Is Melody Elementary School a good school?

Melody Elementary School ranks in the bottom 13.7% of Illinois elementary schools.

How many students attend Melody Elementary School?

In the 2022-23 school year, 272 students attended Melody Elementary School.

What is the racial makeup of Melody Elementary School?

Students at Melody Elementary School are 96% African American, 4% Hispanic.

What schools do graduates of Melody Elementary School attend?

Students who attend Melody Elementary School usually go on to attend: High : Marshall Metropolitan High School

Melody Elementary School

Summary:

Melody Elementary School is a public elementary school serving grades PK-8 in the West Garfield Park neighborhood of Chicago Public Schools District 299, with 272 students. Despite its high-needs student population, Melody Elementary has consistently ranked among the lowest-performing elementary schools in Illinois, with a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger for the past several years.

Melody Elementary significantly underperforms compared to the district and state averages on standardized tests, with only 9.4% of students proficient or better in English Language Arts and 5.6% proficient in math, compared to 30.5% and 18.3% for the district, respectively. The school also has very high chronic absenteeism rates, reaching 16.7% in 2021-2022, much higher than the district average of 11.4%. Melody Elementary serves a high-poverty student population, with 95.59% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, and spends significantly more per student ($23,257 in 2022-2023) compared to the district average.

Interestingly, the schools closest to Melody Elementary, such as Webster Elementary, Hefferan Elementary, and Sumner Elementary, generally outperform Melody on academic measures, despite serving similar high-poverty student populations. The higher-performing schools in the area are often magnet or charter schools, such as Frazier Perspectives Magnet Elementary and Locke A Elementary Charter Academy, suggesting that with the right resources and approaches, students in this community can achieve at higher levels.

Detail:

Public PK, KG-8

3937 W Wilcox St
Chicago, IL 60624-2833

(773) 534-6850

District: Chicago Public Schools District 299

SchoolDigger Rank:
1783^rd of 2,067 Illinois Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $24,181

Students who attend Melody Elementary School usually attend:

High:

Marshall Metropolitan High School

Student/teacher ratio: 12.9

Number of students: 272

Racial breakdown:

African American:

96.0%

Hispanic:

3.7%

White:

0.4%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 95.6%

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Performance Trends

Compare Details Melody Elementary School ranks worse than 86.3% of elementary schools in Illinois. It also ranks 298^th among 452 ranked elementary schools in the Chicago Public Schools District 299. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 16.65. (See more...)

Compare Details Melody Elementary School ranks worse than 97.1% of middle schools in Illinois. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 10.65. (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 Melody 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 Melody Elementary School is $24,181, which is the 112^th highest among 452 elementary schools in the Chicago Public Schools District 299.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Melody Elementary School:

SchoolDigger ranks Melody Elementary School 1783^rd of 2067 Illinois public elementary schools. (See Melody 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 Melody Elementary School 1324^th of 1363 Illinois public middle schools. (See Melody 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.)

Average Rating:

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Rank History for Melody Elementary School

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Rank History for all elementary school students at Melody Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2003	3.26	1932^nd	2020	4.4%
2004	6.92	1873^rd	2030	7.7%
2005	5.17	1879^th	2022	7.1%
2006	14.67	1855^th	2086	11.1%
2007	10.46	1916^th	2095	8.5%
2008	9.44	1924^th	2092	8.0%
2009	3.62	2069^th	2120	2.4%
2010	5.28	2060^th	2139	3.7%
2011	7.76	2034^th	2147	5.3%
2012	22.06	1819^th	2166	16.0%
2013	19.52	1811^th	2167	16.4%
2014	6.09	2036^th	2093	2.7%
2015	10.80	1978^th	2052	3.6%
2016	8.80	2003^rd	2046	2.1%
2017	9.10	1988^th	2044	2.7%
2018	8.09	2014^th	2037	1.1%
2019	8.05	2056^th	2086	1.4%
2021	11.09	1933^rd	1948	0.8%
2022	9.90	2071^st	2082	0.5%
2023	14.99	1871^st	2077	9.9%
2024	16.65	1783^rd	2067	13.7%

See the entire list of Illinois Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for elementary school Special Education students at Melody Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2022	20.95	1063^rd	1113	4.5%
2023	22.39	996^th	1156	13.8%

