Is Wacker Elementary School a good school?

Wacker Elementary School ranks in the bottom 22.5% of Illinois elementary schools.

How many students attend Wacker Elementary School?

In the 2022-23 school year, 218 students attended Wacker Elementary School.

What is the racial makeup of Wacker Elementary School?

Students at Wacker Elementary School are 98% African American, 2% Hispanic.

What schools do graduates of Wacker Elementary School attend?

Students who attend Wacker Elementary School usually go on to attend: High : Harlan Community Academy High School

Wacker Elementary School

Summary:

Wacker Elementary School is a public elementary school in Chicago, Illinois, serving 218 students in grades PK-8. The school is part of the Chicago Public Schools District 299, which is ranked 688 out of 813 districts in Illinois and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Wacker Elementary consistently ranks in the bottom 25% of Illinois elementary schools, with academic performance significantly below state and district averages across all grade levels and subject areas. For example, in the 2023-2024 school year, only 21.9% of Wacker students were proficient or better in English Language Arts, compared to 41.2% statewide and 30.5% in the Chicago Public Schools district. The school's math proficiency rates are even lower, with only 4% of students proficient or better in 8th grade math, compared to 28.1% statewide and 20.2% in the district. Wacker Elementary also struggles with high chronic absenteeism rates, reaching 25.4% in the 2021-2022 school year, significantly higher than the state and district averages.

While the nearby schools, such as Fernwood Elementary, Garvey M Elementary, and Kipling Elementary, also perform below state and district averages, some of these schools have higher academic proficiency rates and lower chronic absenteeism compared to Wacker, suggesting that there may be opportunities to learn from their practices. Additionally, Wacker Elementary spends a relatively high amount per student, with $20,777 spent per student in the 2022-2023 school year, compared to the district average of $17,740, but this higher spending has not translated into improved academic outcomes, indicating that simply increasing funding may not be the sole solution to improving student performance.

Detail:

Public PK, KG-8

9746 S Morgan St
Chicago, IL 60643-1541

(773) 535-2821

District: Chicago Public Schools District 299

SchoolDigger Rank:
1602^nd of 2,067 Illinois Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $24,250

Students who attend Wacker Elementary School usually attend:

High:

Harlan Community Academy High School

Student/teacher ratio: 13.2

Number of students: 218

Racial breakdown:

African American:

98.2%

Hispanic:

1.8%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 81.7%

See top rated Illinois elementary schools

Compare Wacker Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Wacker Elementary School ranks worse than 77.5% of elementary schools in Illinois. It also ranks 228^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 22.66. (See more...)

Compare Details Wacker Elementary School ranks worse than 72.6% of middle schools in Illinois. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 25.59. (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 Wacker 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 Wacker Elementary School is $24,250, which is the 110^th highest among 452 elementary schools in the Chicago Public Schools District 299.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Wacker Elementary School:

SchoolDigger ranks Wacker Elementary School 1602^nd of 2067 Illinois public elementary schools. (See Wacker 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 Wacker Elementary School 989^th of 1363 Illinois public middle schools. (See Wacker 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 Wacker Elementary School

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Rank History for all elementary school students at Wacker Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2003	7.87	1822^nd	2020	9.8%
2004	16.35	1749^th	2030	13.8%
2005	8.82	1835^th	2022	9.2%
2006	21.55	1769^th	2086	15.2%
2007	21.43	1788^th	2095	14.7%
2008	31.20	1604^th	2092	23.3%
2009	23.42	1741^st	2120	17.9%
2010	19.94	1820^th	2139	14.9%
2011	26.54	1725^th	2147	19.7%
2012	23.76	1787^th	2166	17.5%
2013	30.07	1591^st	2167	26.6%
2014	35.25	1416^th	2093	32.3%
2015	28.25	1470^th	2052	28.4%
2016	10.98	1943^rd	2046	5.0%
2017	17.64	1751^st	2044	14.3%
2018	27.90	1475^th	2037	27.6%
2019	28.63	1488^th	2086	28.7%
2022	22.05	1602^nd	2082	23.1%
2023	21.58	1621^st	2077	22.0%
2024	22.66	1602^nd	2067	22.5%

See the entire list of Illinois Elementary School Rankings!

