Ideal Elem School, Countryside IL

Original Research by School Decision on Ideal Elem School

Ideal Elem School is a small public elementary school in Countryside, a suburban village on Chicago's southwest edge built around retail corridors rather than a traditional downtown center. The school serves kindergarten through sixth grade, with an enrollment of about mid-size for its grade band, drawn from a student population that is predominantly Hispanic, with smaller shares of white, Black, and Asian students. Free-or-reduced-price lunch data was not available.

The school's state testing results show uneven performance across grades and subjects. In English language arts, results improve with grade level: third grade is below midpoint at the county level, fourth grade is at midpoint, fifth grade is roughly at midpoint, and sixth grade is above midpoint. In mathematics, the pattern is more troubling. Third and fourth grades show proficiency rates around midpoint, but fifth grade drops sharply to well below the county median, and sixth grade remains low. Science proficiency, tested in fifth grade, is substantially below the county median. All students took the state assessments. One note: Illinois changed the proficiency cut scores for the 2024-25 assessment year, so prior-year comparison is limited.

Taken together, Ideal Elem's overall proficiency across tested grades and subjects sits below the midpoint among the county's school population. Strength in upper-grade literacy (sixth-grade ELA notably higher) does not offset weakness in mathematics, particularly in grades five and six, and in science. A parent may want to look into the school's approach to mathematics instruction and support in those upper elementary grades, where the numbers show a real dip.

The school sits in La Grange School District 105 South, which serves Countryside, Hodgkins, and part of La Grange. In 2025, the district mistakenly overcharged property taxpayers due to a filing error on a bond abatement; a homeowner with a median-value house paid several hundred dollars more in taxes than intended. The district announced it would lower its tax levy the following year to offset the error plus reimburse for lost interest or market value shifts. This was a one-time mistake with a planned correction, but it directly affects property-tax bills in the area and is worth knowing if you are a homeowner or considering purchasing in Countryside.

Countryside itself is a small, quiet suburb focused on residential subdivisions and commercial retail. Housing values have risen modestly in recent years, and the rental market shows typical suburban pressure. Most working residents are in white-collar occupations: management, office and administrative roles, and business and financial work. The town is auto-oriented, with most commercial life concentrated along the La Grange Road corridor in shopping plazas rather than a walkable downtown. The nearby village of La Grange provides the area's historic downtown and commuter rail access.

Ideal Elem is a regular public school with no charter or magnet designation. The school's website or recent program offerings, staffing details, and attendance or discipline data were not available. This is a mainstream neighborhood elementary school where the state testing results suggest parents should understand that mathematics support, particularly for students in upper elementary grades, matters in the choice.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 341%

School 41% · District 66% · ▼ 26 pts below district

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

Grade 449%

School 49% · District 66% · ▼ 18 pts below district

▲ 12 pts above state median · ▲ 20 pts above county median

Grade 522%

School 22% · District 62% · ▼ 41 pts below district

▼ 8 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 633%

School 33% · District 54% · ▼ 20 pts below district

▲ 9 pts above state median · ▲ 16 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 338%

School 38% · District 68% · ▼ 30 pts below district

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

Grade 457%

School 57% · District 71% · ▼ 14 pts below district

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

Grade 549%

School 49% · District 75% · ▼ 27 pts below district

▼ 4 pts below state median · ▲ 3 pts above county median

Grade 665%

School 65% · District 76% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▲ 14 pts above state median · ▲ 22 pts above county median

Science

Grade 523%

School 23% · District 49% · ▼ 26 pts below district

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

This schoolLa Grange SD 105 South, 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.