The top reported proficiency rate is 27% in English language arts. The lowest is 20% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Carol Moseley Braun School
Carol Moseley Braun School is a public elementary school in Calumet City serving kindergarten through sixth grade. The school enrolls a small student body and is situated in a residential-industrial suburb on the Illinois-Indiana border, about a short distance south of Chicago. The community is diverse and working-class, anchored historically by manufacturing and more recently by retail (notably River Oaks Center) and transit connections including the South Shore Line commuter rail.
The student body is predominantly Black, with a small share of Hispanic and Pacific Islander students and very few white or Asian students. The school's enrollment breaks fairly evenly across its grade span, with slightly larger classes in the middle grades.
Academic performance, as measured by state testing, is low. In third grade, roughly one-third of students met or exceeded proficiency in both English language arts and math. Performance declined sharply in the upper elementary grades: by fourth grade, proficiency dropped to below one-fifth in both subjects, and in fifth grade fell further still to roughly one-eighth in math, while English language arts held slightly higher at around one-third. In science, fifth graders showed proficiency at around one-fifth. Testing data for sixth grade was not reported; this may reflect the district's recent shift of sixth graders to the middle school, meaning no full sixth-grade cohort completed testing at this building. The school's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile when compared against other schools across Cook County districts.
Participation rates in state testing were high and near complete, so these results reflect the school's actual performance rather than absences from the assessments.
The district serving Calumet City and nearby South Holland has made curriculum additions worth noting. A Career and Technical Education program launched in 2023, offering sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-graders pathways in areas such as skilled trades, culinary arts, performing arts, cosmetology, and barbering. That program has grown substantially, which provides students with hands-on, career-focused learning options alongside traditional academics.
Housing in the area is affordable. Median home values are modest and have declined slightly in recent years, while rents remain below national norms. The local job market includes health care, transportation and warehousing, and retail, with many residents commuting to adjacent Indiana for industrial work. The city is working on mixed-use redevelopment of its aging shopping mall, which could reshape the community over the next several years.
Parents considering Carol Moseley Braun should recognize that current proficiency levels are low, particularly in the upper elementary grades. The school's placement at the bottom of the county distribution suggests students would benefit from close attention to foundational skills and reading and math support. At the same time, the district's investment in career pathways offers a concrete option for middle school exploration, and the community itself is economically accessible and stable. A parent may want to look into the school's specific literacy and numeracy programs, what tutoring or intervention supports are available to students below grade level, and how the transition to the grade-centered middle school structure works in practice for younger students.
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