Is Penn Elementary School a good school?

Penn Elementary School ranks in the bottom 14.7% of Illinois elementary schools.

How many students attend Penn Elementary School?

In the 2022-23 school year, 220 students attended Penn Elementary School.

What is the racial makeup of Penn Elementary School?

Students at Penn Elementary School are 93% African American, 6% Hispanic.

Penn Elementary School

Summary:

Penn Elementary School is a public elementary school serving grades PK-8 in the Chicago Public Schools District 299, with 220 students located in the Lawndale neighborhood of Chicago. Despite its higher-than-average per-student spending, Penn Elementary has consistently ranked in the bottom 15% of Penn Elementary School over the past decade, with a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

The school faces significant challenges, including high chronic absenteeism rates (reaching 51.6% in 2021-2022), low academic performance (only 9.9% of students were proficient in ELA and 0% met or exceeded standards in math in 2023-2024), and wide achievement gaps for subgroups like African American students and students from low socioeconomic backgrounds. This underperformance persists despite Penn Elementary's proximity to several other low-performing schools in the district, suggesting a lack of positive spillover effects or collaboration.

The combination of systemic issues, such as resource constraints, staffing challenges, and ineffective instructional practices, appears to have a disproportionate impact on Penn Elementary's most vulnerable students. The school's struggles have remained stagnant or declined over the past decade, highlighting the need for targeted, data-driven interventions to address the root causes of its persistent underperformance and improve educational outcomes for all students.

Detail:

Public PK, KG-8

1616 S Avers Ave
Chicago, IL 60623-2401

(773) 534-1665

District: Chicago Public Schools District 299

SchoolDigger Rank:
1764^th of 2,067 Illinois Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $28,169

Student/teacher ratio: 11.0

Number of students: 220

Racial breakdown:

African American:

92.7%

Hispanic:

6.4%

White:

0.5%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 97.7%

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Performance Trends

Compare Details Penn Elementary School ranks worse than 85.3% of elementary schools in Illinois. It also ranks 288^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 17.15. (See more...)

Compare Details Penn Elementary School ranks worse than 81.7% of middle schools in Illinois. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 19.05. (See more...)

Chronic absenteeism in a 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 Penn 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 Penn Elementary School is $28,169, which is the 38^th highest among 452 elementary schools in the Chicago Public Schools District 299.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Penn Elementary School:

SchoolDigger ranks Penn Elementary School 1764^th of 2067 Illinois public elementary schools. (See Penn Elementary School in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

African American students:

SchoolDigger ranks Penn Elementary School 1114^th of 1363 Illinois public middle schools. (See Penn Elementary School in the ranking list.)

Middle School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Low Socio Economic Status 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 Penn Elementary School

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Rank History for all elementary school students at Penn Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2003	1.09	2012^th	2020	0.4%
2004	2.23	1967^th	2030	3.1%
2005	1.57	1970^th	2022	2.6%
2006	7.85	1929^th	2086	7.5%
2007	8.54	1935^th	2095	7.6%
2008	2.63	2053^rd	2092	1.9%
2009	6.65	2009^th	2120	5.2%
2010	2.90	2098^th	2139	1.9%
2011	9.96	1997^th	2147	7.0%
2012	5.49	2095^th	2166	3.3%
2013	11.74	1988^th	2167	8.3%
2014	14.88	1859^th	2093	11.2%
2015	16.47	1802^nd	2052	12.2%
2016	15.93	1811^th	2046	11.5%
2017	15.19	1817^th	2044	11.1%
2018	19.78	1652^nd	2037	18.9%
2019	16.71	1823^rd	2086	12.6%
2021	10.84	1944^th	1948	0.2%
2022	9.92	2069^th	2082	0.6%
2023	11.56	1986^th	2077	4.4%
2024	17.15	1764^th	2067	14.7%

See the entire list of Illinois Elementary School Rankings!

