Is Owens Community Academy Elementary School a good school?

Owens Community Academy Elementary School ranks in the bottom 22.0% of Illinois elementary schools.

How many students attend Owens Community Academy Elementary School?

In the 2022-23 school year, 331 students attended Owens Community Academy Elementary School.

What is the racial makeup of Owens Community Academy Elementary School?

Students at Owens Community Academy Elementary School are 93% African American, 4% Hispanic, 2% Two or more races, 1% White.

Owens Community Academy Elementary School

Summary:

Owens Community Academy Elementary School is a public elementary school serving grades PK-8 in the Chicago Public Schools District 299, with 331 students located in the South Side of Chicago. Despite its high per-student spending, Owens Community Academy has consistently ranked among the lowest-performing elementary schools in Illinois, with a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger for the past several years.

Owens Community Academy faces significant challenges, including extremely high chronic absenteeism rates, well below-average academic performance in both English Language Arts and Mathematics, and a high-poverty student population, with 94-95% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch. Interestingly, the schools closest to Owens, such as Metcalfe Elementary Community Academy and Brown R Elementary Community Academy, also struggle academically but generally perform better than Owens across various metrics.

The lack of improvement in Owens Community Academy's performance over the past decade suggests deeper systemic issues that need to be addressed. Factors such as high chronic absenteeism, high poverty levels, and relatively high per-student spending may indicate that the school faces significant challenges in terms of student engagement, access to resources, and addressing the needs of its student population. Addressing these issues will require a comprehensive, data-driven approach that targets the root causes of the school's underperformance and leverages the resources and best practices of the surrounding schools and district.

Detail:

Public PK, KG-8

12302 S State St
Chicago, IL 60628-6811

(773) 535-5475

District: Chicago Public Schools District 299

SchoolDigger Rank:
1613^th of 2,067 Illinois Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $23,597

Student/teacher ratio: 12.9

Number of students: 331

Racial breakdown:

African American:

92.7%

Hispanic:

3.6%

Two or more races:

2.4%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 94.3%

See top rated Illinois elementary schools

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Performance Trends

Compare Details Owens Community Academy Elementary School ranks worse than 78% of elementary schools in Illinois. It also ranks 232^nd among 452 ranked elementary schools in the Chicago Public Schools District 299. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 22.29. (See more...)

Compare Details Owens Community Academy Elementary School ranks worse than 72.5% of middle schools in Illinois. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 25.61. (See more...)

Chronic absenteeism in a high school refers to a situation where students repeatedly miss school, with the threshold often defined as missing 10% or more of school days for any reason, excused or unexcused.

Student Body

Compare Details Owens Community Academy Elementary School has the largest elementary school student body size in the Chicago Public Schools District 299. (See more...)

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Teachers

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Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Owens Community Academy Elementary School is $23,597, which is the 135^th highest among 452 elementary schools in the Chicago Public Schools District 299.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Owens Community Academy Elementary School:

SchoolDigger ranks Owens Community Academy Elementary School 1613^th of 2067 Illinois public elementary schools. (See Owens Community Academy Elementary School in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Male students:

African American students:

SchoolDigger ranks Owens Community Academy Elementary School 988^th of 1363 Illinois public middle schools. (See Owens Community Academy Elementary School in the ranking list.)

Middle School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Male students:

African American students:

Chicago Public Schools District 299:

SchoolDigger ranks Chicago Public Schools District 299 688^th of 813 Illinois school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Owens Community Academy Elementary School

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Rank History for all elementary school students at Owens Community Academy Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2003	9.77	1789^th	2020	11.4%
2004	6.06	1882^nd	2030	7.3%
2005	3.37	1916^th	2022	5.2%
2006	7.94	1927^th	2086	7.6%
2007	5.62	1975^th	2095	5.7%
2008	24.05	1713^th	2092	18.1%
2009	13.62	1901^st	2120	10.3%
2010	22.38	1788^th	2139	16.4%
2011	25.96	1738^th	2147	19.0%
2012	20.58	1842^nd	2166	15.0%
2013	18.61	1830^th	2167	15.6%
2014	6.56	2025^th	2093	3.2%
2015	18.72	1745^th	2052	15.0%
2016	9.78	1975^th	2046	3.5%
2017	10.83	1937^th	2044	5.2%
2018	8.75	1995^th	2037	2.1%
2019	7.16	2074^th	2086	0.6%
2021	11.90	1911^th	1948	1.9%
2022	10.55	2054^th	2082	1.3%
2023	15.07	1865^th	2077	10.2%
2024	22.29	1613^th	2067	22.0%

