The top reported proficiency rate is 28% in English language arts. The lowest is 10% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Irving Middle School
Irving Middle School sits in Maywood, a densely settled residential village on Chicago's west side. The school serves grades five through eight and enrolls a student body that is predominantly Black with a substantial Hispanic minority. The enrollment is small but stable across those grade bands.
The strongest data available is recent state testing in math, reading, and science. The school's proficiency results are significantly below state and county averages across every tested grade and subject. In math, sixth grade reached low single-digit proficiency, seventh grade roughly twice that, and eighth grade fell back to single digits. Reading proficiency was somewhat higher: sixth and seventh grades hovered in the low-to-mid range, while eighth grade sits around a quarter of students meeting the standard. Science proficiency in eighth grade was in the low double digits. Participation rates across subjects are strong, consistently in the high-90s percentage, so these results reflect actual student performance rather than opt-out effects. The school's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile among Cook County school districts.
State test data for grades three, four, and five are not available, likely because the school's grades five through eight configuration means only grade five sits in that range, and that data either was not reported or the grade level does not appear in the public results for this school year.
Irving is part of Maywood-Melrose Park-Broadview District 89, a small PreK-8 district of nine schools. The district has recently adopted a significant pedagogical shift toward dual-language instruction, introducing a one-way English-Spanish program at several elementary schools with a plan to phase upward through fifth grade, and maintaining a two-way dual language academy. This expansion reflects the district's investment in biliteracy in a community where Spanish-speaking families are a substantial share of enrollment.
Housing in the Maywood area is mixed in price and age. The housing stock is predominantly historic, with about three-quarters of units built before the 1970s and relatively little new construction. The local median home value has appreciated modestly over the past year, and median rent for the zip code reflects a relatively tight cost-to-income ratio for working families. The economic context includes a major employer in Loyola University Medical Center and the adjacent Edward Hines VA Hospital, and civic anchors such as the Maywood Public Library and the Metra station on the Union Pacific West Line. Population has been roughly flat to declining since 2020. Village initiatives in late 2024 have focused on affordable housing development and targeted business-improvement grants rather than broad growth, reflecting the character of a stable, older community.
A parent considering Irving should understand that the school's test results show students are not meeting state standards in core subjects at rates consistent with county peer schools. The data does not clarify whether this reflects instructional challenges, resource constraints, or student need factors that are not visible in this profile. The school's low proficiency is a matter a parent may want to discuss directly with school leadership to understand what support structures exist and what the school's improvement trajectory looks like.
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