The top reported proficiency rate is 19% in Science. The lowest is 6% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on West Elementary School
West Elementary School serves third through fifth graders in Zion, a small city between Chicago and Milwaukee with a population around that found in smaller Lake County communities. The school sits in Zion Elementary School District 6, which recently received a state Property Tax Relief Grant—money that the district is using to reduce local property taxes while keeping education funding intact, a meaningful factor for families considering a move into the area.
The enrollment is modest, with students distributed across three grades. The student body is predominantly Hispanic and Black, reflecting Zion's demographic makeup, with smaller numbers of White and multiracial students. Free-or-reduced-price lunch data was not available, and counts for special populations such as students with IEPs or English learners were not provided by the school or district.
State test results from the most recent year show very low proficiency across the board. In math, West's third graders show proficiency in the low single digits; fourth graders perform at less than one percent; and fifth graders, at around one in ten. In English language arts, third and fourth graders sit around eight percent proficiency, while fifth graders reach about one quarter. Science proficiency for fifth grade sits around one in five. A parent may want to look into these results further with the school to understand the specific challenges students are facing, what interventions are in place, and what progress, if any, the school has tracked over recent years—information that state testing alone does not capture. These results place West in the bottom quartile of proficiency compared to other schools in Lake County districts.
The school participates fully in state testing, with near-complete participation rates across subjects and grades. One limitation in the data: average scale scores were not reported, which would provide additional detail about where students sit relative to proficiency thresholds.
Zion itself is a quiet, modestly priced residential community. Housing values and rents both sit below state and national benchmarks, making it more affordable than much of Illinois. The city's character is shaped by its founding as a religious utopian community in the late nineteenth century—a legacy visible in the biblical street names of the central grid. Walkability is uneven; central Zion along Sheridan Road functions as a small downtown where some errands are walkable, but residents generally rely on cars. Parks, including the large Shiloh Park with its bandshell and courts, anchor civic life. Metra service on the Union Pacific North Line connects commuters south toward Chicago, roughly forty miles away.
Growth in Zion is flat to slightly declining. The housing stock is predominantly older, built before the mid-twentieth century, with limited new residential construction. Owner-occupancy rates sit around half the homes, with renters comprising the other half. The city's largest employer remains the cancer hospital on Elisha Avenue, now operating as City of Hope Chicago, along with a base of manufacturing and retail businesses. The economy is stable but modest in scale.
West Elementary is a regular public school with no charter or magnet designation. It serves only elementary grades, so no graduation rate applies. District-level strategic priorities, curriculum specifics, extracurricular programs, and staffing details were not available in the data reviewed. A parent or resident looking for more context about instructional approaches, support services, or the school's improvement trajectory should contact the school or district directly.
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