Hillside Elem School, Hillside IL

Original Research by School Decision on Hillside Elem School

Hillside Elem is a pre-K through eighth-grade regular public school serving a small village in western Cook County. The school enrolls students across nine grade levels, with the largest concentration in grades two and eight. The student body is predominantly Hispanic and Black, with smaller shares of white, Asian, and multiracial students. Enrollment has remained stable.

State testing data from the most recent school year shows a pattern that warrants attention. In English language arts, proficiency varies considerably by grade. Third graders and younger students score very low; fourth and sixth graders show stronger results; and seventh and eighth graders perform above the school's overall median. Math proficiency is notably weaker across the board, with most grades in the low range. Sixth and seventh graders show particularly low results. Science testing, available only for grades five and eight, shows proficiency rates in a similar modest range. The school's overall proficiency index places it below the midpoint among Cook County districts.

Participation rates in state testing are very high, near complete, suggesting that these results reflect a broad student population rather than selective testing. The school conducted testing at participating rates of at least 97 percent in every grade, indicating consistent engagement with assessment protocols.

A parent considering Hillside Elem would encounter a school serving a economically and demographically diverse community in a historically postwar suburban village. The school draws from neighborhoods with modest housing costs. Hillside itself is car-dependent and commercial in character, anchored by shopping centers and expressway corridors rather than a traditional downtown, though it maintains a public library and park district amenities. The village has been relatively stable in population for decades and has recently focused on mixed-use commercial redevelopment rather than large residential expansion.

The school's academic trajectory appears uneven by grade level, which may reflect differences in instructional intensity or student readiness as students move through the elementary and middle years. In particular, the drop in math proficiency in the upper grades and the strength shown in seventh-grade English suggest variability in program delivery or student engagement that a parent may want to understand more directly with the school. District-level changes, strategic priorities, or enrollment patterns were not available in public reporting, so a conversation with the school about instructional approach, support services, and grade-level transitions would be prudent for a prospective family.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 325%

School 25% · District 25%

▼ 21 pts below state median · ▼ 14 pts below county median

Grade 446%

School 46% · District 46%

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

Grade 522%

School 22% · District 22%

▼ 8 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 614%

School 14% · District 14%

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Grade 713%

School 13% · District 13%

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

Grade 818%

School 18% · District 18%

▼ 5 pts below state median · even with county median

English language arts

Grade 315%

School 15% · District 15%

▼ 29 pts below state median · ▼ 22 pts below county median

Grade 448%

School 48% · District 48%

even with state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

Grade 551%

School 51% · District 51%

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

Grade 642%

School 42% · District 42%

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 763%

School 63% · District 63%

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

Grade 849%

School 49% · District 49%

▼ 4 pts below state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Science

Grade 522%

School 22% · District 22%

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

Grade 827%

School 27% · District 27%

▼ 13 pts below state median · even with county median

This schoolHillside SD 93, 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.