Is Carl Sandburg Elementary a good school?

Carl Sandburg Elementary ranks in the bottom 6.3% of Illinois elementary schools.

How many students attend Carl Sandburg Elementary?

In the 2022-23 school year, 372 students attended Carl Sandburg Elementary.

What is the racial makeup of Carl Sandburg Elementary?

Students at Carl Sandburg Elementary are 52% African American, 37% Hispanic, 6% White, 5% Two or more races.

What schools do graduates of Carl Sandburg Elementary attend?

Students who attend Carl Sandburg Elementary usually go on to attend: Middle : Hufford Junior High School High : Joliet West High School

Carl Sandburg Elementary

Summary:

Carl Sandburg Elementary is a public elementary school in Joliet, Illinois, serving 372 students in grades K-5. The school is part of the Joliet Public School District 86, which is ranked 739 out of 813 districts in the state and has a 0-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Carl Sandburg Elementary consistently ranks in the bottom 10% of Illinois elementary schools, with very low academic performance on state assessments. In 2023-2024, only 6.4% of 3rd graders, 4.7% of 4th graders, and 7.2% of 5th graders were proficient or better in English Language Arts, compared to the state averages of 30.6%, 37.8%, and 39.1%, respectively. The school's mathematics performance is also significantly below state averages. Additionally, Carl Sandburg Elementary has consistently high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 23.9% to 30.6% over the past 5 years, much higher than the state average.

The nearby schools within the Joliet Public School District 86, such as Lynne Thigpen Elementary, Farragut Elementary, and Taft Elementary, also perform poorly on state assessments and have high rates of chronic absenteeism and economic disadvantage, similar to Carl Sandburg Elementary. In contrast, schools in the neighboring Troy CCSD 30C and Richland GSD 88A districts, such as Troy Craughwell School and Richland Elementary School, have significantly higher academic performance and lower rates of chronic absenteeism and economic disadvantage.

Detail:

Public K-5

1100 Lilac Ln
Joliet, IL 60435-3244

(815) 725-0281

District: Joliet PSD 86

SchoolDigger Rank:
1937^th of 2,067 Illinois Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $17,715

Students who attend Carl Sandburg Elementary usually attend:

Middle:	Hufford Junior High School
High:	Joliet West High School

Student/teacher ratio: 17.8

Number of students: 372

Racial breakdown:

African American:

51.6%

Hispanic:

36.8%

White:

6.5%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 93.8%

See top rated Illinois elementary schools

Compare Carl Sandburg Elementary to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Carl Sandburg Elementary ranks worse than 93.7% of elementary schools in Illinois. It also ranks 13^th among 15 ranked elementary schools in the Joliet PSD 86 School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 13.2. (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 Carl Sandburg Elementary has the largest elementary school student body size in the Joliet PSD 86 School District. (See more...)

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Teachers

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Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Carl Sandburg Elementary is $17,715. 9 elementary schools in the Joliet PSD 86 School District spend more per student.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Carl Sandburg Elementary:

SchoolDigger ranks Carl Sandburg Elementary 1937^th of 2067 Illinois public elementary schools. (See Carl Sandburg Elementary in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

English Language Learner students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Male students:

African American students:

Hispanic students:

Joliet PSD 86:

SchoolDigger ranks Joliet PSD 86 739^th of 813 Illinois school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Carl Sandburg Elementary

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Rank History for all students at Carl Sandburg Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2003	28.79	1560^th	2020	22.8%
2004	22.79	1678^th	2030	17.3%
2005	30.61	1579^th	2022	21.9%
2006	49.44	1322^nd	2086	36.6%
2007	54.90	1194^th	2095	43.0%
2008	42.83	1402^nd	2092	33.0%
2009	29.20	1660^th	2120	21.7%
2010	34.55	1581^st	2139	26.1%
2011	20.57	1823^rd	2147	15.1%
2012	35.14	1589^th	2166	26.6%
2013	30.96	1570^th	2167	27.5%
2014	26.39	1617^th	2093	22.7%
2015	21.33	1676^th	2052	18.3%
2016	17.63	1764^th	2046	13.8%
2017	23.27	1596^th	2044	21.9%
2018	21.58	1610^th	2037	21.0%
2019	12.99	1933^rd	2086	7.3%
2021	14.64	1774^th	1948	8.9%
2022	14.65	1874^th	2082	10.0%
2023	13.51	1925^th	2077	7.3%
2024	13.20	1937^th	2067	6.3%

See the entire list of Illinois Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Carl Sandburg Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	28.12	673^rd	788	14.6%
2024	57.17	227^th	826	72.5%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Elementary Schools for English Language Learner Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at Carl Sandburg Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	23.23	971^st	1156	16.0%