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

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	38.73	1097^th	1765	37.8%
2019	42.01	1038^th	1816	42.8%
2022	32.32	1216^th	1763	31.0%
2023	32.51	1242^nd	1808	31.3%
2024	30.71	1293^rd	1793	27.9%

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

Rank History for elementary school Female students at Wacker Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	24.01	1511^th	1964	23.1%
2019	25.91	1521^st	2019	24.7%
2022	18.37	1651^st	1970	16.2%
2023	21.83	1540^th	1957	21.3%
2024	19.96	1592^nd	1942	18.0%

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

Rank History for elementary school Male students at Wacker Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	35.87	1216^th	1972	38.3%
2019	33.34	1323^rd	2019	34.5%
2022	33.57	1233^rd	1977	37.6%
2023	15.51	1775^th	1984	10.5%
2024	23.90	1487^th	1959	24.1%

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

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

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	55.23	221^st	698	68.3%
2019	61.20	183^rd	711	74.3%
2022	50.81	250^th	684	63.5%
2023	49.24	271^st	692	60.8%
2024	46.81	294^th	655	55.1%

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

Rank History for Wacker Elementary School

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Rank History for all middle school students at Wacker Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2003	53.17	628^th	1185	47.0%
2004	26.37	920^th	1204	23.6%
2005	30.04	894^th	1209	26.1%
2006	45.22	815^th	1272	35.9%
2007	46.25	823^rd	1287	36.1%
2008	43.73	835^th	1293	35.4%
2009	35.61	958^th	1318	27.3%
2010	45.47	857^th	1327	35.4%
2011	67.84	477^th	1344	64.5%
2012	56.18	677^th	1365	50.4%
2013	40.83	839^th	1367	38.6%
2014	24.29	1052^nd	1322	20.4%
2015	21.53	1048^th	1302	19.5%
2016	12.31	1217^th	1294	6.0%
2017	16.84	1113^th	1293	13.9%
2018	14.25	1163^rd	1293	10.1%
2019	25.02	1022^nd	1356	24.6%
2022	24.93	1001^st	1369	26.9%
2023	27.62	952^nd	1367	30.4%
2024	25.59	989^th	1363	27.4%

See the entire list of Illinois Elementary School Rankings!

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

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	23.53	964^th	1161	17.0%
2019	35.77	795^th	1217	34.7%
2022	30.58	872^nd	1221	28.6%
2023	35.66	794^th	1234	35.7%
2024	32.37	831^st	1219	31.8%

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

Rank History for middle school Female students at Wacker Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	7.76	1201^st	1226	2.0%
2019	15.80	1114^th	1276	12.7%
2022	33.21	806^th	1286	37.3%
2023	27.24	910^th	1275	28.6%
2024	18.70	1040^th	1251	16.9%

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

Rank History for middle school Male students at Wacker Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	21.33	997^th	1223	18.5%
2019	29.17	895^th	1296	30.9%
2022	31.05	847^th	1286	34.1%
2023	30.85	853^rd	1292	34.0%
2024	32.72	778^th	1264	38.4%

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

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

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	34.66	335^th	511	34.4%
2019	51.54	205^th	565	63.7%
2022	51.11	210^th	573	63.4%
2023	59.17	150^th	569	73.6%
2024	47.43	227^th	548	58.6%

