The top reported proficiency rate is 85% in English language arts. The lowest is 58% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Margaret Mead Jhs
Margaret Mead JHS is a middle school serving grades seven and eight in Elk Grove Village, a planned Chicago suburb with roughly equal parts residential neighborhoods and an enormous business park bordering O'Hare Airport. The school sits within Schaumburg CCSD 54, a district that recently adopted a major new K-8 math curriculum (Origo Stepping Stones for early grades, Imagine IM for grades 7-8) and implemented a science-of-reading literacy plan with universal dyslexia screening in kindergarten. These changes ripple through the school's instructional foundation.
The enrollment is small, divided almost evenly between seventh and eighth grade. The student body is diverse by race and ethnicity: roughly a third Asian, a third White, and smaller shares Hispanic and Black, with a small number identifying as two or more races. Free-or-reduced-price-lunch data were not available, and neither were specific counts for students with IEPs or English learners, so a parent seeking that information would want to ask the school directly.
On state testing, Margaret Mead shows a clear strength in English language arts. Eighth graders achieved a proficiency rate well above the midpoint among Cook County districts, and seventh graders also performed well. Both grades had participation rates near or at approximately 98 percent, indicating solid test-taking engagement. Seventh-grade mathematics proficiency sits around the midpoint for the county, while eighth-grade math trails somewhat further behind. Eighth-grade science proficiency, also near the county midpoint, rounds out a mixed profile: solid ELA performance, moderate math results, and science in a similar range.
The comparison universe is relative to districts in Cook County, which encompasses a very wide range of schools. On an overall proficiency index across tested subjects and grades, Margaret Mead ranks in the top quartile for the county, a meaningful achievement that reflects the stronger ELA results carrying significant weight.
One soft spot worth noting: the gap between seventh and eighth grade in math, where proficiency dips from around 60 percent to around 57 percent, is modest but visible. A parent may want to ask the school about how math concepts build year-to-year and what supports exist for students who do not yet meet proficiency.
Elk Grove Village itself is a well-established suburb with an owner-occupied housing stock and family-oriented character. The Elk Grove Village Public Library and park system provide community anchors. Housing values in the area have appreciated modestly, and rental costs are moderate relative to income. The village is essentially built out, so growth is happening through redevelopment projects like The Vue, a mixed-use development expected to open by 2028, and Tonne Grove, the first new single-family subdivision in the village in more than a decade.
Graduation rate, attendance, and discipline data were not available for this school, likely because state reporting does not cover those measures for schools serving only grades seven and eight. A parent should ask the school directly about attendance expectations, transition practices to high school, and how behavioral or academic concerns are addressed.
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