The top reported proficiency rate is 50% in English language arts. The lowest is 21% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Kellar School
Kellar School is a middle school serving grades six through eight in Robbins, a small, historically significant African American village in Cook County's south suburbs. The school enrollment is roughly four hundred students, distributed fairly evenly across the three grades. The student body is predominantly Hispanic and Black, with Hispanic students making up the majority and Black students a substantial second share. Asian and white enrollment is minimal, and the school is located at a street address on Lydia Avenue near the heart of the village.
On state assessments administered in the 2024-25 school year, Kellar's proficiency results show a clear strength in English language arts but significantly lower performance in mathematics. In sixth-grade ELA, about half the students tested met proficiency. Seventh and eighth grade ELA proficiency rates were somewhat lower at roughly forty-five and forty-eight percent respectively, still a majority or near-majority reaching proficiency. In mathematics, however, results are substantially weaker. Sixth graders achieved proficiency at around sixteen percent, and seventh and eighth graders did only modestly better at roughly twenty-three to twenty-four percent. Eighth-grade science proficiency came in near forty percent. Participation rates across tested grades and subjects are very high, nearly universal, indicating that results reflect the actual student population rather than selection effects. Grade three through five testing data were not available, reflecting the fact that Kellar does not serve those grades.
In the context of the county's school districts, Kellar's overall proficiency index—a measure combining results across tested subjects and grades—places it below the midpoint. State testing data does not reveal a graduation rate for the school because it serves only middle grades; graduation rate information applies only to high schools. No chronic absenteeism data, special education enrollment share, English learner enrollment share, or free-and-reduced-price-lunch data were available in the school profile.
Robbins itself is a working-class village of modest size with strong roots in African American history and culture, roughly sixty percent Black and forty percent Hispanic by recent estimates. Housing is mostly brick bungalows on well-sized lots, and homeownership is relatively high. The median home value in the village's zip code is modest compared to the state, and the housing market shows moderate activity. Population has declined gradually in recent years, but the village is in the midst of a significant public investment phase, with a major stormwater and park project, zoning amendments to encourage mixed-use development near the Metra transit station, and plans to convert vacant land into development-ready sites. A Metra station on the Rock Island line provides transit to downtown Chicago in roughly thirty minutes, though ridership is light.
Kellar's parent district is Posen-Robbins ESD 143-5, a small school district serving three communities: Robbins, Posen, and neighboring Crestwood. No major recent changes to district curriculum, teaching practice, or operations were identified in available sources, so the narrative focuses on the school itself.
The achievement gap between ELA and mathematics at Kellar is the central fact for a prospective family. A student entering sixth grade who is strong in reading will likely find the ELA curriculum accessible, but students who need support in mathematics should expect substantial challenge and a low baseline of peers at proficiency. The school's strong participation rates suggest students are being tested and results are representative. A parent considering Kellar should seek direct conversation with the school about mathematics intervention and support structures, particularly for students below grade level upon entry. The ELA strength suggests the school has instructional capacity in that domain that may or may not transfer to math. The village's slow population decline and modest economic context are also relevant context: families should understand that Robbins is a tight-knit, historically rooted community in transition, not a rapidly growing or affluent suburb.
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