The top reported proficiency rate is 55% in English language arts. The lowest is 44% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Crystal Lawns Elem School
Crystal Lawns Elementary School serves kindergarten through fifth grade in Joliet as part of Plainfield School District 202. The school enrolls a modest population of just over three hundred students, with the fifth-grade class being notably larger than the fourth-grade class. The student body is evenly split between Hispanic and white students, with smaller shares of Black, Asian, and multiracial children. The school's address places it in Joliet's neighborhoods, in an area with moderately priced housing where the median home value in the zip code hovers in the high two-hundred-thousands and rents run in the low thousands monthly.
On the most recent Illinois state assessments, Crystal Lawns shows mixed academic results. In English language arts, the school's performance is slightly above the midpoint for its grade band: third grade reaches about mid-level proficiency, fourth grade sits just above that, and fifth grade holds steady there as well. Mathematics presents a softer picture. Third-grade math proficiency runs somewhat below mid-level; fourth grade barely edges above it; and fifth grade drops noticeably lower. Science results at the fifth-grade level fall below mid-level. Across all tested subjects and grades, the school's overall proficiency index places it below the midpoint among the county's school districts, a signal that more than half the students in the school's tested grades are not meeting state standard.
Compared to other elementary schools in Will County, Crystal Lawns' academic standing reflects a school where students are building skills but where proficiency gains are not yet at the district or county benchmark. A parent may want to look further into the school's support structures for students not yet meeting grade-level standards and into the specific instructional approaches in math, where results lag furthest.
The district context carries recent developments worth noting. Plainfield 202 has announced that high school boundary changes will take effect in the 2026-27 school year, which will affect certain subdivisions in the area—though that shift applies to high school assignment, not to elementary schools. More directly relevant to families: the district faces a significant annual reduction in state funding due to a reclassification in Illinois' state financing formula, a change that may lead to staff and program cuts starting next year. This is a multi-year fiscal pressure, not a one-time adjustment. On the positive side, all 29 of the district's schools, including those serving early grades, recently earned a state "commendable" designation for the first time, and the district rolled out a redesigned kindergarten model this past fall that assigns a full-time paraprofessional to every kindergarten classroom—a staffing commitment that affects how early learners are supported.
The school sits in a suburban community that has grown substantially over the long term but is now adding residents more slowly. Joliet blends older neighborhoods with newer subdivisions, particularly on its west side. The city's major employers span logistics, manufacturing, healthcare, and education—including Amazon's large fulfillment center, ExxonMobil's refinery, and numerous other industrial and distribution operations. Downtown Joliet has seen recent investment in streetscape and new civic infrastructure, including the Joliet Gateway Center multimodal transit hub. The housing market in the area shows modest appreciation and a balanced supply-and-demand environment, with homes taking about a month to sell and rents climbing modestly year over year.
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