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

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	29.37	1325^th	1765	24.9%
2019	26.68	1466^th	1816	19.3%
2021	15.02	1504^th	1514	0.7%
2022	13.26	1749^th	1763	0.8%
2023	15.13	1738^th	1808	3.9%
2024	25.52	1439^th	1793	19.7%

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

Rank History for elementary school Female students at Penn Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2018	21.40	1572^nd	1964	20.0%
2019	33.36	1315^th	2019	34.9%

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

Rank History for elementary school Male students at Penn Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	20.57	1620^th	1972	17.8%
2019	14.56	1846^th	2019	8.6%
2022	10.69	1959^th	1977	0.9%
2023	15.23	1783^rd	1984	10.1%

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

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

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	45.62	309^th	698	55.7%
2019	35.44	453^rd	711	36.3%
2021	24.25	416^th	428	2.8%
2022	23.29	637^th	684	6.9%
2023	29.68	528^th	692	23.7%
2024	37.80	392^nd	655	40.2%

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 Penn Elementary School

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Rank History for all middle school students at Penn Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2003	10.04	1056^th	1185	10.9%
2004	6.61	1116^th	1204	7.3%
2005	2.28	1188^th	1209	1.7%
2006	5.36	1206^th	1272	5.2%
2007	9.96	1166^th	1287	9.4%
2008	9.02	1184^th	1293	8.4%
2009	17.84	1118^th	1318	15.2%
2010	15.82	1158^th	1327	12.7%
2011	2.10	1325^th	1344	1.4%
2012	6.52	1305^th	1365	4.4%
2013	11.35	1256^th	1367	8.1%
2014	15.01	1176^th	1322	11.0%
2015	31.21	875^th	1302	32.8%
2016	31.53	875^th	1294	32.4%
2017	12.58	1208^th	1293	6.6%
2018	12.78	1193^rd	1293	7.7%
2019	16.61	1162^nd	1356	14.3%
2021	10.05	1233^rd	1241	0.6%
2022	9.74	1367^th	1369	0.1%
2023	28.14	945^th	1367	30.9%
2024	19.05	1114^th	1363	18.3%

See the entire list of Illinois Elementary School Rankings!

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

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	18.37	1040^th	1161	10.4%
2019	21.83	1026^th	1217	15.7%
2021	13.40	1012^th	1019	0.7%
2022	12.11	1218^th	1221	0.2%
2023	31.01	875^th	1234	29.1%
2024	27.97	902^nd	1219	26.0%

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

Rank History for middle school Female students at Penn Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	12.58	1134^th	1226	7.5%
2019	8.34	1246^th	1276	2.4%
2022	8.50	1284^th	1286	0.2%
2023	31.30	842^nd	1275	34.0%

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

Rank History for middle school Male students at Penn Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	15.07	1098^th	1223	10.2%
2019	19.76	1066^th	1296	17.7%
2022	11.11	1267^th	1286	1.5%
2023	18.35	1102^nd	1292	14.7%
2024	23.04	961^st	1264	24.0%

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

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

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	33.51	349^th	511	31.7%
2019	33.14	390^th	565	31.0%
2021	20.83	382^nd	385	0.8%
2022	20.30	563^rd	573	1.7%
2023	48.95	231^st	569	59.4%
2024	40.10	298^th	548	45.6%

