The top reported proficiency rate is 37% in English language arts. The lowest is 16% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Neil Armstrong Elem School
Neil Armstrong Elementary serves kindergarten through fifth grade in Richton Park, a residential village in Cook County southwest of Chicago that is actively working to diversify beyond its single-family-home character. The school enrolls a small-to-mid-sized student body for an elementary, drawn primarily from the immediate area.
The student population is predominantly Black, with a smaller percentage of Hispanic students and very small numbers of other racial and ethnic groups. Free-or-reduced-price-lunch data was not available. The school has not reported enrollment in special education or English learner programs, so the scope of those populations cannot be assessed from available data.
Academic proficiency across tested subjects and grades is low. In the most recent state assessments (Illinois Assessment of Readiness and Illinois Science Assessment 2.0), proficiency rates ranged widely by grade and subject. In third grade, math and English language arts proficiency sat in the upper thirties. Fourth grade math and reading proficiency declined notably, with math in the upper twenties and reading at about half. Fifth grade showed the steepest gaps: math proficiency dropped to single digits, while reading proficiency fell to the low twenties. Fifth grade science proficiency was similarly low. Sixth, seventh, and eighth grade results were not reported, which aligns with the school's designation as serving only through fifth grade. The school achieved high test participation rates across grades and subjects where data were reported.
Compared to the broader group of districts in Cook County, Neil Armstrong's overall proficiency index places it in the bottom quartile. A parent may want to look into the school's curriculum implementation and student support strategies directly, particularly around elementary mathematics and the transition to upper elementary grades.
The district, Elementary School District 159, recently adopted a 2025-2030 Strategic Plan centered on consistent, evidence-based, standards-aligned core curriculum across all subject areas and all schools. This represents a deliberate shift toward academic uniformity across the district's four elementary schools and its middle school. The district also operates a dual-language program option, launched in the school year beginning in the late 2010s, making bilingual instruction available to families in the three communities it serves: Matteson, Richton Park, and Tinley Park. Additionally, voters approved a 2021 referendum to build a Community STEM Center in Matteson, now housing district offices alongside an aerospace lab, maker space with 3D printing and coding capabilities, robotics and woodworking stations, and a foundational lab for younger students, with programs open to families and community members.
Richton Park itself is a developing village actively pursuing mixed-use and transit-oriented growth around its Metra Electric station. Retail and light industrial employment anchor the area, with retail chains concentrated along I-57 and Sauk Trail, and warehousing and transportation firms occupying industrial parks. The Metra station supports commuting, and Governors State University is nearby. The village is in the midst of housing market activity driven by Town Center redevelopment and a push to add rowhouses, condominiums, apartments, senior housing, and live-work units within walking distance of transit. Home values in the area are moderate, and rental costs align with income affordability patterns typical of suburban Cook County. The village has a public library district and parks, with the Fine Arts Campus of Rich Township High School District drawing cultural events nearby.
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