The top reported proficiency rate is 63% in English language arts. The lowest is 47% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Lee R Foster Elem School
Lee R Foster is a small elementary school serving grades one through five in Oak Forest, a south-suburban Cook County community about twenty miles from downtown Chicago. The school sits within Forest Ridge School District 142 and serves about four hundred students across five grade levels, with a composition that is roughly evenly split between white and Hispanic students, with smaller numbers of Black and Asian students and a small multiracial population. The specific enrollment of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch was not available, nor were counts for students with individual education plans or English learners, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about the demographic makeup of support services.
On state assessments administered in the most recent school year, the school shows mixed results across its tested grades. In English language arts, third grade showed proficiency roughly in the middle range, fourth grade was near that level, and fifth grade was notably stronger, suggesting that older students in the building are performing better in reading and writing than their younger peers. In mathematics, fourth grade was the strongest grade level, but third and fifth grades both showed proficiency rates below the midpoint, indicating that math is an area where many students are not yet meeting state standards. Science results for fifth grade were below proficiency at roughly half the school, though participation was very strong. These patterns suggest uneven preparation across the grade span, with reading gains more visible by the upper end but math performance lagging.
Comparing the school against other districts in Cook County on an overall proficiency measure, Lee R Foster sits above the median, meaning it is performing better than roughly half of the county's school systems when you average across all tested subjects and grades. That said, the median in Cook County itself is not particularly high, so this positioning reflects more mixed performance in an urban county context than strong performance in state terms.
The building serves a residential area that is increasingly focused on transit-oriented development around the nearby Metra station. Oak Forest itself is a modest, tree-lined suburb with locally owned businesses and small commercial corridors. The city is actively redeveloping the Cicero Avenue and 159th Street intersection with mixed-use housing and ground-floor retail, and has cleared the former Cook County hospital campus for future development, which will reshape the surrounding area in coming years. Housing values in the area are below the state average and modest by Chicago standards, making it an accessible suburb for families, and rental housing is relatively affordable as well. The community has a public library, an active park district with neighborhood parks and trails, and Metra commuter rail access.
District-level information about recent changes, strategic priorities, or curriculum initiatives was not available from public sources, so parents interested in the district's direction may want to reach out to Forest Ridge 142 directly to learn about any planned improvements or initiatives that might affect the school.
See more original research from School Decision →