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

Rank History for elementary school Low Socio Economic Status students at Melody Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	11.70	1738^th	1765	1.5%
2019	11.91	1774^th	1816	2.3%
2021	15.44	1494^th	1514	1.3%
2022	13.35	1747^th	1763	0.9%
2023	22.42	1557^th	1808	13.9%
2024	24.65	1461^st	1793	18.5%

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

Rank History for elementary school Female students at Melody Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	7.46	1949^th	1964	0.8%
2019	8.07	1989^th	2019	1.5%
2021	10.21	1661^st	1680	1.1%
2022	9.96	1959^th	1970	0.6%
2023	15.77	1760^th	1957	10.1%
2024	19.51	1610^th	1942	17.1%

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

Rank History for elementary school Disabled students at Melody Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	29.54	644^th	907	29.0%

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

Rank History for elementary school Male students at Melody Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	11.06	1894^th	1972	4.0%
2019	9.60	1973^rd	2019	2.3%
2022	11.01	1946^th	1977	1.6%
2023	14.70	1805^th	1984	9.0%
2024	15.96	1725^th	1959	11.9%

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

Rank History for elementary school African American students at Melody Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	22.24	642^nd	698	8.0%
2019	20.53	664^th	711	6.6%
2021	24.90	405^th	428	5.4%
2022	23.16	640^th	684	6.4%
2023	31.23	503^rd	692	27.3%
2024	35.21	422^nd	655	35.6%

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

Rank History for Melody Elementary School

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Rank History for all middle school students at Melody Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2003	4.44	1144^th	1185	3.5%
2004	8.63	1081^st	1204	10.2%
2005	9.27	1072^nd	1209	11.3%
2006	23.83	1026^th	1272	19.3%
2007	26.62	1015^th	1287	21.1%
2008	17.59	1099^th	1293	15.0%
2009	8.59	1221^st	1318	7.4%
2010	6.37	1260^th	1327	5.0%
2011	24.09	1117^th	1344	16.9%
2012	49.62	806^th	1365	41.0%
2013	31.88	995^th	1367	27.2%
2014	12.14	1209^th	1322	8.5%
2015	13.20	1200^th	1302	7.8%
2016	9.22	1262^nd	1294	2.5%
2017	8.36	1272^nd	1293	1.6%
2018	9.72	1252^nd	1293	3.2%
2019	10.05	1302^nd	1356	4.0%
2021	10.44	1228^th	1241	1.0%
2022	10.78	1352^nd	1369	1.2%
2023	8.78	1358^th	1367	0.7%
2024	10.65	1324^th	1363	2.9%

See the entire list of Illinois Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for middle school Low Socio Economic Status students at Melody Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	12.06	1130^th	1161	2.7%
2019	13.72	1155^th	1217	5.1%
2021	14.06	1005^th	1019	1.4%
2022	13.86	1196^th	1221	2.0%
2023	11.10	1225^th	1234	0.7%
2024	14.53	1161^st	1219	4.8%

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

Rank History for middle school Female students at Melody Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	8.85	1187^th	1226	3.2%
2019	12.22	1178^th	1276	7.7%
2021	8.85	1008^th	1017	0.9%
2022	10.98	1251^st	1286	2.7%
2023	8.18	1266^th	1275	0.7%
2024	9.49	1229^th	1251	1.8%

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

Rank History for middle school Male students at Melody Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	11.67	1165^th	1223	4.7%
2019	10.66	1263^rd	1296	2.5%
2022	12.01	1250^th	1286	2.8%
2023	11.47	1255^th	1292	2.9%
2024	12.13	1211^th	1264	4.2%

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

Rank History for middle school African American students at Melody Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	22.36	454^th	511	11.2%
2019	25.17	482^nd	565	14.7%
2021	23.07	367^th	385	4.7%
2022	21.51	550^th	573	4.0%
2023	18.74	549^th	569	3.5%
2024	22.23	487^th	548	11.1%

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

Review counts

All ratings (Avg rating: 4)

100%

Reviews:
No reviews have been submitted!

