The top reported proficiency rate is 39% in Science. The lowest is 30% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Turner Elem School
Turner Elementary is a kindergarten-through-fifth-grade school in West Chicago, a mid-sized DuPage County suburb with a strong railroad heritage, diverse Latino population, and a mixed character of historic downtown, residential neighborhoods, and industrial areas near the airport. The school serves a student body that is predominantly Hispanic, with smaller Black and white populations and nearly no Asian or Native Hawaiian representation.
The school's academic performance, measured by Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR) tests in English language arts and mathematics, along with Illinois Science Assessment data, shows proficiency rates well below the state median. In the most recent testing window, third-grade math proficiency stood in the low-to-mid range, while fourth-grade math fell to a substantially lower level, then improved noticeably in fifth grade. English language arts followed a similar pattern: third and fourth grades showed low proficiency, while fifth grade showed a marked improvement. Fifth-grade science proficiency was also modestly below the state median. When the school's overall proficiency index is placed against all districts in DuPage County, Turner ranks in the bottom quartile. This spread across grade levels suggests uneven performance or possible variation in classroom readiness across the elementary span.
A parent should look into the reasons for the gap between fourth and fifth grades, and whether that trajectory reflects curriculum strength at the upper elementary level, differences in student cohorts, or instructional shifts. State testing data does not include kindergarten through second grade, so the full early-literacy picture is not visible here; a parent interested in early-reading approaches would want to ask the school directly.
The school enrolls a modest population distributed fairly evenly across its grade bands, with slightly higher enrollment in second and fifth grades. Free-and-reduced-price lunch data and counts of special education and English learner students are not publicly available for the school, though the district as a whole operates a full-scale community school model with wraparound services—food pantries, family liaison services, after-school learning, mental health support, and parenting resources—delivered through partnerships with more than fifty local organizations. The district also maintains a Spanish-English dual language program, with a two-way model at Gary Elementary and one-way classrooms at other elementary schools, a meaningful feature for a district where the majority of students are Hispanic.
The broader West Chicago area sits in a moderate-cost housing market with homes valued well below the state and national benchmarks. The rental environment is stable. The Metra station and Illinois Prairie Path trail sit within the historic downtown core roughly two miles from Turner's location. The city is pursuing deliberate downtown revitalization while continuing residential growth at its edges, with new-construction activity and established builders active in the market.
Turner is a conventional public elementary school, not a magnet or charter. It is part of West Chicago ESD 33, a district that adopted its "Achieve 2026" Strategic Plan in June 2021, setting direction on curriculum, learning, family engagement, and innovation across all schools. The district is currently undertaking a strategic-plan refresh to build on that foundation. For parents considering this school, the key questions turn on whether the improving fifth-grade performance reflects curriculum strength that will support continued growth, how the early grades set up foundation skills before state testing begins, and what role the dual language program plays at Turner specifically.
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