Is Whittier Elementary School a good school?

Whittier Elementary School ranks in the bottom 8.0% of Illinois elementary schools.

How many students attend Whittier Elementary School?

In the 2022-23 school year, 427 students attended Whittier Elementary School.

What is the racial makeup of Whittier Elementary School?

Students at Whittier Elementary School are 87% Hispanic, 9% African American, 2% Two or more races, 1% White.

What schools do graduates of Whittier Elementary School attend?

Students who attend Whittier Elementary School usually go on to attend: Middle : Robert E Abbott Middle School High : Waukegan High School

Whittier Elementary School

Summary:

Whittier Elementary School is a public elementary school in Waukegan, Illinois, serving 427 students in grades K-5. The school is part of the Waukegan CUSD 60 district, which is ranked 745 out of 813 districts in Illinois and has a 0-star rating from SchoolDigger. Whittier Elementary School has consistently ranked in the bottom half of Illinois elementary schools, with a ranking between 1544 and 1901 out of around 2,000 schools over the past several years.

Whittier Elementary School significantly underperforms compared to the district and the state of Illinois in academic assessments. In the 2023-2024 school year, only 8.3% of Whittier students were proficient or better in English Language Arts, compared to 17% for the district and 41.2% for the state. In mathematics, only 6.5% of Whittier students were proficient or better, compared to 10.8% for the district and 28.4% for the state. The school also struggles with high chronic absenteeism rates, ranging from 32.6% to 36.2% over the past few years, which is significantly higher than the state average. These challenges are likely influenced by the school's high-poverty student population, with 71.66% to 74.23% of students qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch.

Interestingly, the nearby Andrew Cooke Magnet Elementary School and Oakdale Elementary School, which are also part of the Waukegan CUSD 60 district, perform significantly better than Whittier Elementary School. This suggests that factors beyond just the district's overall performance may be contributing to Whittier's challenges. Additionally, Whittier's performance varies significantly across different student subgroups, indicating the need for targeted interventions and support for its most vulnerable populations.

Detail:

Public K-5

901 N Lewis Ave
Waukegan, IL 60085-2626

(224) 303-1900

District: Waukegan CUSD 60

SchoolDigger Rank:
1901^st of 2,067 Illinois Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $24,009

Students who attend Whittier Elementary School usually attend:

Middle:	Robert E Abbott Middle School
High:	Waukegan High School

Student/teacher ratio: 12.0

Number of students: 427

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

87.1%

African American:

9.4%

Two or more races:

1.9%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 71.7%

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Performance Trends

Compare Details Whittier Elementary School ranks worse than 92% of elementary schools in Illinois. It also ranks 14^th among 15 ranked elementary schools in the Waukegan CUSD 60 School District. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 13.75. (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 Whittier Elementary School has the largest elementary school student body size in the Waukegan CUSD 60 School District. (See more...)

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Teachers

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Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Whittier Elementary School is $24,009, which is the 6^th highest among 15 elementary schools in the Waukegan CUSD 60 School District.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Whittier Elementary School:

SchoolDigger ranks Whittier Elementary School 1901^st of 2067 Illinois public elementary schools. (See Whittier Elementary School in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

English Language Learner students:

Special Education students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Disabled students:

Male students:

Hispanic students:

Waukegan CUSD 60:

SchoolDigger ranks Waukegan CUSD 60 745^th of 813 Illinois school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Whittier Elementary School

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Rank History for all students at Whittier Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2010	4.72	2067^th	2139	3.4%
2011	10.97	1983^rd	2147	7.6%
2012	16.63	1917^th	2166	11.5%
2013	10.25	2018^th	2167	6.9%
2014	10.87	1935^th	2093	7.5%
2015	16.09	1814^th	2052	11.6%
2016	10.82	1949^th	2046	4.7%
2017	12.34	1889^th	2044	7.6%
2018	16.34	1781^st	2037	12.6%
2019	20.30	1720^th	2086	17.5%
2021	17.25	1674^th	1948	14.1%
2022	23.62	1544^th	2082	25.8%
2023	20.40	1671^st	2077	19.5%
2024	13.75	1901^st	2067	8.0%

