Holmes Elem School, Harvey IL - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Holmes Elem School

Holmes Elem School is a small elementary school serving kindergarten through fifth grade in Harvey, a dense south suburban city about twenty miles from downtown Chicago. The school sits in a community shaped by long-term economic decline but recent downtown reinvestment, and its academic results signal that students here face serious headwinds.

The school's enrollment is small, drawn from a student body that is roughly four-fifths Hispanic and one-fifth Black. Poverty-related data for the school itself was not available, but Harvey's median household income and poverty rate paint a picture of deep economic stress. The immediate neighborhood—and Harvey as a whole—has been losing population for decades, though recent projects like the Harvey Lofts mixed-income housing and the rebuilt Metra station suggest the city is trying to anchor itself downtown. For families, this means sparse housing choice and a tight market, with median home values well below state and national benchmarks but with considerable volatility tied to the district's property tax troubles.

State test results from the most recent school year show proficiency rates that are among the lowest in Cook County. In math, third grade proficiency was low, fourth grade proficiency dropped further, and by fifth grade proficiency fell to single digits. English language arts proficiency followed the same downward pattern across tested grades, with fifth grade again near single digits. Science results at fifth grade were similarly sparse. These numbers—placed in the bottom quartile relative to other districts in the county—reflect students arriving with learning gaps and a school struggling to close them.

The reasons for these outcomes are complex and lie beyond the school itself. Harvey SD 152, the district serving Holmes, has faced chronic fiscal strain, including property tax collection rates that missed expectations and state-approved levy increases that exceed normal caps. In practice this means the district operates under tight constraints, which ripple down to school staffing, resources, and support. Families considering Holmes should understand that this is a school in a district managing real scarcity, not one with broad program depth or excess capacity.

The school does maintain full participation in state testing, a basic sign of operational stability. Enrollment has held at small but workable levels across all grade bands. Beyond that, the data provided does not include detail on special education services, English learner supports, staffing, attendance, discipline, or after-school and enrichment offerings—all areas where information would help round out the picture of what Holmes can and cannot provide.

For a family in Harvey, Holmes would likely be the neighborhood school. A parent might want to look into directly with the school what supports are available for students reading below grade level, whether there are counseling or mental health services, and how the school works with families on attendance and homework. The low test results are real; they reflect the students' starting points and the school's capacity given its resource constraints. This is not a school that appears to be moving upward or outward; it is a school managing a stable but challenged situation.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 331%

School 31% · District 30% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

Grade 420%

School 20% · District 14% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Grade 54%

School 4% · District 23% · ▼ 19 pts below district

▼ 26 pts below state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 321%

School 21% · District 24% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 23 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

Grade 417%

School 17% · District 19% · ▼ 3 pts below district

▼ 31 pts below state median · ▼ 23 pts below county median

Grade 58%

School 8% · District 37% · ▼ 29 pts below district

▼ 44 pts below state median · ▼ 38 pts below county median

Science

Grade 54%

School 4% · District 16% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▼ 33 pts below state median · ▼ 23 pts below county median

This schoolHarvey SD 152, 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.