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 Penn Elementary School

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1989	4	735	n/a	67	n/a	n/a	n/a	0	806
1990	2	760	n/a	81	3	n/a	n/a	0	846
1991	2	782	1	51	0	n/a	n/a	0	836
1992	7	732	1	45	0	n/a	n/a	0	785
1993	4	711	0	43	0	n/a	n/a	0	758
1994	8	657	0	38	0	n/a	n/a	0	703
1995	3	696	1	33	0	n/a	n/a	0	733
1996	3	696	1	33	0	n/a	n/a	0	733
1997	0	735	0	38	0	n/a	n/a	0	773
1998	1	721	1	40	2	n/a	n/a	0	765
1999	1	705	0	26	0	n/a	n/a	0	732
2000	1	656	0	35	0	n/a	n/a	0	692
2001	1	631	0	36	0	n/a	n/a	0	668
2002	0	614	0	29	1	n/a	n/a	0	644
2003	0	614	0	29	1	n/a	n/a	0	644
2004	0	587	0	27	0	n/a	n/a	0	614
2005	1	516	0	31	7	n/a	n/a	0	555
2006	2	496	0	44	0	n/a	n/a	7	549
2007	0	369	0	46	0	n/a	n/a	5	420
2008	1	365	0	39	1	n/a	n/a	5	411
2009	0	349	0	33	0	n/a	n/a	0	382
2010	0	312	0	57	0	n/a	n/a	0	369
2011	0	341	0	72	0	0	1	0	414
2012	0	343	0	76	0	0	1	0	420
2013	0	294	0	62	0	0	0	0	356
2014	0	355	0	43	0	0	0	0	398
2015	1	335	0	34	0	0	0	0	370
2016	1	331	0	36	0	0	1	0	369
2017	1	318	1	31	1	0	0	0	352
2018	1	286	0	25	1	0	0	0	313
2019	1	252	0	25	2	1	0	0	281
2020	0	208	0	28	1	1	1	0	239
2021	0	209	0	18	1	0	2	0	230
2022	0	195	0	13	1	0	0	0	209
2023	1	204	0	14	1	0	0	0	220

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 Penn Elementary School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1989	806	50.0	16.1	n/a
1990	846	47.0	18.0	n/a
1991	836	49.0	17.0	n/a
1992	785	53.0	14.8	n/a
1993	758	52.0	14.6	n/a
1994	703	42.0	16.7	n/a
1995	733	39.0	18.8	n/a
1996	733	39.0	18.8	n/a
1997	773	50.0	15.5	n/a
1998	765	52.0	14.7	n/a
1999	732	45.0	16.3	n/a
2000	692	42.0	16.5	n/a
2001	668	40.0	16.7	n/a
2002	644	38.0	16.9	92.1
2003	644	38.0	16.9	92.1
2004	614	32.1	19.1	99.5
2005	555	41.1	13.5	90.8
2006	549	39.7	13.8	88.2
2007	420	24.0	17.5	79.5
2008	411	19.0	21.6	89.2
2009	382	24.0	15.9	92.7
2010	369	25.0	14.7	99.2
2011	414	22.0	18.8	99.3
2012	420	28.0	15.0	99.3
2013	356	34.1	10.4	97.8
2014	398	26.0	15.3	97
2015	370	24.0	15.4	98.9
2016	369	23.0	16.0	97.8
2017	352	20.2	17.4	99.1
2018	313	19.2	16.2	99.4
2019	281	18.5	15.1	100
2020	239	17.5	13.6	99.2
2021	230	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	209	17.5	11.9	98.6
2023	220	20.0	11.0	97.7

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 Penn Elementary School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1989	806	50.0	16.1	n/a
1990	846	47.0	18.0	n/a
1991	836	49.0	17.0	n/a
1992	785	53.0	14.8	n/a
1993	758	52.0	14.6	n/a
1994	703	42.0	16.7	n/a
1995	733	39.0	18.8	n/a
1996	733	39.0	18.8	n/a
1997	773	50.0	15.5	n/a
1998	765	52.0	14.7	n/a
1999	732	45.0	16.3	n/a
2000	692	42.0	16.5	n/a
2001	668	40.0	16.7	n/a
2002	644	38.0	16.9	92.1
2003	644	38.0	16.9	92.1
2004	614	32.1	19.1	99.5
2005	555	41.1	13.5	90.8
2006	549	39.7	13.8	88.2
2007	420	24.0	17.5	79.5
2008	411	19.0	21.6	89.2
2009	382	24.0	15.9	92.7
2010	369	25.0	14.7	99.2
2011	414	22.0	18.8	99.3
2012	420	28.0	15.0	99.3
2013	356	34.1	10.4	97.8
2014	398	26.0	15.3	97
2015	370	24.0	15.4	98.9
2016	369	23.0	16.0	97.8
2017	352	20.2	17.4	99.1
2018	313	19.2	16.2	99.4
2019	281	18.5	15.1	100
2020	239	17.5	13.6	99.2
2021	230	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	209	17.5	11.9	98.6
2023	220	20.0	11.0	97.7

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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