The top reported proficiency rate is 69% in English language arts. The lowest is 38% in Science.
Original Research by School Decision on Westwood Elem School
Westwood Elementary is a small public school of roughly mid-enrollment size for a rural primary grade band, serving students from kindergarten through fifth grade in Woodstock, a county seat in McHenry County that sits about forty miles northwest of Chicago. The school's location on South Street Road places it in a residential area within Woodstock's broader suburban exurban context.
The school's enrollment reflects the diversity of its town. Approximately half the student body identifies as white, with roughly four in ten students identifying as Hispanic or Latino. The remaining student population is scattered among other racial and ethnic groups; detailed counts for free-and-reduced-price lunch eligibility or English learner status were not available in the data.
Academic performance shows a pattern worth examining. In English language arts, the school posts solid results in the middle grades: fourth-graders showed strong proficiency, and fifth-graders as well. Third-grade English proficiency sits in the low-to-mid range. Math tells a different story. Performance declines sharply as students advance: third-graders meet proficiency at a reasonable rate, but by fourth grade the rate drops, and by fifth grade it falls to roughly one in three students. The school also reports science proficiency for fifth-graders at about four in ten. The difference between English and math performance, especially the pronounced downward slope in math, is a pattern a parent may want to discuss with the school directly to understand what supports exist for students as grade-level content grows more demanding.
All students were tested and participated; no participation gaps appear in the data. Proficiency metrics reflect the Illinois Assessment of Readiness for English and math and the Illinois Science Assessment for science. The state made scoring adjustments to these assessments in the latest year, so comparisons to prior years are not directly available.
Positioned against the twenty-two districts across McHenry County, Westwood's overall proficiency index places it in the top quartile of county schools, a meaningful position that reflects strength relative to its immediate peers, even as the internal math trend warrants attention.
Woodstock itself is a town in transition. Its preserved historic downtown, anchored by a courthouse square with cafes, shops, and civic anchors like the Opera House and the Old Courthouse Center, sits a block from the Metra commuter rail station. Manufacturing (including the Kraft Heinz Claussen Pickles plant) and healthcare (Northwestern Medicine Woodstock Hospital) anchor the local economy. In recent years the city approved major residential developments—the Riverwoods subdivision and downtown multifamily projects—ending a long decade with minimal new building. The city has also launched a Downtown Master Plan with The Lakota Group. For the current school year, Woodstock CUSD 200 reduced its property tax levy, a rare move in a county known for high property taxes; this was made possible by debt payoff, and estimates suggest a family with a median-value home would see modest savings on the school portion of their property tax bill. In fall 2025, the district also launched district-wide micro-internship and internship programs for high school students, signaling a shift toward career-pathway work.
Housing in the Woodstock zip code averages in the low-to-mid range for the region, with rental rates moderate relative to median household income. The housing market has modest activity overall; homes tend to spend a few weeks on the market, and supply and demand scores both sit in the mid-to-high range, suggesting neither a tight seller's market nor an oversupply.
Westwood offers a standard elementary program without magnet or charter designation. The school serves its grade band through the fifth grade; no state testing occurs in grades one, two, or six and above, so comparative assessment data does not exist for those levels. The school is not reported as a Title I school, though free-and-reduced-price lunch data was not provided, so a parent seeking that specific information should contact the district directly.
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