The top reported proficiency rate is 50% in Math. The lowest is 48% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Mark Delay School
Mark DeLay School serves early elementary students, from prekindergarten through second grade, in Darien, a largely built-out suburban community about 17 to 18 miles west of Chicago in southern DuPage County. The school draws from a family-centered residential suburb organized around car travel, expressway interchanges, and distributed commercial corridors rather than a traditional walkable downtown.
The school's enrollment sits at roughly 450 students, distributed fairly evenly across its grade band, with a student body that is predominantly white but includes meaningful representation of Hispanic and Black students, as well as smaller shares of Asian students and students of mixed race. The school's demographics reflect the demographic mix of the wider Darien area. Free-or-reduced-price lunch data and special education and English learner enrollment numbers were not available, so a parent would need to ask the school directly about the proportion of students receiving meal assistance or the size of services for students with disabilities or learning English.
The most recent state assessment data comes from 2014-15, when the state was using the PARCC exam and had just changed its proficiency standards. The data shows third-grade proficiency in math at just under half and in English language arts at slightly lower. Because these are the only test results in the available data, and because they are now a decade old and come from an assessment with recent cut-score changes, they do not give a current picture of the school's academic standing. State testing data was not available for more recent years, likely because the school serves only grades PK through 02 and state assessment in Illinois does not begin until grade 3. A parent seeking current academic performance information should ask the school for recent assessment results from its own local assessments or any newer state data.
Among districts in DuPage County, the school's 2014-15 proficiency index sits below the county midpoint. This matters less as a current measure than as a signal that a parent should request up-to-date information directly from the school and district about how students are performing now.
The broader district context includes two parent-relevant operational changes. Beginning in the 2024-2025 school year, Darien SD 61 introduced Late Start Wednesdays for K-5 students, later expanding to K-8 grades in 2025-2026. On these Wednesdays, Mark DeLay students arrive at 9:10 a.m. instead of the regular time, as the district uses the early morning hour for staff professional learning. This is a recurring weekly schedule shift that affects family drop-off, childcare, and work routines, so it is worth confirming the current and upcoming calendar with the school. The district also adopted a formal Strategic Plan in March 2022, with finalized goals and indicators by the 2022-2023 school year, which now shapes district instructional priorities and expectations.
Darien itself is primarily a bedroom community, with most workers commuting to jobs outside the city. The housing market is solidly mid-range for the Chicago region; median home values in the 60561 zip code are in the mid-400,000s and median monthly rent in the low 2,000s. The area is built-out with infill and redevelopment activity rather than rapid growth; some newer development pressure has focused on higher-density residential uses along major commercial corridors. The Indian Prairie Public Library serves parts of Darien and offers maker facilities and community programs. Public transit includes Pace bus service and Metra rail access in nearby Downers Grove. The environment is decidedly car-oriented, organized around expressway interchanges and county roads rather than pedestrian walkability.
For a family with young children, Mark DeLay is a small, traditional elementary school in a stable, family-oriented suburb. The school's long-term test results are outdated, so current academic strength cannot be assessed from the data at hand. A parent should contact the school and district directly to learn about current teaching approaches, student outcomes on recent local or state measures, classroom sizes, specialties or enrichment offerings, and how the Late Start Wednesday schedule works in practice.
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