The top reported proficiency rate is 50% in Science. The lowest is 33% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Elsie C Johnson Elem Sch
Elsie C. Johnson Elementary serves kindergarten through fifth grade in Hanover Park, a mid-sized, ethnically diverse Chicago northwest suburb with a strong residential and industrial character. The school draws from a village marketed as "America's Global Village," where roughly half the student population is Hispanic, with substantial Asian and White enrollment and smaller populations of Black students and other groups. The school's enrollment is small and stable, distributed fairly evenly across the grade bands.
On Illinois state assessments for the 2024-25 school year, the school's proficiency results fall below where most DuPage County schools test. In third-grade math and English language arts, about a third to mid-40s percent of students achieved proficiency. Fourth-grade math proficiency dropped to about a quarter of the class, while ELA held around 43 percent. Fifth grade showed better results, with about half the students meeting the science standard and more than half reaching the ELA benchmark. The math picture across grades three through five shows a range roughly between a quarter and two-fifths of students proficient. Science was measured only in fifth grade, where about half the students tested at proficient levels.
These results place the school's overall proficiency index in the bottom quarter among DuPage County schools, a meaningful gap that a parent may want to look into further with the school. Illinois changed its assessment cut scores for 2024-25, so year-to-year comparison was not possible from the available data; multi-year trend data was not included in the reporting. The school demonstrates strong test participation across grades and subjects, with near-universal or complete participation in most assessments.
The district itself, CCSD 93, has recently adopted standards-based grading and reports progress through a system called TeacherEase rather than traditional letter grades. This means parents see their child's learning described as progress toward grade-level standards on a four-level scale, aligned to Illinois Learning Standards. The district also launched a multi-year strategic plan for 2023-2028 that will guide curriculum and program decisions families encounter.
Hanover Park itself is family-oriented with a notably young resident population and offers transit infrastructure around a Metra Milwaukee District West station, where the village is building a new town center with mixed-use development and improved pedestrian access. Schools in the area sit within three park districts, good access to Poplar Creek Public Library, and proximity to major business parks that anchor local employment.
Housing values in the broader market are moderate for the Chicago region, with median listed prices in the low to mid-range for the county. The community has modest home value appreciation year-over-year and a fairly active residential market. Affordability metrics suggest that rent or mortgage is in line with mid-range household income for the area.
For families in this attendance area, Johnson is a small, neighborhood K-5 school in a diverse, working-to-middle-class community. The current test results indicate that academic support and instruction are areas where this school faces challenges relative to its county neighbors. A parent considering this school should have a direct conversation with school leadership about what instructional practices are in place, what intervention supports exist for students not yet proficient, and what the school's own data shows about growth and progress across the school year, particularly in math where the results are lowest.
See more original research from School Decision →