Charles J Caruso Middle School, Deerfield IL

Original Research by School Decision on Charles J Caruso Middle School

Charles J Caruso Middle School, serving grades six through eight in Deerfield, is a mid-sized suburban middle school in the northern Chicago area. The school's current enrollment spans approximately evenly across the three grades.

The school's academic performance shows strength in reading and literacy. Proficiency in English language arts is substantially above the midpoint among Lake County districts' middle schools, with solid performance at all three grades. Sixth-grade students scored well, seventh grade performed particularly strongly, and eighth grade remained solid. Participation rates in ELA assessments were excellent, near universal.

Mathematics proficiency is mixed across the grade band. Seventh-grade students showed the strongest performance, while sixth-grade performance was in the middle range. Eighth grade also performed solidly. Like ELA, participation rates in math testing were very high. Science results for eighth grade, the only year tested in this grade band, showed proficiency solidly above the state midpoint.

Overall, the school's proficiency index across tested subjects and grades places it in the top quartile among the county's school districts, a meaningful strength in academic outcomes.

The student body is predominantly white, with an Asian population that is notably larger than many district schools, smaller Hispanic and multiracial populations, and very small representation of other groups. The school does not appear to serve substantial populations of students in poverty, though free-and-reduced-price-lunch data was not publicly available. Special education and English learner enrollment counts were not reported. A parents may want to ask the school directly about the composition of its student support services if that is relevant to their family.

State testing data for math in grades three, four and five, and for ELA and science in grades three, four, and five, were not available. These grades are not tested under Illinois's assessment system for all grades, which explains the gap. The school only serves grades six through eight, so there is no graduation rate or data on student progression to high school.

Deerfield is a wealthy North Shore suburb roughly 28 miles north of downtown Chicago, known for corporate headquarters and research facilities along Lake Cook Road, including Walgreens and Baxter Healthcare. The community is adding transit-oriented and multi-family housing near the two Metra stations, with several projects under development or recently broken ground. The housing market is active, with median home values substantially higher than state and national benchmarks. Mortgage affordability is constrained, and rents are also relatively high, though still somewhat lower than the monthly cost of ownership.

The district recently passed a substantial facilities referendum in March, approved by voters, that will fund new elementary schools and renovations including targeted upgrades to both middle schools, including Caruso. The property tax impact will appear on bills beginning in 2027 as bonds are issued. This is a long-term commitment that directly affects families considering a move to the area.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 670%

School 70% · District 65% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▲ 46 pts above state median · ▲ 39 pts above county median

Grade 781%

School 81% · District 81% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 53 pts above state median · ▲ 37 pts above county median

Grade 877%

School 77% · District 73% · ▲ 3 pts above district

▲ 54 pts above state median · ▲ 39 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 691%

School 91% · District 90% · ▲ 2 pts above district

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

Grade 790%

School 90% · District 90% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 39 pts above state median · ▲ 28 pts above county median

Grade 880%

School 80% · District 82% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▲ 27 pts above state median · ▲ 20 pts above county median

Science

Grade 878%

School 78% · District 74% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▲ 38 pts above state median · ▲ 20 pts above county median

This schoolDeerfield SD 109, 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.