The top reported proficiency rate is 67% in English language arts. The lowest is 47% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Glen Crest Middle School
Glen Crest Middle School serves grades six through eight in Glen Ellyn, a residential suburb west of Chicago. The school enrolls roughly 700 students, distributed evenly across its three grades. About half the enrollment is white, with substantial Asian and Hispanic representation, each a significant minority. Specific data on free-or-reduced-price lunch, English learner status, and special education enrollment were not available.
State test results for the most recent year show performance that is mixed by subject and grade. In English language arts, the school reaches proficiency on about three-quarters of sixth graders and roughly seven in ten students at seventh grade, but that drops to about five in ten at eighth grade. Math proficiency is lower and more variable: roughly half of sixth graders test proficient, about six in ten seventh graders, but only about four in ten eighth graders. Science results are available only for eighth grade, where about half test proficient. Across the school's tested grades and subjects combined, Glen Crest sits below the midpoint among the county's districts in overall proficiency. A parent may want to explore what factors shape the eighth-grade performance dips in both English and math, whether they reflect curriculum shifts, instructional approaches, or demographics as students progress through the middle grades.
Testing participation rates across grades were consistently high, above ninety-eight percent, indicating that absence of results does not stem from low engagement in state assessment. The school's enrollment is stable and evenly sized by grade, which typically supports continuity in programming.
Glen Ellyn itself is a built-out suburban community anchored by a pedestrian-friendly historic downtown centered on the Metra station, with a parallel commercial corridor on Roosevelt Road serving auto traffic. The town sits about twenty-three miles west of Chicago and hosts College of DuPage, the state's second-largest community college, making educational services the dominant employer. Recent development has concentrated on mixed-use downtown housing, including luxury apartments and a new affordable housing project, rather than sprawl. Median home values in the local zip code are substantial and have grown modestly year over year. Housing costs are high relative to regional and national benchmarks; mortgage-to-income and rent-to-income ratios both signal affordability pressure for median-income households.
The district itself encompasses five middle and elementary schools, all of which exceeded fifty years of age before a voter-approved bond in 2022 funded major capital repairs across the system: roof replacements, heating upgrades, parking improvements, and redesigned secure entrances at multiple buildings. That work is ongoing and materially upgrades facility conditions.
Glen Crest serves a demographic and economic context that is relatively affluent and stable, with strong civic investment in parks, libraries, and transit. However, the school's test-score profile suggests that enrollment here brings uneven academic outcomes by grade and subject, particularly in eighth-grade mathematics and eighth-grade English. For families prioritizing a school with consistently strong proficiency across all grades, the data here would warrant closer conversation with the school about seventh-to-eighth-grade transitions and instructional supports. For others, Glen Crest's stable, diverse peer group and renovated facilities may fit their priorities despite the mid-pack test results relative to the county.
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