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 Wacker 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	298	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	0	298
1990	n/a	313	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	0	313
1991	0	310	0	1	0	n/a	n/a	0	311
1992	1	314	0	1	0	n/a	n/a	0	316
1993	0	315	0	1	0	n/a	n/a	0	316
1994	0	305	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	305
1995	0	309	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	309
1996	0	309	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	309
1997	0	297	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	297
1998	1	307	0	1	1	n/a	n/a	0	310
1999	1	313	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	314
2000	0	310	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	310
2001	0	298	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	298
2002	0	297	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	297
2003	0	297	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	297
2004	0	287	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	287
2005	0	294	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	294
2006	0	280	0	1	0	n/a	n/a	2	283
2007	0	265	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	265
2008	2	248	0	1	1	n/a	n/a	3	255
2009	0	245	0	1	0	n/a	n/a	0	246
2010	0	251	0	0	0	n/a	n/a	0	251
2011	0	253	0	0	0	0	0	0	253
2012	0	239	0	2	0	0	0	0	241
2013	0	236	0	0	0	0	0	0	236
2014	0	240	0	0	0	0	0	0	240
2015	0	243	0	0	0	0	0	0	243
2016	0	266	0	0	0	0	0	0	266
2017	0	281	1	1	0	0	1	0	284
2018	0	293	1	1	0	0	1	0	296
2019	0	262	1	3	0	0	0	0	266
2020	0	236	0	3	0	0	0	0	239
2021	0	231	0	3	0	0	0	0	234
2022	0	221	0	2	0	0	0	0	223
2023	0	214	0	4	0	0	0	0	218

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 Wacker Elementary School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1989	298	14.0	21.2	n/a
1990	313	13.0	24.0	n/a
1991	311	13.0	23.9	n/a
1992	316	15.0	21.0	n/a
1993	316	16.0	19.8	n/a
1994	305	13.0	23.5	n/a
1995	309	16.0	19.3	n/a
1996	309	16.0	19.3	n/a
1997	297	15.0	19.8	n/a
1998	310	16.0	19.4	n/a
1999	314	16.0	19.6	n/a
2000	310	16.0	19.4	n/a
2001	298	15.0	19.9	n/a
2002	297	13.0	22.8	86.2
2003	297	13.0	22.8	86.2
2004	287	14.6	19.7	72.5
2005	294	15.0	19.6	79.9
2006	283	18.0	15.7	87.5
2007	265	14.0	18.9	94.3
2008	255	15.0	17.0	89.3
2009	246	12.0	20.5	89.8
2010	251	14.0	17.9	90.4
2011	253	10.0	25.3	85
2012	241	11.0	21.9	87.6
2013	236	12.8	18.4	81.8
2014	240	16.5	14.5	90.4
2015	243	14.0	17.3	94.7
2016	266	13.0	20.4	89.5
2017	284	14.3	19.8	90.5
2018	296	13.3	22.2	87.8
2019	266	17.0	15.6	86.5
2020	239	16.0	14.9	84.1
2021	234	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	223	17.5	12.7	81.6
2023	218	16.5	13.2	81.7

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 Wacker Elementary School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1989	298	14.0	21.2	n/a
1990	313	13.0	24.0	n/a
1991	311	13.0	23.9	n/a
1992	316	15.0	21.0	n/a
1993	316	16.0	19.8	n/a
1994	305	13.0	23.5	n/a
1995	309	16.0	19.3	n/a
1996	309	16.0	19.3	n/a
1997	297	15.0	19.8	n/a
1998	310	16.0	19.4	n/a
1999	314	16.0	19.6	n/a
2000	310	16.0	19.4	n/a
2001	298	15.0	19.9	n/a
2002	297	13.0	22.8	86.2
2003	297	13.0	22.8	86.2
2004	287	14.6	19.7	72.5
2005	294	15.0	19.6	79.9
2006	283	18.0	15.7	87.5
2007	265	14.0	18.9	94.3
2008	255	15.0	17.0	89.3
2009	246	12.0	20.5	89.8
2010	251	14.0	17.9	90.4
2011	253	10.0	25.3	85
2012	241	11.0	21.9	87.6
2013	236	12.8	18.4	81.8
2014	240	16.5	14.5	90.4
2015	243	14.0	17.3	94.7
2016	266	13.0	20.4	89.5
2017	284	14.3	19.8	90.5
2018	296	13.3	22.2	87.8
2019	266	17.0	15.6	86.5
2020	239	16.0	14.9	84.1
2021	234	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	223	17.5	12.7	81.6
2023	218	16.5	13.2	81.7

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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