Is El Sierra Elementary School a good school?

El Sierra Elementary School ranks 583 rd of 2067 Illinois elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

How many students attend El Sierra Elementary School?

In the 2023-24 school year, 280 students attended El Sierra Elementary School.

What is the racial makeup of El Sierra Elementary School?

Students at El Sierra Elementary School are 60% White, 21% Hispanic, 7% African American, 6% Asian, 4% Two or more races.

What schools do graduates of El Sierra Elementary School attend?

Students who attend El Sierra Elementary School usually go on to attend: Middle : O Neill Middle School High : Community H S District 99 - South High School

El Sierra Elementary School

Summary:

El Sierra Elementary School is a public elementary school in Downers Grove, Illinois, serving 287 students in grades PK-6. The school is part of the Downers Grove GSD 58 district, which is ranked 95 out of 813 districts in Illinois and has a 4-star rating.

While El Sierra Elementary School has shown mixed academic performance, with proficiency rates in English Language Arts (43.1%) and Mathematics (40.1%) lower than the district and state averages, its performance on the Illinois Science Assessment (ISA) is stronger, with 72.2% of students proficient or better. The school's student subgroup performance varies, with Hispanic and Special Education students performing better than the state averages, but Low Socioeconomic Status (SES) students significantly underperforming. Additionally, the school has seen a steady increase in chronic absenteeism, reaching 17.9% in 2023-2024.

Compared to nearby Hillcrest, Kingsley, and Fairmount Elementary Schools, which are also part of the Downers Grove GSD 58 district, El Sierra's academic performance is generally lower. However, it outperforms some nearby schools outside the district, such as Prairieview Elementary and Maercker Elementary. The high chronic absenteeism rate and low performance of Low SES students suggest that socioeconomic factors may be playing a significant role in El Sierra's overall academic outcomes.

Detail:

Public PK, KG-6

6835 Fairmount Ave
Downers Grove, IL 60516-3633

(630) 719-5825

District: Downers Grove GSD 58

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

Per Pupil Expenditures: $17,101

Students who attend El Sierra Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	O Neill Middle School
High:	Community H S District 99 - South High School

Student/teacher ratio: 11.8

Number of students: 280

Racial breakdown:

White:

60.4%

Hispanic:

21.4%

African American:

7.1%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 31.4%

See top rated Illinois elementary schools

Compare El Sierra Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details El Sierra Elementary School ranks better than 71.8% of elementary schools in Illinois. It also ranks last among 11 ranked elementary schools in the Downers Grove GSD 58 School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 68.35. (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 Racial makeup is: White (60.4%), Hispanic (21.4%), African American (7.1%). (See more...)

Compare Details

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at El Sierra Elementary School is 11.8, which is the 3^rd best among 11 elementary schools in the Downers Grove GSD 58 School District. (See more...)

Compare El Sierra Elementary School employs 23.7 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at El Sierra Elementary School is $17,101, which is the 5^th highest among 11 elementary schools in the Downers Grove GSD 58 School District.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

El Sierra Elementary School:

SchoolDigger ranks El Sierra Elementary School 583^rd of 2067 Illinois public elementary schools. (See El Sierra Elementary School in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Special Education students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Disabled students:

Male students:

White students:

Downers Grove GSD 58:

SchoolDigger ranks Downers Grove GSD 58 95^th of 813 Illinois school districts. (See district ranking list.)

