What percentage of students in Chicago Public Schools are proficient in math?
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About 24% of 4th graders and 21% of 8th graders were considered proficient in math in 2024, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The NAEP, also known as the Nation’s Report Card, assesses 4th and 8th graders’ progress in reading and math approximately every two years.
24%
of Chicago Public Schools 4th graders were proficient in math in 2024
21%
of Chicago Public Schools 8th graders were proficient in math in 2024
The NAEP uses a scale of 0-500 points to group 4th and 8th grade students into three achievement levels (basic, proficient, or advanced). "Proficient" is the benchmark used to describe students who demonstrate competency with challenging subject matter. However, NAEP proficiency is not the same as being on "grade level," which is often assessed by other state and district tests. More information on NAEP skill expectations at each grade level is available here.
In 2024, 5% of 4th graders in Chicago Public Schools were advanced in math and 19% were proficient, which means that about 3 out of 4 (76%) scored at basic or below. In 8th grade, 79% scored at basic or below.
In Chicago Public Schools, 4th grade math proficiency scores in 2024 were lower than Illinois overall. 8th grade proficiency was also lower than the Illinois average.
In 2024, the percentage of Chicago Public Schools 4th graders at a proficient or advanced math level was lower than the Illinois average.
Percentage of students at each NAEP achievement level in 4th and 8th grade in 2024 in Chicago Public Schools and Illinois
How has math proficiency changed over time?
From this point onward, “proficiency” includes students who were at or above proficient in math (proficient and advanced students).
Among 4th graders, math proficiency was lower in Chicago Public Schools than Illinois in every test year. Among 8th graders, math proficiency was lower in Chicago Public Schools than Illinois in every test year.
Data are available in Chicago Public Schools beginning in 2003.
Chicago Public Schools 4th graders had lower math proficiency compared to Illinois in every test year
Percentage of 4th and 8th graders proficient in math in Chicago Public Schools, Illinois, and the US, 2003–2024
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How do Chicago Public Schools students compare to other districts in math proficiency?
The NAEP collected data in 25 other large urban school districts in 2024. Chicago Public Schools had 322,809 students enrolled as of the 2023-24 school year, making it the fourth-largest district in this sample.
Among 4th grade students, Chicago Public Schools had the sixth-lowest math proficiency rate compared to other districts. It was 25 percentage points lower in proficiency than Miami-Dade County Public Schools, the district with the highest rate (49%).
Among 8th grade students, Chicago Public Schools had the 10th-highest math proficiency rate compared to other districts. It was 11 percentage points lower in proficiency than Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, the district with the highest rate (32%).
Chicago Public Schools is sixth-lowest in 4th grade math proficiency and 10th-highest in 8th grade among the 26 districts tested
Percentage of 4th and 8th graders in each district who were proficient in math in 2024
Why is there data for Chicago Public Schools but not all districts?
The NAEP randomly chooses public, private, and charter schools from across the country and in each state and Washington, DC to participate in testing. This random process ensures that the test scores from students in these schools represent how the US and each state are performing as a whole. In addition to national- and state-level reporting, for several years the NAEP has also administered the test to a random sample of schools within 26 of the nation's largest school districts in 2024, of which Chicago Public Schools was one.
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Methodology
USAFacts standardizes data, in areas such as time and demographics, to make it easier to understand and compare.
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USAFacts endeavors to share the most up-to-date information available. We sourced the data on this page directly from government agencies; however, the intervals at which agencies publish updated data vary.