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

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Carl Sandburg Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	35.48	1178^th	1765	33.3%
2019	21.75	1606^th	1816	11.6%
2021	20.84	1365^th	1514	9.8%
2022	23.22	1472^nd	1763	16.5%
2023	20.92	1607^th	1808	11.1%
2024	19.90	1595^th	1793	11.0%

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

Rank History for Female students at Carl Sandburg Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	24.28	1505^th	1964	23.4%
2019	15.25	1813^th	2019	10.2%
2021	11.41	1632^nd	1680	2.9%
2022	12.25	1885^th	1970	4.3%
2023	17.41	1691^st	1957	13.6%
2024	10.20	1909^th	1942	1.7%

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

Rank History for Disabled students at Carl Sandburg Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	25.33	733^rd	907	19.2%

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

Rank History for Male students at Carl Sandburg Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	18.21	1699^th	1972	13.8%
2019	12.79	1892^nd	2019	6.3%
2021	18.59	1444^th	1707	15.4%
2022	18.85	1646^th	1977	16.7%
2023	12.22	1886^th	1984	4.9%
2024	16.83	1688^th	1959	13.8%

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

Rank History for African American students at Carl Sandburg Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	40.42	368^th	698	47.3%
2019	23.74	632^nd	711	11.1%
2021	36.70	251^st	428	41.4%
2022	24.04	628^th	684	8.2%
2023	23.07	624^th	692	9.8%
2024	22.18	601^st	655	8.2%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at Carl Sandburg Elementary

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	34.74	609^th	938	35.1%
2019	34.01	652^nd	955	31.7%
2022	29.19	703^rd	954	26.3%
2023	21.57	865^th	970	10.8%
2024	30.28	689^th	959	28.2%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Elementary Schools for Hispanic 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 Carl Sandburg Elementary

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
2002	87	144	9	41	1	n/a	n/a	0	282
2003	87	144	9	41	1	n/a	n/a	0	282
2004	82	125	7	49	1	n/a	n/a	0	264
2005	81	132	2	68	0	n/a	n/a	0	283
2006	66	134	0	68	0	n/a	n/a	10	278
2007	59	131	2	76	0	n/a	n/a	18	286
2008	54	129	6	66	0	n/a	n/a	27	282
2009	71	130	7	70	0	n/a	n/a	31	309
2010	62	144	4	70	0	n/a	n/a	29	309
2011	62	152	3	75	0	0	27	0	319
2012	48	162	3	83	1	0	24	0	321
2013	51	139	3	73	1	0	20	0	287
2014	66	186	3	97	3	0	17	0	372
2015	63	195	5	117	2	0	11	0	393
2016	60	187	4	119	1	0	11	0	382
2017	42	181	6	125	0	0	55	0	409
2018	44	195	8	121	0	0	25	0	393
2019	46	225	5	107	0	0	27	0	410
2020	40	194	7	117	0	0	21	0	379
2021	42	192	7	116	0	0	22	0	379
2022	32	190	2	127	0	0	18	0	369
2023	24	192	2	137	0	0	17	0	372

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 Carl Sandburg Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
2002	282	13.0	21.7	n/a
2003	282	13.0	21.7	n/a
2004	264	12.4	21.3	n/a
2005	283	12.5	22.6	n/a
2006	278	14.5	19.2	n/a
2007	286	17.0	16.8	n/a
2008	282	15.0	18.8	n/a
2009	309	17.5	17.7	n/a
2010	309	18.5	16.7	n/a
2011	319	18.0	17.7	70.8
2012	321	18.0	17.8	74.5
2013	287	17.3	16.5	69
2014	372	17.0	21.8	98.9
2015	393	22.0	17.8	98.2
2016	382	21.0	18.1	100
2017	409	22.0	18.5	98.3
2018	393	20.6	19.0	99.7
2019	410	21.9	18.7	99.3
2020	379	21.0	18.0	99.7
2021	379	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	369	20.9	17.6	93
2023	372	20.8	17.8	93.8

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 Carl Sandburg Elementary

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
2002	282	13.0	21.7	n/a
2003	282	13.0	21.7	n/a
2004	264	12.4	21.3	n/a
2005	283	12.5	22.6	n/a
2006	278	14.5	19.2	n/a
2007	286	17.0	16.8	n/a
2008	282	15.0	18.8	n/a
2009	309	17.5	17.7	n/a
2010	309	18.5	16.7	n/a
2011	319	18.0	17.7	70.8
2012	321	18.0	17.8	74.5
2013	287	17.3	16.5	69
2014	372	17.0	21.8	98.9
2015	393	22.0	17.8	98.2
2016	382	21.0	18.1	100
2017	409	22.0	18.5	98.3
2018	393	20.6	19.0	99.7
2019	410	21.9	18.7	99.3
2020	379	21.0	18.0	99.7
2021	379	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	369	20.9	17.6	93
2023	372	20.8	17.8	93.8

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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