Average Parent Rating:

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Rank History for El Sierra Elementary School

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Rank History for all students at El Sierra Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2003	81.94	285^th	2020	85.9%
2004	78.08	401^st	2030	80.2%
2005	68.59	726^th	2022	64.1%
2006	83.45	157^th	2086	92.5%
2007	84.37	123^rd	2095	94.1%
2008	70.63	699^th	2092	66.6%
2009	76.63	491^st	2120	76.8%
2010	71.68	676^th	2139	68.4%
2011	79.36	384^th	2147	82.1%
2012	75.10	544^th	2166	74.9%
2013	70.04	662^nd	2167	69.5%
2014	71.70	590^th	2093	71.8%
2015	26.98	1506^th	2052	26.6%
2016	29.25	1448^th	2046	29.2%
2017	30.97	1386^th	2044	32.2%
2018	57.08	816^th	2037	59.9%
2019	57.33	836^th	2086	59.9%
2021	75.72	408^th	1948	79.1%
2022	73.21	517^th	2082	75.2%
2023	69.39	576^th	2077	72.3%
2024	68.35	583^rd	2067	71.8%

See the entire list of Illinois Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for Special Education students at El Sierra Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2019	49.21	477^th	1194	60.1%
2024	56.29	408^th	1195	65.9%

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

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at El Sierra Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	65.82	425^th	1765	75.9%
2021	44.37	755^th	1514	50.1%
2022	61.77	502^nd	1763	71.5%
2023	49.72	822^nd	1808	54.5%
2024	16.46	1703^rd	1793	5.0%

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

Rank History for Female students at El Sierra Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	67.91	573^rd	1964	70.8%
2019	61.42	715^th	2019	64.6%
2021	68.42	449^th	1680	73.3%
2022	83.94	270^th	1970	86.3%
2023	69.33	518^th	1957	73.5%
2024	67.28	553^rd	1942	71.5%

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

Rank History for Disabled students at El Sierra Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2024	74.83	107^th	886	87.9%

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

Rank History for Male students at El Sierra Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	50.81	878^th	1972	55.5%
2019	51.70	882^nd	2019	56.3%
2021	69.84	429^th	1707	74.9%
2022	58.04	728^th	1977	63.2%
2023	65.00	582^nd	1984	70.7%
2024	64.21	602^nd	1959	69.3%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at El Sierra Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2018	25.30	771^st	938	17.8%
2021	71.91	106^th	742	85.7%

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

Rank History for White students at El Sierra Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	57.76	581^st	1463	60.3%
2019	58.30	590^th	1462	59.6%
2021	74.36	247^th	1308	81.1%
2022	63.57	462^nd	1425	67.6%
2023	61.65	498^th	1419	64.9%
2024	57.94	561^st	1392	59.7%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Elementary Schools for White 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: 4.5)

50%

Reviews:

by a parent
Wednesday, March 8, 2017

Great principal--engaged teachers. We moved in district for fifth grade and fell in love with the place Close Quote

by a parent
Saturday, December 10, 2016

Wonderful staff and a super creative learning environment. Close Quote

Enrollment information for El Sierra Elementary School

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1988	319	24	41	5	n/a	n/a	n/a	0	389
1989	301	34	43	8	3	n/a	n/a	0	389
1990	281	40	36	10	1	n/a	n/a	0	368
1991	268	27	46	8	0	n/a	n/a	0	349
1992	295	23	24	21	1	n/a	n/a	0	364
1993	302	23	24	22	0	n/a	n/a	0	371
1994	286	16	27	24	6	n/a	n/a	0	359
1995	306	29	29	18	4	n/a	n/a	0	386
1996	306	29	29	18	4	n/a	n/a	0	386
1997	295	44	29	24	2	n/a	n/a	0	394
1998	272	6	13	10	3	n/a	n/a	0	304
1999	258	8	14	16	0	n/a	n/a	0	296
2000	264	11	18	16	0	n/a	n/a	0	309
2001	276	10	16	13	0	n/a	n/a	0	315
2002	241	15	14	24	0	n/a	n/a	0	294
2003	241	15	14	24	0	n/a	n/a	0	294
2004	223	13	23	28	1	n/a	n/a	0	288
2005	225	38	19	29	0	n/a	n/a	3	314
2006	216	25	17	38	0	n/a	n/a	6	302
2007	206	28	13	41	0	n/a	n/a	11	299
2008	224	23	12	0	45	n/a	n/a	10	314
2009	218	26	9	48	0	n/a	n/a	10	311
2010	205	21	9	47	0	n/a	n/a	15	297
2011	209	23	9	57	0	0	9	0	307
2012	201	22	9	67	0	0	8	0	307
2013	195	24	16	63	0	0	9	0	307
2014	201	27	16	61	0	0	10	0	315
2015	199	20	17	90	0	0	13	0	339
2016	170	18	17	63	0	0	13	0	281
2017	161	20	16	58	0	0	13	0	268
2018	142	27	14	51	1	0	12	0	247
2019	134	19	15	35	1	0	9	0	213
2020	146	21	18	32	1	0	10	0	228
2021	156	20	14	59	1	0	12	0	262
2022	162	19	22	58	1	0	12	0	274
2023	171	18	19	62	1	0	16	0	287
2024	169	20	17	60	2	0	12	0	280

