The top reported proficiency rate is 48% in English language arts. The lowest is 28% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Luther Burbank Elem School
Luther Burbank Elementary School is a regular public elementary school in Burbank, Illinois serving kindergarten through fifth grade. The school sits in a working- and middle-class southwest Chicago suburb where the residential fabric mixes single-family homes with commercial corridors along Cicero and Harlem Avenues. Burbank itself is moderately walkable and densely populated with a substantially immigrant population; the area's economy centers on manufacturing, health care, construction, and distribution work tied to the broader southwest-suburban industrial corridor.
The school's enrollment is modest for its grade band, with roughly four hundred fifty students distributed across seven grades from pre-K through fifth. The student population is predominantly Hispanic, with a substantial white enrollment and smaller Asian, multiracial, and Black populations. Free-or-reduced-price-lunch data were not available, so a parent seeking that information should reach out to the district directly. Special education and English learner enrollment counts were also not reported.
State test results from the most recent year show uneven performance across the grades and subjects tested. In English language arts, third-grade students showed proficiency slightly above half, fifth graders performed stronger at roughly fifty-six percent, but fourth graders lagged substantially at around thirty-six percent. In mathematics, the pattern dips considerably lower: third graders reached close to forty-six percent, but fourth and fifth graders both fell to the mid-twenties in proficiency. In science, fifth-grade students demonstrated proficiency near twenty-eight percent. All tested students participated in the assessments. A parent may want to ask the school directly about what it is doing to address the gaps in fourth-grade math performance and the overall downward trend in math proficiency from third to fourth and fifth grades.
When placed against other districts in Cook County, Luther Burbank's overall proficiency index falls below the midpoint. This reflects the weight of lower math results offsetting stronger performance in English language arts.
The district structure underwent a significant shift: elementary schools now serve through fifth grade exclusively, with all sixth through eighth graders moving to Liberty Junior High School, which opened in its current form after a 2021 expansion. This means that for families with multiple children, the transition pattern to middle grades has changed from what older siblings may have experienced. Liberty Junior High has also adopted a new English language arts curriculum aligned to state assessments, which will affect how your child's transition into sixth grade approaches reading and writing instruction.
Burbank itself is a built-out suburb with minimal new construction; most housing activity involves infill renovation rather than large new developments. Home values have risen modestly, and the median home price sits in the range of modest appreciation year-over-year. The community's civic anchors include the Burbank Park District, the Prairie Trails Public Library, and several recreation facilities. Transit connections via CTA bus service provide access to wider Chicago and to Midway Airport, though proximity to a railyard and the airport itself means noise and vibration are part of the daily environment.
A parent considering Luther Burbank should understand that the school is working with a student population that faces economic and language diversity challenges, that math proficiency across the grades tested remains a concern, and that the recent district restructuring has changed when and how the transition to middle school occurs. The school's strength in English language arts, particularly in third and fifth grades, suggests that literacy instruction is more established. Visiting the school and asking staff about their approach to mathematics support, their response to fourth-grade performance, and how they work with English learners and families new to the system would help ground a real sense of fit.
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