The top reported proficiency rate is 52% in English language arts. The lowest is 39% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Glenbrook Elem School
Glenbrook Elementary is a small to mid-sized suburban school serving pre-K through sixth grade in Streamwood, a car-oriented residential northwest Chicago village anchored by commercial corridors and forest preserves. The school enrolls a diverse population with a majority of students identifying as Hispanic, a substantial share as white or Asian, and smaller shares of Black, multiracial, and American Indian students. Roughly half the enrollment consists of younger grades; the school spans from pre-K through sixth grade. Free-or-reduced-price-lunch data was not available, so an understanding of economic hardship cannot be drawn from these figures.
On the 2024-25 Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR), Glenbrook's proficiency rates in math and English language arts fall below the median among Cook County school districts. In third-grade math, the school achieved proficiency above the midpoint countywide, but proficiency declined sharply as students moved through upper elementary grades. Fourth-grade math proficiency dropped to just below half the tested students, fifth-grade math fell to around one-third, and sixth-grade math held at roughly the same low level. The pattern in English language arts was less severe: third-grade proficiency hovered near half the students, fourth grade held similarly, and fifth grade improved noticeably above half. Sixth-grade ELA also remained above half. Fifth-grade science proficiency registered in the low-to-mid range. State testing data is not reported for grades seven and eight, reflecting that this elementary school does not serve those grades.
Across tested subjects and grades, Glenbrook's overall proficiency index sits above the median for Cook County districts, a positioning that reflects strength in the upper-elementary ELA grades and third-grade math offsetting the weakness in upper-elementary math. The math decline from third to fourth and beyond is a pattern a parent may want to look into further with the school; whether it reflects specific curricula, instructional shifts, or cohort composition would help clarify whether it signals a teaching concern or a particular group entering the grades in question.
The school sits in a district in transformation. School District U-46, which serves Glenbrook, voters approved a major bond referendum in 2023 that includes a complete rebuild of Glenbrook itself, alongside modernization of several other aging elementary schools and the opening of the district's first new middle schools in over three decades. Hawk Hollow Middle School in neighboring Bartlett opened for the 2025-26 school year; a second new middle school in Elgin opens in 2027. This capital program reshapes building quality and capacity across the district for the next generation. U-46 is also implementing a shift to a 6-8 middle school model with new curriculum (Reveal Math, an EL Education literacy pilot) and a daily advisory period for social-emotional learning and academic intervention. Starting in 2025-26, elementary schools in the district extended their school day to improve student learning time. These district-wide changes mean that families at Glenbrook sit in a period of curriculum refresh, schedule restructuring, and physical modernization all unfolding together.
Streamwood itself is a maturing suburb that grew rapidly through the 1980s and 2000s and is now focused on infill and balanced development. The village is predominantly residential with parks, forest preserves, and a commercial base spread along arterial corridors rather than concentrated in a downtown. The resale housing market shows a median value in the mid-range for Cook County, with typical homes turning over within roughly a month and the market showing steady but not brisk demand. Local employment anchors are manufacturing, health care, and retail; major employers include AbbVie and McDonald's. The Poplar Creek Public Library, a regional resource, serves Streamwood, and Pace Bus service connects the village to the Metra Milwaukee District/West Line in neighboring Hanover Park. Schools are accessible within neighborhood walking distance, though the village is car-oriented for most commutes.
For a family considering Glenbrook, the school offers a small, neighborhood-scale setting in a diverse elementary cohort undergoing curriculum renewal and physical modernization as part of a broader district initiative. The test results show mixed academic performance: strength in early reading and early math, but a notable challenge in upper-elementary math that merits direct conversation with school leadership about causes and remediation pathways. The broader context of district-wide schedule extension and middle-school restructuring means instructional resources and intervention supports are expanding at the same time the building is being rebuilt.
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