See the entire list of Illinois Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for elementary school Low Socio Economic Status students at Owens Community Academy Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	12.99	1719^th	1765	2.6%
2019	9.82	1804^th	1816	0.7%
2021	17.18	1467^th	1514	3.1%
2022	14.57	1729^th	1763	1.9%
2023	21.67	1589^th	1808	12.1%
2024	34.06	1207^th	1793	32.7%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Elementary Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for elementary school Female students at Owens Community Academy Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	10.17	1896^th	1964	3.5%
2019	8.36	1983^rd	2019	1.8%
2021	9.39	1677^th	1680	0.2%
2022	10.62	1944^th	1970	1.3%
2023	14.04	1809^th	1957	7.6%
2024	25.37	1450^th	1942	25.3%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Elementary Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for elementary school Male students at Owens Community Academy Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	7.59	1963^rd	1972	0.5%
2019	7.89	2007^th	2019	0.6%
2022	11.53	1935^th	1977	2.1%
2023	18.86	1641^st	1984	17.3%
2024	19.28	1600^th	1959	18.3%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Elementary Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for elementary school African American students at Owens Community Academy Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	24.80	604^th	698	13.5%
2019	18.37	683^rd	711	3.9%
2021	27.36	367^th	428	14.3%
2022	23.02	643^rd	684	6.0%
2023	33.79	465^th	692	32.8%
2024	47.22	287^th	655	56.2%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Elementary Schools for African American Students!

Data source: test scores: Illinois State Board of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

Rank History for Owens Community Academy Elementary School

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Rank History for all middle school students at Owens Community Academy Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2003	16.30	986^th	1185	16.8%
2004	11.67	1044^th	1204	13.3%
2005	9.79	1066^th	1209	11.8%
2006	18.25	1071^st	1272	15.8%
2007	11.76	1142^nd	1287	11.3%
2008	33.25	957^th	1293	26.0%
2009	23.45	1071^st	1318	18.7%
2010	20.11	1118^th	1327	15.7%
2011	22.40	1130^th	1344	15.9%
2012	24.24	1117^th	1365	18.2%
2013	24.68	1086^th	1367	20.6%
2014	17.22	1145^th	1322	13.4%
2015	22.61	1031^st	1302	20.8%
2016	21.02	1075^th	1294	16.9%
2017	14.93	1149^th	1293	11.1%
2018	14.24	1164^th	1293	10.0%
2019	24.52	1034^th	1356	23.7%
2021	10.58	1224^th	1241	1.4%
2022	12.77	1306^th	1369	4.6%
2023	22.15	1068^th	1367	21.9%
2024	25.61	988^th	1363	27.5%

See the entire list of Illinois Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for middle school Low Socio Economic Status students at Owens Community Academy Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	20.44	1007^th	1161	13.3%
2019	34.58	817^th	1217	32.9%
2021	14.12	1001^st	1019	1.8%
2022	16.61	1154^th	1221	5.5%
2023	30.76	884^th	1234	28.4%
2024	33.63	810^th	1219	33.6%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Elementary Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for middle school Female students at Owens Community Academy Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	17.02	1056^th	1226	13.9%
2019	22.17	1009^th	1276	20.9%
2022	14.35	1176^th	1286	8.6%
2023	21.99	1001^st	1275	21.5%
2024	27.69	886^th	1251	29.2%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Elementary Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for middle school Male students at Owens Community Academy Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	13.26	1138^th	1223	7.0%
2019	32.53	841^st	1296	35.1%
2022	11.91	1252^nd	1286	2.6%
2023	22.46	1012^th	1292	21.7%
2024	23.09	960^th	1264	24.1%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Elementary Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for middle school African American students at Owens Community Academy Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	36.14	322^nd	511	37.0%
2019	48.05	237^th	565	58.1%
2021	23.27	362^nd	385	6.0%
2022	28.07	469^th	573	18.2%
2023	43.70	277^th	569	51.3%
2024	45.08	249^th	548	54.6%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Elementary Schools for African American Students!

