through eight shrink considerably, serving twenty-two to thirty-nine students. A parent should understand whether this reflects natural attrition, planned transitions to other schools, or if it signals something about the school's retention or the upstream pipeline.

Housing values in the school's zip code are moderate relative to the Chicago region, and monthly rent is within the mid-range for Chicago. The neighborhood is walkable and well served by transit, consistent with the broader city character.

Chicago Public Schools is in the midst of structural change. The Board of Education is transitioning from mayoral appointment to full democratic election, with all seats up for election in late 2026. The district adopted a five-year strategic plan in 2024 that formally deprioritizes the school-choice model and aims to strengthen neighborhood schools. At the same time, the district introduced a new universal PreK-12 curriculum called Skyline across six content areas, available at no school-level cost. It also replaced its numeric school ratings with holistic dashboards in late 2024, changing how families evaluate school performance district-wide. These shifts signal a district in transition, with implications for admissions policies, curriculum implementation, and how school quality is measured.

STEM Magnet Academy's specific standing within this broader district evolution is unclear from available data. A parent interested in this school should ask how the magnet designation shapes its autonomy and admissions, how the STEM pathway is resourced and sequenced from early grades onward, and how the school translates its specialization into outcomes in both tested and untested domains that matter for middle school readiness and beyond.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 388%

School 88% · District 38% · ▲ 50 pts above district

▲ 41 pts above state median · ▲ 48 pts above county median

Grade 450%

School 50% · District 29% · ▲ 21 pts above district

▲ 13 pts above state median · ▲ 21 pts above county median

Grade 554%

School 54% · District 24% · ▲ 30 pts above district

▲ 24 pts above state median · ▲ 33 pts above county median

Grade 655%

School 55% · District 23% · ▲ 32 pts above district

▲ 31 pts above state median · ▲ 38 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 861%

School 61% · District 23% · ▲ 38 pts above district

▲ 38 pts above state median · ▲ 44 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 365%

School 65% · District 36% · ▲ 28 pts above district

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

Grade 473%

School 73% · District 39% · ▲ 34 pts above district

▲ 25 pts above state median · ▲ 33 pts above county median

Grade 584%

School 84% · District 43% · ▲ 41 pts above district

▲ 32 pts above state median · ▲ 38 pts above county median

Grade 665%

School 65% · District 45% · ▲ 20 pts above district

▲ 14 pts above state median · ▲ 22 pts above county median

Grade 776%

School 76% · District 46% · ▲ 30 pts above district

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

Grade 885%

School 85% · District 48% · ▲ 37 pts above district

▲ 31 pts above state median · ▲ 38 pts above county median

Science

Grade 559%

School 59% · District 29% · ▲ 30 pts above district

▲ 22 pts above state median · ▲ 32 pts above county median

Grade 862%

School 62% · District 31% · ▲ 30 pts above district

▲ 22 pts above state median · ▲ 35 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.