Gen George Patton Elem School, Riverdale IL

Original Research by School Decision on Gen George Patton Elem School

Gen George Patton Elementary School serves prekindergarten through eighth grade in Riverdale, a south suburb of Chicago in Cook County. The school enrolls a small student body, with roughly equal cohorts through the early grades that taper slightly in the upper-elementary and middle years.

The student body is overwhelmingly Black African American, with a handful of Hispanic and multiracial students and a single white student. Enrollment data on free-and-reduced-price lunch eligibility was not available, nor was data on the share of students with individualized education plans or English learner status. The school sits in a community experiencing economic distress: Riverdale's poverty rate runs well above state and national norms, and median household income is substantially below the national average. The village's population has been contracting in recent years.

On Illinois Assessment of Readiness testing in the latest school year, proficiency results across mathematics and English language arts are substantially low across all tested grades. In mathematics, proficiency ranges from none in eighth grade to low percentages in third through seventh grades, with third grade showing the highest proportion meeting state standards. English language arts proficiency is similarly weak, with third grade showing no students at proficiency, fourth grade at low proficiency, and upper grades showing higher but still modest percentages. The strongest ELA result is in seventh grade; eighth-grade performance drops sharply. Science proficiency in fifth and eighth grades was also very low. Across all grades and subjects, participation in testing was high or near-complete, so results reflect actual student performance rather than test-taking gaps. The school's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile relative to districts across Cook County.

A teacher and paraprofessional strike in March 2022 concluded with a multi-year contract that reset staff compensation. The dispute surfaced longstanding parent concerns about the adequacy of enrichment programming, including technology, art, and music, in this very small K-8 district. A parent may want to look into the current state of these offerings with the school directly.

Housing in the Riverdale area is affordable relative to much of the Chicago region. Median home values are below the state and national benchmarks, and median rents are modest. The housing market shows steady inventory and a balance between supply and demand, though the neighborhood characterized by higher vacancy rates suggests pockets of limited residential vitality. The village is car-dependent; most residents commute by personal vehicle, and walking accounts for only a small share of trips. Metra Electric District service and Pace bus lines provide public transit options.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 319%

School 19% · District 19%

▼ 27 pts below state median · ▼ 21 pts below county median

Grade 413%

School 13% · District 13%

▼ 24 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

Grade 512%

School 12% · District 12%

▼ 18 pts below state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

Grade 614%

School 14% · District 14%

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Grade 714%

School 14% · District 14%

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 80%

School 0% · District 0%

▼ 23 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 30%

School 0% · District 0%

▼ 44 pts below state median · ▼ 37 pts below county median

Grade 420%

School 20% · District 20%

▼ 28 pts below state median · ▼ 20 pts below county median

Grade 512%

School 12% · District 12%

▼ 40 pts below state median · ▼ 34 pts below county median

Grade 621%

School 21% · District 21%

▼ 29 pts below state median · ▼ 21 pts below county median

Grade 729%

School 29% · District 29%

▼ 23 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

Grade 814%

School 14% · District 14%

▼ 39 pts below state median · ▼ 32 pts below county median

Science

Grade 518%

School 18% · District 18%

▼ 19 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Grade 814%

School 14% · District 14%

▼ 25 pts below state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

This schoolGen George Patton SD 133, 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.