Data source: test scores: Illinois State Board of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Data source: Illinois State Board of Education

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Enrollment information for Owens Community Academy Elementary School

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1989	n/a	541	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	0	541
1990	n/a	532	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	0	532
1991	0	547	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	547
1992	0	530	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	530
1993	0	542	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	542
1994	0	525	2	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	527
1995	0	511	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	511
1996	0	511	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	511
1997	1	504	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	505
1998	0	480	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	480
1999	2	494	0	1	0	n/a	n/a	0	497
2000	0	509	1	1	0	n/a	n/a	0	511
2001	1	540	1	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	542
2002	0	547	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	547
2003	0	547	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	547
2004	1	481	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	482
2005	0	490	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	490
2006	0	420	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	420
2007	0	399	0	1	0	n/a	n/a	0	400
2008	0	371	0	1	0	n/a	n/a	2	374
2009	1	366	0	1	0	n/a	n/a	0	368
2010	0	307	0	2	0	n/a	n/a	1	310
2011	0	290	0	4	0	0	0	0	294
2012	0	284	0	1	0	0	0	0	285
2013	0	242	0	1	0	0	0	0	243
2014	0	520	0	3	0	0	3	0	526
2015	0	522	0	5	0	2	1	0	530
2016	0	474	0	6	0	2	1	0	483
2017	0	418	0	6	0	2	1	0	427
2018	0	384	0	10	0	2	1	0	397
2019	0	331	0	8	0	1	2	0	342
2020	0	340	0	6	0	0	4	0	350
2021	0	318	0	5	0	0	4	0	327
2022	1	314	0	7	0	0	3	0	325
2023	4	307	0	12	0	0	8	0	331

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Owens Community Academy Elementary School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1989	541	23.0	23.5	n/a
1990	532	24.0	22.1	n/a
1991	547	26.0	21.0	n/a
1992	530	25.0	21.2	n/a
1993	542	27.0	20.1	n/a
1994	527	29.0	18.2	n/a
1995	511	27.0	18.9	n/a
1996	511	27.0	18.9	n/a
1997	505	24.0	21.0	n/a
1998	480	25.0	19.2	n/a
1999	497	22.0	22.6	n/a
2000	511	24.0	21.3	n/a
2001	542	24.0	22.6	n/a
2002	547	26.0	21.0	79.7
2003	547	26.0	21.0	79.7
2004	482	25.8	18.7	88.4
2005	490	30.9	15.9	79.8
2006	420	36.2	11.6	84.5
2007	400	18.0	22.2	86.8
2008	374	19.0	19.7	99.7
2009	368	22.0	16.7	93.8
2010	310	20.0	15.5	99.4
2011	294	17.0	17.2	89.5
2012	285	15.0	19.0	94.4
2013	243	21.3	11.3	72.4
2014	526	38.0	13.8	91.6
2015	530	30.0	17.6	96.4
2016	483	25.0	19.3	96.1
2017	427	22.0	19.3	96.7
2018	397	21.8	18.1	97.7
2019	342	24.0	14.2	94.4
2020	350	25.0	14.0	97.7
2021	327	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	325	28.0	11.6	95.1
2023	331	25.5	12.9	94.3

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Owens Community Academy Elementary School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1989	541	23.0	23.5	n/a
1990	532	24.0	22.1	n/a
1991	547	26.0	21.0	n/a
1992	530	25.0	21.2	n/a
1993	542	27.0	20.1	n/a
1994	527	29.0	18.2	n/a
1995	511	27.0	18.9	n/a
1996	511	27.0	18.9	n/a
1997	505	24.0	21.0	n/a
1998	480	25.0	19.2	n/a
1999	497	22.0	22.6	n/a
2000	511	24.0	21.3	n/a
2001	542	24.0	22.6	n/a
2002	547	26.0	21.0	79.7
2003	547	26.0	21.0	79.7
2004	482	25.8	18.7	88.4
2005	490	30.9	15.9	79.8
2006	420	36.2	11.6	84.5
2007	400	18.0	22.2	86.8
2008	374	19.0	19.7	99.7
2009	368	22.0	16.7	93.8
2010	310	20.0	15.5	99.4
2011	294	17.0	17.2	89.5
2012	285	15.0	19.0	94.4
2013	243	21.3	11.3	72.4
2014	526	38.0	13.8	91.6
2015	530	30.0	17.6	96.4
2016	483	25.0	19.3	96.1
2017	427	22.0	19.3	96.7
2018	397	21.8	18.1	97.7
2019	342	24.0	14.2	94.4
2020	350	25.0	14.0	97.7
2021	327	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	325	28.0	11.6	95.1
2023	331	25.5	12.9	94.3

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.

Immunization Rates