The top reported proficiency rate is 74% in English language arts. The lowest is 64% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Gwendolyn Brooks Elementary
Gwendolyn Brooks Elementary is a regular public elementary school serving kindergarten through fifth grade in Aurora, a major suburb west of Chicago. The school sits in Indian Prairie CUSD 204, a large district spanning Aurora, Bolingbrook, Plainfield, and Naperville that has just passed a substantial bond referendum focused on building safety and infrastructure upgrades across its campuses.
The enrollment is modest for the grade band, with roughly equal cohorts across all six grades. The student body is diverse in racial and ethnic composition. About half the enrollment is Asian, roughly a quarter is white, and the remaining students identify as Hispanic, Black, or multiracial. Data on free-or-reduced-price lunch eligibility and English learner enrollment was not available, so a reader interested in those specifics should contact the school directly.
On Illinois state assessment data from the most recent school year, Gwendolyn Brooks shows mixed performance. In math, third grade students achieved strong proficiency, but fourth grade dips notably, and fifth grade recovers somewhat. In English language arts, third grade sits at a solid level, fourth grade is a bit lower, and fifth grade rebounds. Science results for fifth grade are in the lower range. Overall, the school's proficiency index across tested subjects and grades places it in the top quartile among other schools in DuPage County, a meaningful strength. Within the county's 34 schools with available proficiency data, Gwendolyn Brooks is performing at a level above the median and well above the floor.
The school's testing participation rates are high, with most grades showing full participation, suggesting consistent attendance and engagement on assessment days. One caveat: Illinois changed its proficiency cutoff scores in recent years, so direct year-over-year trend comparisons are not safe to make from the available data. A parent may want to ask the school for longer-term performance trends and context around the shifts between grades.
Aurora itself is undergoing active downtown revitalization along the Fox River, with new residential and mixed-use development breaking ground and housing demand projected to grow. The 60502 zip code where the school is located shows a median home value in the low hundreds of thousands with modest year-over-year appreciation. Rental rates in the area are moderate by Chicago-area standards. The housing market has a balanced supply and moderate demand relative to earlier periods.
At the district level, Indian Prairie has just approved a substantial bond for safety upgrades, secure entry vestibules, and modernization of aging buildings. The district has also adopted a new English language arts curriculum centered on CommonLit for its middle schools, emphasizing writing and critical thinking. These are the kinds of system-wide changes that shape a student's experience as they progress through the grades.
For families considering this school, the profile is one of a small-to-mid-sized elementary in a diverse suburb with solid county-level performance, serving a racially and ethnically mixed neighborhood undergoing gradual residential growth. The school does not appear to have any programmatic distinction or alternative focus noted in available data, so it operates as a traditional neighborhood school. A parent should ask the school directly about class size, special education and gifted programs, school culture, and any recent initiatives that might not appear in the state testing data.
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