Enrollment information for Melody Elementary School

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1989	1	625	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	0	626
1990	2	643	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	0	645
1991	0	612	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	612
1992	0	611	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	611
1993	0	625	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	625
1994	0	586	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	586
1995	0	759	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	759
1996	0	759	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	759
1997	0	718	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	718
1998	0	758	0	1	0	n/a	n/a	0	759
1999	0	726	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	726
2000	1	689	0	1	0	n/a	n/a	0	691
2001	0	684	0	2	0	n/a	n/a	0	686
2002	3	702	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	705
2003	3	702	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	705
2004	0	656	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	656
2005	0	608	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	608
2006	0	542	0	2	0	n/a	n/a	4	548
2007	0	487	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	4	491
2008	0	449	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	8	457
2009	0	416	0	0	1	n/a	n/a	0	417
2010	0	383	0	0	1	n/a	n/a	0	384
2011	0	334	0	1	0	0	0	0	335
2012	0	306	0	0	0	0	5	0	311
2013	0	284	0	2	0	0	1	0	287
2014	0	597	0	11	0	1	4	0	613
2015	0	591	0	8	0	1	1	0	601
2016	0	566	0	6	0	1	0	0	573
2017	1	493	0	3	0	1	0	0	498
2018	2	472	0	3	0	0	0	0	477
2019	1	424	0	4	0	0	0	0	429
2020	1	369	0	6	0	0	1	0	377
2021	1	333	0	9	0	0	0	0	343
2022	2	312	0	8	0	0	0	0	322
2023	1	261	0	10	0	0	0	0	272

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 Melody Elementary School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1989	626	29.0	21.5	n/a
1990	645	32.0	20.1	n/a
1991	612	33.0	18.5	n/a
1992	611	35.0	17.4	n/a
1993	625	35.0	17.9	n/a
1994	586	33.0	17.8	n/a
1995	759	38.0	20.0	n/a
1996	759	38.0	20.0	n/a
1997	718	37.0	19.4	n/a
1998	759	40.0	19.0	n/a
1999	726	39.0	18.6	n/a
2000	691	39.0	17.7	n/a
2001	686	38.0	18.1	n/a
2002	705	33.0	21.4	74.9
2003	705	33.0	21.4	74.9
2004	656	27.2	24.1	94.5
2005	608	28.9	21.0	93.4
2006	548	29.9	18.3	98.9
2007	491	27.0	18.2	99.2
2008	457	22.0	20.8	100.7
2009	417	21.0	19.9	95
2010	384	20.0	19.2	98.7
2011	335	19.0	17.6	92.8
2012	311	17.0	18.2	95.2
2013	287	19.5	14.7	86.8
2014	613	32.0	19.1	98.7
2015	601	34.0	17.6	97.5
2016	573	30.0	19.1	97.7
2017	498	24.2	20.5	99.2
2018	477	25.7	18.5	99
2019	429	27.0	15.8	96.7
2020	377	23.0	16.3	97.3
2021	343	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	322	23.5	13.7	98.4
2023	272	21.0	12.9	95.6

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 Melody Elementary School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1989	626	29.0	21.5	n/a
1990	645	32.0	20.1	n/a
1991	612	33.0	18.5	n/a
1992	611	35.0	17.4	n/a
1993	625	35.0	17.9	n/a
1994	586	33.0	17.8	n/a
1995	759	38.0	20.0	n/a
1996	759	38.0	20.0	n/a
1997	718	37.0	19.4	n/a
1998	759	40.0	19.0	n/a
1999	726	39.0	18.6	n/a
2000	691	39.0	17.7	n/a
2001	686	38.0	18.1	n/a
2002	705	33.0	21.4	74.9
2003	705	33.0	21.4	74.9
2004	656	27.2	24.1	94.5
2005	608	28.9	21.0	93.4
2006	548	29.9	18.3	98.9
2007	491	27.0	18.2	99.2
2008	457	22.0	20.8	100.7
2009	417	21.0	19.9	95
2010	384	20.0	19.2	98.7
2011	335	19.0	17.6	92.8
2012	311	17.0	18.2	95.2
2013	287	19.5	14.7	86.8
2014	613	32.0	19.1	98.7
2015	601	34.0	17.6	97.5
2016	573	30.0	19.1	97.7
2017	498	24.2	20.5	99.2
2018	477	25.7	18.5	99
2019	429	27.0	15.8	96.7
2020	377	23.0	16.3	97.3
2021	343	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	322	23.5	13.7	98.4
2023	272	21.0	12.9	95.6

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.

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