The top reported proficiency rate is 69% in English language arts. The lowest is 54% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Bednarcik Junior High School
Bednarcik Junior High School is a middle grades school serving sixth through eighth grade in Aurora, Illinois, part of Community Consolidated School District 308. It enrolls a student body of roughly five hundred across the three grades it serves, with roughly equal representation in each cohort.
The school's student composition is diverse. White students form the largest group; Asian, Hispanic, and Black students each make up a substantial share of the enrollment. The free-or-reduced-price-lunch data was not available, so a picture of economic need cannot be drawn from that metric. Special education and English learner enrollment figures were not provided in the available data, making it difficult to assess the scale of those populations in the building.
On state assessments administered in the 2024–25 school year, Bednarcik shows a mixed academic profile. In English language arts, proficiency increases sharply as students move through the grades. Sixth graders show proficiency rates below the state average, but seventh and eighth graders perform substantially higher, with eighth graders reaching a proficiency rate well above the district and state patterns. Math proficiency is flatter across the grade span; sixth and eighth graders hover around the midpoint, and seventh graders show a modest uplift. Science assessment data are available only for eighth grade, where a solid majority of students meet proficiency. When looking across all tested subjects and grades, the school's overall proficiency index places it above the midpoint among districts in Will County, suggesting reasonably solid baseline performance even if results are uneven by subject.
The district has made recent curriculum changes that shape the experience at this school. In 2022, CUSD 308 replaced its junior high math curriculum with new project-based and problem-based inquiry materials available in English or Spanish, replacing instruction that had been in place for years. This is a meaningful shift in how daily mathematics instruction unfolds for students here.
Aurora itself is the second-most populous city in Illinois and sits within the Chicago metropolitan area's Illinois Technology and Research Corridor. The immediate housing market shows moderate home values and a rental environment that places housing costs near the national median for affordability. The city is undergoing active downtown revitalization, with multiple residential projects in groundbreaking or pre-lease phases, suggesting a growth and investment dynamic in the community.
The district is currently navigating a significant facilities decision. A three-phase Long-Range Facility Plan was approved in December 2024, and in 2025 the district began considering a bond referendum for the November 2026 ballot to fund heating, cooling, roof, and flooring upgrades at schools built during the early-2000s growth boom. Officials publicly reported that because existing long-term debt is being retired simultaneously, a homeowner could see a modest decrease in the debt-service portion of property taxes once refinancing takes effect. This is material context for families considering a home purchase in the district.
Proficiency in English language arts shows a clear grade progression, with a parent may want to look into what pedagogical or structural changes drive that uplift from sixth to eighth grade. Math proficiency remains relatively flat, which warrants attention if acceleration or targeted support is a concern. The data sections on this page display the specific proficiency figures; the narrative here captures the pattern. State testing data for science at sixth and seventh grades were not available, and special education and English learner enrollment counts were not disclosed in the payload provided.
See more original research from School Decision →