See the entire list of Illinois Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Whittier Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	31.13	560^th	718	22.0%
2019	41.29	429^th	743	42.3%
2021	37.45	333^rd	537	38.0%
2022	33.02	570^th	768	25.8%
2023	35.21	536^th	788	32.0%
2024	24.09	755^th	826	8.6%

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

Rank History for Special Education students at Whittier Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2022	42.52	531^st	1113	52.3%
2024	22.45	1011^th	1195	15.4%

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

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Whittier Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	25.88	1421^st	1765	19.5%
2019	28.02	1433^rd	1816	21.1%
2021	30.04	1113^th	1514	26.5%
2022	37.77	1077^th	1763	38.9%
2023	33.48	1211^th	1808	33.0%
2024	20.20	1583^rd	1793	11.7%

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

Rank History for Female students at Whittier Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	12.15	1850^th	1964	5.8%
2019	19.28	1710^th	2019	15.3%
2021	15.73	1504^th	1680	10.5%
2022	28.96	1352^nd	1970	31.4%
2023	28.54	1358^th	1957	30.6%
2024	15.57	1728^th	1942	11.0%

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

Rank History for Disabled students at Whittier Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2024	26.48	698^th	886	21.2%

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

Rank History for Male students at Whittier Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	24.29	1518^th	1972	23.0%
2019	22.83	1593^rd	2019	21.1%
2021	16.45	1508^th	1707	11.7%
2022	19.61	1612^th	1977	18.5%
2023	16.12	1747^th	1984	11.9%
2024	14.80	1765^th	1959	9.9%

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

Rank History for African American students at Whittier Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2019	58.36	215^th	711	69.8%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at Whittier Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	24.56	781^st	938	16.7%
2019	29.54	717^th	955	24.9%
2021	27.82	584^th	742	21.3%
2022	33.82	626^th	954	34.4%
2023	29.61	715^th	970	26.3%
2024	20.00	862^nd	959	10.1%

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 Whittier Elementary School

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
2008	41	110	12	782	2	n/a	n/a	22	969
2009	51	120	8	798	2	n/a	n/a	23	1002
2010	18	66	3	497	0	n/a	n/a	21	605
2011	6	59	3	542	1	0	8	0	619
2012	13	52	4	528	2	0	9	0	608
2013	11	62	5	522	2	1	6	0	609
2014	10	61	6	577	2	0	11	0	667
2015	8	73	6	598	5	0	13	0	703
2016	13	79	5	488	3	0	8	0	596
2017	12	70	7	515	3	0	18	0	625
2018	21	73	7	461	8	0	16	0	586
2019	13	69	6	430	9	0	13	0	540
2020	8	60	5	407	7	0	13	0	500
2021	10	51	4	375	5	0	11	0	456
2022	6	45	4	383	3	0	13	0	454
2023	5	40	1	372	1	0	8	0	427

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 Whittier Elementary School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
2008	969	20.0	48.5	n/a
2009	1002	26.0	38.5	n/a
2010	605	29.0	20.8	81.5
2011	619	30.8	20.0	71.6
2012	608	29.0	20.9	57.9
2013	609	38.0	16.0	0.7
2014	667	34.5	19.3	73.5
2015	703	34.0	20.6	78.8
2016	596	36.0	16.5	57.7
2017	625	39.0	16.0	73.4
2018	586	40.0	14.6	76.1
2019	540	33.0	16.3	70.9
2020	500	35.0	14.2	70.2
2021	456	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	454	26.9	16.8	74.2
2023	427	35.3	12.0	71.7

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 Whittier Elementary School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
2008	969	20.0	48.5	n/a
2009	1002	26.0	38.5	n/a
2010	605	29.0	20.8	81.5
2011	619	30.8	20.0	71.6
2012	608	29.0	20.9	57.9
2013	609	38.0	16.0	0.7
2014	667	34.5	19.3	73.5
2015	703	34.0	20.6	78.8
2016	596	36.0	16.5	57.7
2017	625	39.0	16.0	73.4
2018	586	40.0	14.6	76.1
2019	540	33.0	16.3	70.9
2020	500	35.0	14.2	70.2
2021	456	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	454	26.9	16.8	74.2
2023	427	35.3	12.0	71.7

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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