Lakewood Falls Elem School, Plainfield IL

Original Research by School Decision on Lakewood Falls Elem School

Lakewood Falls Elementary serves kindergarten through fifth grade in Plainfield, a fast-growing southwest Chicago suburb. The school enrolls a diverse student body, with substantial representation from Hispanic and Black families alongside white and Asian students. The building is substantial for the elementary level, though no enrollment is reported in the data as a formal count. The school sits on Budler Road in the residential landscape that characterizes most of Plainfield outside the historic downtown core.

On state testing, Lakewood Falls shows uneven results across grades and subjects. In English language arts, third grade reaches mid-to-upper-range proficiency, fourth grade moves higher, and fifth grade shows strength. In math, the pattern reverses. Third grade reaches a similar place to fourth grade ELA, but fourth-grade math drops below that, and fifth-grade math falls further still, at the lower end of the proficiency range. Fifth-grade science proficiency is modest. These grade-level swings suggest that math skills weaken as students advance, a pattern a parent may want to look into further with the school, particularly if a child struggles in numeracy.

The school's overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades places it below the midpoint among the county's districts, a relative position that matters if the family is considering alternatives within Will County. The data does not report chronic absenteeism, staffing ratios, or free-and-reduced-price-lunch eligibility, so a reader looking for information on school culture, engagement, or poverty concentration will need to ask the school directly.

Lakewood Falls opens into a district experiencing substantial transition. Plainfield SD 202 is managing a state funding loss in the millions of dollars due to a reclassification of district tier status, and while the district recently rolled out an enhanced kindergarten model with full-time paraprofessionals in every classroom, the funding squeeze is expected to create pressure on class sizes and program breadth over the next budget cycle. Additionally, a high school boundary change approved in December 2025 will reshape attendance zones for students in ten subdivisions starting in 2026-27, though it does not affect elementary attendance. Parents with older children or planning a family's school pathway should be aware that this district is in a period of fiscal constraint.

The broader Plainfield context is rapid residential growth. The village has been among the fastest-growing in Illinois, with new subdivisions and apartment complexes opening regularly. Homes are moderately priced for the Chicago area, and the rental market is similarly accessible. The housing stock has expanded significantly since 2020. This growth creates natural demand for school capacity, though the elementary level has not yet faced the crowding pressures now visible at the high schools. The downtown is walkable and historic, but most newer residential areas, including many where families with young children live, are car-dependent. Schools are generally sited in subdivisions rather than near downtown, so Lakewood Falls fits the pattern of a newer suburban elementary campus.

See more original research from School Decision →

Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 345%

School 45% · District 58% · ▼ 13 pts below district

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▼ 15 pts below county median

Grade 441%

School 41% · District 47% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

Grade 530%

School 30% · District 40% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 346%

School 46% · District 58% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

Grade 457%

School 57% · District 58% · ▼ 1 pts below district

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

Grade 561%

School 61% · District 64% · ▼ 3 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 539%

School 39% · District 51% · ▼ 12 pts below district

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

This schoolPlainfield SD 202, 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.