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 El Sierra Elementary School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	389	17.0	22.8	n/a
1989	389	15.0	25.9	n/a
1990	368	16.0	23.0	n/a
1991	349	16.0	21.8	n/a
1992	364	17.0	21.4	n/a
1993	371	18.0	20.6	n/a
1994	359	17.2	20.9	n/a
1995	386	17.0	22.7	n/a
1996	386	17.0	22.7	n/a
1997	394	18.8	21.0	n/a
1998	304	15.8	19.2	n/a
1999	296	14.8	20.0	n/a
2000	309	15.0	20.6	n/a
2001	315	15.5	20.3	n/a
2002	294	14.6	20.1	0
2003	294	14.6	20.1	0
2004	288	13.6	21.2	0
2005	314	16.6	18.9	0
2006	302	16.5	18.3	0
2007	299	16.0	18.7	0
2008	314	13.0	24.2	0
2009	311	14.8	21.0	0
2010	297	12.7	23.3	0
2011	307	13.7	22.4	0
2012	307	14.7	20.8	22.1
2013	307	19.8	15.4	17.9
2014	315	16.0	19.6	31.1
2015	339	17.0	19.9	28.6
2016	281	16.0	17.5	23.5
2017	268	16.2	16.5	31.7
2018	247	14.0	17.6	25.5
2019	213	15.0	14.2	14.6
2020	228	15.8	14.4	22.4
2021	262	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	274	19.8	13.8	31.4
2023	287	24.2	11.8	n/a
2024	280	23.7	11.8	n/a

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 El Sierra Elementary School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	389	17.0	22.8	n/a
1989	389	15.0	25.9	n/a
1990	368	16.0	23.0	n/a
1991	349	16.0	21.8	n/a
1992	364	17.0	21.4	n/a
1993	371	18.0	20.6	n/a
1994	359	17.2	20.9	n/a
1995	386	17.0	22.7	n/a
1996	386	17.0	22.7	n/a
1997	394	18.8	21.0	n/a
1998	304	15.8	19.2	n/a
1999	296	14.8	20.0	n/a
2000	309	15.0	20.6	n/a
2001	315	15.5	20.3	n/a
2002	294	14.6	20.1	0
2003	294	14.6	20.1	0
2004	288	13.6	21.2	0
2005	314	16.6	18.9	0
2006	302	16.5	18.3	0
2007	299	16.0	18.7	0
2008	314	13.0	24.2	0
2009	311	14.8	21.0	0
2010	297	12.7	23.3	0
2011	307	13.7	22.4	0
2012	307	14.7	20.8	22.1
2013	307	19.8	15.4	17.9
2014	315	16.0	19.6	31.1
2015	339	17.0	19.9	28.6
2016	281	16.0	17.5	23.5
2017	268	16.2	16.5	31.7
2018	247	14.0	17.6	25.5
2019	213	15.0	14.2	14.6
2020	228	15.8	14.4	22.4
2021	262	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	274	19.8	13.8	31.4
2023	287	24.2	11.8	n/a
2024	280	23.7	11.8	n/a

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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