Canterbury Elem School, Crystal Lake IL

Original Research by School Decision on Canterbury Elem School

Canterbury Elementary School serves kindergarten through fifth grade in Crystal Lake, a mixed suburb northwest of Chicago in McHenry County. The school enrolls a small student body drawn from residential neighborhoods with a notably diverse composition: just over half of students identify as Hispanic, while white students make up about two-fifths of enrollment. The school draws from a housing market where median home values have appreciated modestly and rental costs remain moderate, with the broader McHenry County area showing signs of active residential development and relatively stable affordability.

State test results, available for grades three through five, show math and reading proficiency rates that fall substantially below typical elementary benchmarks. In math, three-fifths or more of students did not demonstrate proficiency in the most recent year across all tested grades. Reading results, while slightly stronger than math, still show two-thirds or more of students below proficiency in grades three and five, with grade four performing somewhat better at roughly three-fifths below proficiency. Science results, assessed only in fifth grade, align with the math trend at the same low proficiency level. When compared against the other districts in McHenry County, Canterbury's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile of the county's schools. These results are consistent enough across grade levels to suggest a pattern rather than single-grade variation, and parents weighing this school may want to look into what intervention or support strategies the school and district are implementing in response.

A parent might also note two recent district-level changes that shape the environment. Middle school attendance boundaries were redrawn and took effect for the 2025-2026 school year, shifting which feeder schools students transition from, so families buying into neighborhoods here should confirm current assignments since those boundary lines influence the downstream school experience. Additionally, the district announced in early 2025 that budget constraints tied to teacher contract increases would result in staff reductions in elementary band and Extended Curriculum (gifted enrichment) programs, meaning those class offerings and enrichment pathways have narrowed from what families may have anticipated. A federal mental health services grant that had supported student counseling and well-being staffing was also terminated by the federal government in 2025, removing dedicated funding for those services.

The school serves a fairly even mix of grades with slightly larger concentrations in second grade, reflecting typical suburban elementary patterns. Enrollment is small to moderate for an elementary building. Test participation rates are high, suggesting the school's data fairly represents actual student performance rather than missing-data artifacts. Canterbury sits in an active growth corridor: the Water's Edge mixed-use development nearby will bring new apartment housing and commercial space, and other residential projects are underway, so the school's enrollment context is likely to shift as the neighborhood builds out.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 329%

School 29% · District 50% · ▼ 21 pts below district

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 29 pts below county median

Grade 428%

School 28% · District 42% · ▼ 14 pts below district

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

Grade 525%

School 25% · District 42% · ▼ 17 pts below district

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

English language arts

Grade 333%

School 33% · District 49% · ▼ 16 pts below district

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▼ 25 pts below county median

Grade 437%

School 37% · District 59% · ▼ 21 pts below district

▼ 11 pts below state median · ▼ 26 pts below county median

Grade 535%

School 35% · District 63% · ▼ 27 pts below district

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 29 pts below county median

Science

Grade 525%

School 25% · District 46% · ▼ 21 pts below district

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▼ 20 pts below county median

This schoolCrystal Lake CCSD 47, 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.