Richland Elem School, Crest Hill IL

Original Research by School Decision on Richland Elem School

Richland Elem School serves students from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade in Crest Hill, a fast-growing suburb about 40 miles southwest of Chicago in Will County. The school sits on Caton Farm Road, one of the city's arterial routes rather than in a walkable downtown core. The student body is diverse: roughly 46 percent identify as Hispanic, about 22 percent as Black, and about 26 percent as white, with smaller representation among Asian and other groups. The school enrolls roughly a little under one thousand students across all grade bands, with eighth grade the largest cohort and pre-K the smallest. Economic data on free-or-reduced-price lunch eligibility was not available, nor was information on the school's Title I status.

Academically, state test results from the most recent year show a mixed profile across grades and subjects. In reading, younger grades perform more modestly: third grade proficiency sits around 46 percent, fourth grade near 49 percent. Fifth grade jumps notably to around 73 percent, then dips slightly to around 57 percent in sixth grade, before recovering to around 52 percent in seventh and peaking at around 77 percent in eighth grade. Mathematics shows a different trend: proficiency starts around 33 percent in third grade, edges upward to around 38 percent in fourth, improves to around 46 percent in fifth, then drops sharply to around 21 percent in sixth grade, before rising to around 35 percent in seventh and around 39 percent in eighth. In science, assessed only in fifth and eighth grades, results are around 54 percent and around 59 percent respectively. When averaged across all tested grades and subjects, the school's overall proficiency index falls below the midpoint among the county's districts. Students tested at nearly universal rates, indicating broad participation.

The results suggest some strength in the upper-middle grades in reading and science, but weaker performance in mathematics, especially at the sixth-grade transition. A parent may want to look directly with the school into what drives the sixth-grade math dip and whether additional support is available. State assessment data carries a note that proficiency cut scores changed this year, so year-to-year trends cannot be reliably computed from the provided figures.

Crest Hill itself is a recently built, car-dependent suburb with a diverse employment base anchored by a state correctional facility, an Amazon logistics operation, and smaller manufacturing and service employers. Housing values and rents are moderate relative to the Chicago region; the median home price sits modestly below the state benchmark. The city is experiencing rapid growth, with new subdivisions and commercial development along major corridors like Weber Road. Parks, recreation, and library services are provided by regional entities rather than city-specific departments. Public transit is limited to Pace bus service and Metra access through nearby Joliet.

The district itself faced a significant property-tax ruling in 2021 when the Illinois Supreme Court invalidated part of Crest Hill's TIF (tax increment financing) district on contiguity grounds, a decision that reduces the incremental property-tax revenue available to the school. For families evaluating the district's long-term resources, this outcome affects the funding picture.

The school operates as a regular public school with no charter or magnet designation. Program information beyond the tested academic subjects was not available. Staff size, discipline data, course-level offerings, and attendance rates were not included in the provided data.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 333%

School 33% · District 33%

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

Grade 438%

School 38% · District 38%

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

Grade 546%

School 46% · District 46%

▲ 16 pts above state median · ▲ 6 pts above county median

Grade 621%

School 21% · District 21%

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

Grade 735%

School 35% · District 35%

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 839%

School 39% · District 39%

▲ 16 pts above state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 346%

School 46% · District 46%

▲ 2 pts above state median · ▼ 12 pts below county median

Grade 449%

School 49% · District 49%

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

Grade 573%

School 73% · District 73%

▲ 21 pts above state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

Grade 657%

School 57% · District 57%

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 752%

School 52% · District 52%

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▼ 19 pts below county median

Grade 877%

School 77% · District 77%

▲ 23 pts above state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

Science

Grade 554%

School 54% · District 54%

▲ 17 pts above state median · ▲ 10 pts above county median

Grade 859%

School 59% · District 59%

▲ 19 pts above state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

This schoolRichland GSD 88A, 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.