Fairmount Elem School, Downers Grove IL

Original Research by School Decision on Fairmount Elem School

Fairmount Elementary is a school serving pre-K through sixth grade in Downers Grove, with an enrollment of about three hundred students. The school sits in a western Chicago suburb that balances a walkable, revitalized downtown centered on Main Street and the Metra BNSF station with conventionally suburban neighborhoods of single-family homes. The village has long been known for significant teardown-and-rebuild activity; housing ranges from mid-19th-century cottages near the center to post-war ranches and colonials further out. The area is currently densifying, with new multifamily apartment buildings rising downtown and larger homes replacing smaller ones in residential blocks. Median home values are in the low to mid-range for the broader Chicagoland area, and the market shows moderate supply and moderate demand relative to recent history.

The school's demographic makeup is predominantly white, with smaller populations of students identifying as Hispanic, multiracial, Asian, and Black. Free-or-reduced-price-lunch data was not available, and English learner and special education enrollment counts were also not provided. The student body size is modest for its grade band.

On state mathematics assessments in 2024-25, Fairmount's proficiency varied by grade. Third grade showed strong performance, fourth grade dipped notably lower, fifth and sixth grades rebounded to strong levels. In English language arts, results were more consistently high across the tested grades, with fifth and sixth graders performing particularly well. Fifth-grade science proficiency was strong. The school's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile relative to other schools in DuPage County—a meaningful measure of how it compares to district peers across the county. All assessed grades showed near-complete or complete participation on state tests.

The school is part of Downers Grove Grade School District 58, which is in the midst of substantial change. Voters approved a major facilities bond in late 2022 that raised the district property tax rate; renovation and expansion work is ongoing at all thirteen school buildings, targeted for completion by summer 2026. The work includes secure entry upgrades, HVAC and roofing improvements, classroom updates, and middle school additions. Beginning in 2026-27, the district will transition sixth graders from elementary schools to the two middle schools, moving from the current K-5 / 6-8 split to a new PK-5 and 6-8 structure. For families with younger children at Fairmount, this means that sixth grade will eventually move out, reducing class sizes in the earlier years and altering the school's composition.

State testing was available only through sixth grade. Seventh and eighth-grade assessment results did not appear in the data, which reflects that Fairmount's grades served do not extend beyond sixth.

A parent or resident considering Fairmount should understand that it is a neighborhood elementary school in a community experiencing steady growth and property investment, situated in a district undergoing both capital improvement and grade-structure reorganization. The school's proficiency levels are competitive within the county, particularly in ELA and upper-grade math. The demographic composition skews white and moderately affluent relative to broader state patterns. The major structural change ahead—the departure of sixth graders to middle school—will reshape the school's grade band and social environment once implemented.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 382%

School 82% · District 78% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▲ 36 pts above state median · ▲ 17 pts above county median

Grade 462%

School 62% · District 67% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▲ 25 pts above state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 582%

School 82% · District 69% · ▲ 13 pts above district

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

Grade 680%

School 80% · District 63% · ▲ 17 pts above district

▲ 56 pts above state median · ▲ 29 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 380%

School 80% · District 69% · ▲ 11 pts above district

▲ 36 pts above state median · ▲ 18 pts above county median

Grade 478%

School 78% · District 76% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 30 pts above state median · ▲ 10 pts above county median

Grade 592%

School 92% · District 74% · ▲ 18 pts above district

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

Grade 690%

School 90% · District 79% · ▲ 11 pts above district

▲ 40 pts above state median · ▲ 16 pts above county median

Science

Grade 590%

School 90% · District 65% · ▲ 25 pts above district

▲ 53 pts above state median · ▲ 35 pts above county median

This schoolDowners Grove GSD 58, 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.