The top reported proficiency rate is 89% in Science. The lowest is 81% in English language arts.
Original Research by School Decision on Horace Mann Elem School
Horace Mann Elementary serves kindergarten through fifth grade in Oak Park, a compact, walkable Chicago suburb with unusually strong transit access and a dense residential streetscape. The school sits within District 97, a well-established elementary district that spans the village and serves a racially and economically mixed enrollment.
The school's enrollment is small to moderate for its grade band, distributed across seven grades with the largest cohorts in the upper elementary years. The student body is majority white, with meaningful shares of Asian, Hispanic, and Black students, plus a substantial mixed-race population. Free and reduced price lunch eligibility data was not available in the school's public records.
On state assessments administered in 2025, Horace Mann's math proficiency was strong across the tested grades. Third through fifth graders showed proficiency rates in the low-to-mid eighties, with a slight uptick from third to fifth grade. Mathematics stands as the school's clearer strength. English language arts results were more variable. Third grade showed a proficiency rate in the low seventies, fourth grade moved to the high seventies, and fifth grade jumped to the mid-nineties, a notably higher performance. The school also reported science proficiency for fifth grade at nearly ninety percent. Overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades places Horace Mann in the top quartile among Cook County elementary schools, a meaningful position. Test participation rates were nearly complete across both subjects and grades. No data was available for sixth grade science or any middle grades, which reflects the fact that the school does not serve those grades.
The school's location in Oak Park means access to an exceptionally walkable neighborhood with embedded civic anchors—small neighborhood parks within a few blocks, the Oak Park Public Library, and both CTA and Metra transit within reach. Families can walk or bike to school and to downtown commercial districts with restaurants and shops. Housing values in the 60302 zip code are substantial, with owned homes appreciating notably year over year, though the rental market remains more affordable than ownership. Both create different housing-cost contexts depending on family tenure. Oak Park itself is built out and growing through infill and redevelopment, with recent mixed-use and affordable housing projects approved or underway, so the neighborhood is not undergoing rapid demographic shift but rather steady incremental change.
District 97 is actively reshaping its instructional programs. The district piloted three new K-5 English language arts curricula during 2024-25 across several schools, including Horace Mann, as it moves away from a long-running Lucy Calkins–based approach. This curriculum change will affect how reading and writing are taught in the upper elementary grades. The district has also adopted a new middle school master schedule and new social studies materials, signaling ongoing curriculum work. At the same time, the district enacted notable staff reductions for 2026-27, eliminating two central-office positions and laying off eight teachers, a signal of budget pressure that parents may want to monitor as it could affect class sizes or program continuity in future years.
A parent or resident considering Horace Mann should understand that the school performs well on state tests, particularly in mathematics, with strong results in upper elementary English language arts. It is a small school in a dense, car-light, transit-rich neighborhood where walking is the norm and civic life is embedded in the residential blocks. The district is mid-implementation of curriculum changes, so families should expect to learn directly from the school which new ELA resource is being used and how it differs from prior practice. Housing costs are high in the area, though transit access provides an alternative to car commuting for working families.
See more original research from School Decision →