Parents moving to Chicagoland want to know: where are the best elementary schools in Chicagoland? Parents consider the school ratings as published on all the real estate search portals when deciding where to live. But those ratings aren’t really communicating what parents think they are communicating.
The reason is these ratings are heavily influenced by a school’s test scores. But research has proven that test scores are 70-80% attributed to parent income, not school quality. The result is the ratings are biased towards schools where parents have the highest incomes. And they unfairly underrate schools where parents have diverse or moderate to low incomes.
Click Here to read more about the problems with the current school ratings as displayed on Zillow, Redfin and RealtorDOTcom.
SchoolSparrow has developed a rating system that more equitably compares test scores in the context of each school’s demographics. SchoolSparrow’s algorithm (validated by professional data scientists) is a multi-variable regression model. Our model takes into account parent income in addition to other factors that impact test scores at any one school.
Our model predicts the average expected test scores for schools based on their demographics. Schools are then rated by the extent to which they have a departure from the expected scores.
Our ratings illuminate thousands of urban schools that are unfairly underrated on all the real estate search portals.
Parents are steered away from these schools because of the unfair ratings as published on Zillow, Redfin, and RealtorDOTcom.
Our experience has shown that parents, particularly parents moving to Chicagoland, want a 7-rating or better. If the rating is lower, they’ll pass over the school and the neighborhood and homes the school serves.
So, we’ve developed a SchoolSparrow Value Index that shows the relationship between a school’s parent-income adjusted test scores and the average current list price of 3+ bedroom homes in the attendance boundaries of the school. The higher the index, the better the value.
Some of the best schools in Chicagoland are located in urban areas with a diverse range of socio-economic and cultural backgrounds. Not to mention, some of these areas have more affordable real estate than schools where families have high incomes.
Below are the top 10 Chicagoland schools that provide a high-quality education with home prices that are the most affordable.
Click Here if you want to help set the record straight about these underrated high-quality Chicagoland Elementary Schools.
Whittier Elem School
Located in Harvey, Illinois, Whittier Elementary earns an 8/10 SchoolSparrow Rating as a result of their out-performing test scores. This school operates in the top 23% of schools in the State of Illinois. But this school is underrated as displayed on all the real estate search portals with a 6/10 rating.
With a 15/40 diversity rating, kids at Sherwood gain from the many benefits that come with diversity. These benefits include better teamwork and decision making skills, higher emotional intelligence, more acceptance of people from different socio-economic and cultural backgrounds, and possibly even higher IQ’s. These are the kids we want leading the next generation.
Whittier’s SchoolSparrow Value Index is 100%, the highest in the entire Chicagoland area. If you want a great school that doesn’t break the bank, then this high-quality school might be a great option for you.
Whittier Elementary is one of the best elementary schools in Chicagoland.
Sherwood Elem School
Located in Chicago, Sherwood Elementary earns an 8/10 SchoolSparrow Rating, and is in the top 27% of Illinois schools as a result of their out-performing test scores.
But the other guys give them an unfair 4/10 rating, which is undoubtedly steering parents away from this high-quality school.
Sherwood has a 99.9% SchoolSparrow Value Index, the 2nd highest in the entire Chicagoland Area. Parents, don’t overlook this school! You could save money and redirect funds to other areas that increase your kids potential, like travel to foreign countries, tutors, test prep, etc.
Forest Park Individual Ed School
Forest Park Individual Ed School is located in Joliet, and earns our top score, a 10/10 SchoolSparrow Rating as a result of their exemplary student performance. This school operates in the top 7% of schools in the State of Illinois, yet the other guys assign a lowly 6/10 rating due to their biased rating system.
With a 10/40 diversity rating, kids at Sherwood will gain from some of the many benefits that come with diversity, including better teamwork and decision making skills, higher emotional intelligence, more acceptance of people from different socio-economic and cultural backgrounds, and possibly even higher IQ’s.
Forest Park Individual Ed School has a 99.9% SchoolSparrow Value Index, which is the 3rd highest in the Chicagoland Area. If you are looking for a school that won’t bust your real estate budget, then this school might be perfect for you.
McDowell Elem School
McDowell Elementary is located in Chicago and earns a 10/10 SchoolSparrow Rating.
The students at McDowell Elementary are absolutely killing it when it comes to performance on the standardized test. This school is operating in the top 2% of schools in the State of Illinois!
The other guys must be living in an alternate universe because somehow they score this high-quality school with a 5/10 rating. Parents, don’t believe this score! McDowell elementary is one of the best schools in Chicagoland, not to mention the entire State of Illinois.
But the best part is they have a high 99.6% SchoolSparrow Value Index, the 6th best in the Chicagoland Area. An incredible school and equally incredible real estate prices? Sign us up!
Matteson Elem School
Matteson Elementary is located in, drumroll…..Matteson, IL, and earns a 9/10 SchoolSparrow rating as a result of it’s great student performance. Students at Matteson Elem significantly Out-Perform the predicted or expected scores for schools with similar demographics. This is a high quality school and one of the best elementary schools in the Chicagoland Area.
Matteson Elementary is operating in the top 13% of schools in the State of Illinois.
The other guys assign this school an unexciting 6/10 rating due to their biased rating system. We hope parents will find this article and recognize that Matteson Elementary has a lot to offer.
And in addition to a solid elementary school, homes in the attendance boundary are also relatively affordable. Matteson Elementary has a SchoolSparrow Value Index of 99.5%, the 8th highest in Chicagoland!
Fieldcrest Elem School
Fieldcrest Elementary School is located in Oak Forest, and earns a 9/10 rating due to the awesome test score performance by Fieldcrest’s students. This school is operating in the top 11% of public schools statewide.
Yet, all the real estate search portals display a 5/10 for this high-quality school. What impact is this having on the surrounding neighborhood?
But the best part is not even the incredible real estate prices relative to Chicagoland as a whole, it’s that this school has a 30/40 diversity score, the highest on this list. No doubt the students at Fieldcrest are benefiting from all the cognitive advantages that come with diversity, including better teamwork and decision making skills, higher emotional IQ’s, and more acceptance of people from different socio-economic and cultural backgrounds.
Fieldcrest has a 99.5% SchoolSparrow Value Index. An incredible school, great diversity, and reasonable real estate prices? Yes, please. Parents, this school deserves to be on your shortlist!
Lincoln Elem School
Lincoln Elementary School is located in Blue Island and scores a 9/10 SchoolSparrow Rating for their outstanding student performance. This school operates in the top 8% of schools in the State of Illinois!
The major real estate search portals are steering families away from Blue Island with their low 5/10 rating for this high-quality school.
Add to this a high SchoolSparrow Value Index of 99.4% and you have an incredible school with reasonable real estate prices. The 10th best in all of Chicagoland.
And let’s not forget their 20/40 diversity rating. Parents can rest assured that Lincoln students are benefiting from all the cognitive advantages that come with diversity, including better teamwork and decision making skills, higher emotional IQ’s, and more acceptance of people from different socio-economic and cultural backgrounds.
Parents, don’t overlook this incredible school!
Help Set the Record Straight
Tweet the below message, or copy and paste into a facebook post.
@zillow @redfin @realtordotcom, so many of our awesome public schools are underrated and parents are being steered away from some of the best schools in Chicagoland. Please display more fair and truthful ratings via @schoolsparrow
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Our mission is to bring equitable school rankings to all families in the US, so that a home purchase decision can be made with a more balanced view of school quality. Today school rankings are biased towards privileged neighborhoods, and they unfairly discount schools with the socio-economic diversity. We aim to bring equity to school rankings.
