The top reported proficiency rate is 29% in Science. The lowest is 5% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Round Lake Beach Elem School
Round Lake Beach Elementary School serves first through fifth grade in a small, highly concentrated student body with a distinct demographic profile and very low academic proficiency across tested subjects.
The school enrolls about three-quarters of its students in a way that signals both strength in community serving and challenge in academic outcome. About four-fifths of the enrollment is Hispanic, with a smaller white population, a small Black enrollment, and representation of students with two or more races. No students report Asian ethnicity. This composition reflects the neighborhood's character as a densely residential, postwar suburb that has evolved into a notably diverse community, roughly a quarter of whose residents were born abroad. The school itself sits on Ardmore Drive in Round Lake Beach, a car-oriented village about a half-hour from downtown Chicago, served by commuter rail and anchored by a lakefront park and civic center.
On Illinois state testing in 2023-24, the school's performance runs significantly below state proficiency levels across all tested grades and subjects. In mathematics, third-grade proficiency stood in the low single digits, as did fourth grade, with fifth grade slightly higher but still in the single digits. English language arts showed similarly low proficiency at third, fourth, and fifth grades. Science, assessed only in grade five, showed measurably stronger results at about three-tenths proficient, a performance gap that may reflect different instructional focus or test design. Against the set of comparable districts in Lake County, the school's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile. A parent should treat these figures as flags meriting direct conversation with school leadership about the underlying causes, the instructional response, and the school's academic trajectory.
The school operates within Round Lake CUSD 116, a district navigating significant structural change. Beginning in fall 2024, the district moved from its existing one-through-five elementary model to a Partner School arrangement, with families' children potentially reassigned to different buildings and grade-level organizations. The district has also rolled out iPads district-wide through a program called 1:Wonder Technology, changing the tools students use daily. At the same time, the district discovered a budget forecasting error in the 2024-25 school year and is responding with staffing reductions and unfilled vacancies over multiple years, decisions that affect class sizes and staffing continuity parents weigh. For 2025-26, the district plans to adopt i-Ready for math instruction in kindergarten through eighth grade, replacing existing materials.
The housing market in the 60073 zip code centers on small-lot single-family homes on a rectangular grid, predominantly ranch and minimal-traditional styles from the postwar era. Median home values hover in the mid-to-upper hundreds of thousands, with modest recent appreciation. Rental prices and home values both sit below state and national benchmarks, making the area accessible to working families with moderate incomes. The community is car-dependent, with walk scores in the minimally-to-somewhat-walkable range; shopping and dining cluster along arterial roads like Rollins Road and Illinois Route 83 rather than in a traditional downtown. Round Lake Beach itself is built-out and growing slowly; the neighboring Village of Round Lake, which also feeds the district's schools, has expanded faster and projects continued growth.
A parent considering Round Lake Beach Elementary should understand that it serves a predominantly Hispanic, economically diverse student body in a mature suburban setting with very low current proficiency on state tests. The school operates in a district undergoing curriculum and organizational restructuring while managing budget constraints. The community offers affordable housing and lakefront amenities but is oriented toward automobile use and lacks walkable urban character. Whether this school is the right fit depends on a family's priorities around academic support and intervention, the new Partner School assignment, and the district's ability to sustain instruction and support during a period of staffing and budget adjustment. A direct conversation with the school about its academic recovery plan and classroom-level supports would help clarify whether this environment matches a student's needs.
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