Jane Addams Middle School, Bolingbrook IL

Original Research by School Decision on Jane Addams Middle School

Jane Addams Middle School serves students in grades six through eight in Bolingbrook, part of Valley View Community Unit School District 365U, which also covers Romeoville. The school enrolled a student body of just over five hundred across its three grade levels, distributed fairly evenly. The student composition is diverse, with a plurality of Hispanic students, followed by Black, white, and Asian students, reflecting the broader suburban demographic character of the area.

The school's recent state assessment data, available for the 2024-25 school year, shows a mixed academic picture. In English language arts, performance builds grade by grade: sixth graders showed proficiency at a moderate level, seventh graders improved substantially, and eighth graders reached a strong level. The school demonstrates particular strength in ELA by eighth grade. Mathematics proficiency, by contrast, sits considerably lower across all three grades and holds relatively flat, with about four in ten students meeting proficiency standards in sixth, seventh, and eighth grade. Science proficiency, measured in eighth grade, is similarly low. Participation rates in testing are very high across subjects and grades, indicating full engagement with the assessment system.

The gap between ELA and math performance is substantial and worth noting if you are considering this school. A parent may want to look into further with the school how the mathematics program is structured, what support is available for students not meeting proficiency, and whether interventions are in place to narrow that disparity. The strengths in reading and writing do not translate to numeracy at present.

Jane Addams sits above the midpoint among Will County's districts when looking at an overall proficiency index across tested subjects and grades. State testing data for graduation rate and chronic absenteeism were not available; as a middle school serving only grades six through eight, it does not have a four-year graduation rate, and absence metrics for this specific school were not reported.

Bolingbrook itself is a sprawling car-dependent suburban village southwest of Chicago, built around large residential subdivisions and commercial corridors. Home values in the area have risen modestly in recent years, and rental stock is available. The broader district has been on an upward academic trajectory, with the share of students meeting college and career readiness benchmarks growing sharply over several years, driven by expanded Advanced Placement and dual-credit offerings. The district has not asked for an additional property tax levy since the early 2000s and received a bond rating upgrade from Moody's in 2023, which translates into lower borrowing costs and long-term property tax stability. Starting in 2023-24, the district shifted to new start times district-wide and added two early-release days per month, a schedule change families will need to accommodate in their routines.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 641%

School 41% · District 31% · ▲ 10 pts above district

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

Grade 741%

School 41% · District 39% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▲ 12 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 840%

School 40% · District 34% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 18 pts above state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 665%

School 65% · District 56% · ▲ 9 pts above district

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

Grade 771%

School 71% · District 70% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 19 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 881%

School 81% · District 74% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▲ 27 pts above state median · ▲ 11 pts above county median

Science

Grade 841%

School 41% · District 42%

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

This schoolValley View CUSD 365U, 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.