The bulletin board for America's public schools. Parents, teachers, students, and staff. One community per school.
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·OAK PARK ESD 97·NCES 172925004581

Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School

325 S Kenilworth Ave, Oak Park, IL 60302 · (708) 524-3050 · Cook County
GRADES 06–08MIDDLE21-SUBURBREGULAR SCHOOL947 STUDENTS
B+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 70% of Illinois public middle schools
  • A-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
  • BBeats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
  • ·Three-year trend Not available for this school, so the grade uses the other parts.

Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded Illinois public middle schools

Enrollment
947
Middle
DISTRICT 937 · STATE 462
Student : Teacher
12.8:1
74 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 12.3:1 · STATE 13.0:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
21%
197 students
DISTRICT 18% · STATE 56%
Community
5
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other middle schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.

Enrollment by grade, 2024-25

GradeStudentsShare
Grade 630132%
Grade 731533%
Grade 833135%
Student demographics
69%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 66% · STATE 69% · US 70%
White
43346%
DISTRICT 52% · STATE 45% · US 43%
Hispanic
17018%
DISTRICT 15% · STATE 29% · US 30%
Black
18720%
DISTRICT 16% · STATE 16% · US 15%
Asian
243%
DISTRICT 3% · STATE 6% · US 6%
Two+
11812%
DISTRICT 13% · STATE 5% · US 5%
Pacific Islander
10%
DISTRICT 0% · STATE 0% · US 0%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Male
47750%
Female
45648%

Discussions

+ POST

Test scores

IAR + ISA 2024-25 . % Proficient (Levels 4-5)
English Language Arts
73.5%
IL avg 51.0% . +10.7pp since 2023
Math
54.9%
IL avg 37.9% . +12.3pp since 2023

What this means: On the IAR + ISA, Illinois's statewide test, about 74 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 55 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all Illinois schools, those numbers are about 51 and 38. Reading and writing scores are up about 11 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 12 points.

IAR + ISA results by year

School yearEnglish Language ArtsMath
2024-2573.5%54.9%
2023-2462.8%42.6%
% Proficient (Levels 4-5), all students and all tested grades.
Source: IAR + ISA. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →

BeatsExpectations

Demographically-adjusted score · methodology
Tier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
61.2%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
59.5%
based on IL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+1.7pp
above demographic expectation

What this means: About 61% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 60% typical for Illinois schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among Illinois's top nor bottom 10%.

BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →

Schools most like Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School

Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School's state test result (61.2% proficient) is higher than 5 of the 5 schools below with a result.

SchoolStudentsLow-incomeProficient
Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School this school94720.8%61.2%
Percy Julian Middle School
Oak Park
92718.0%55.9%
Traughber Jr High School
Oswego
1,07024.7%49.3%
Haven Middle School
Evanston
66027.4%57.6%
Yorkville Middle School
Yorkville
1,15224.7%44.7%
Minooka Jr High School
Minooka
1,02426.9%44.5%
Matched among Illinois middle schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.

Where Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School ranks

Among middle schools
MeasureThis schoolIn IllinoisIn Cook County
State test proficiency
ranked highest first
61.2%#83 of 578#17 of 116
Math proficiency
ranked highest first
54.9%#111 of 640
▲ 24
#34 of 146
▲ 8
Reading proficiency
ranked highest first
73.5%#141 of 640
▲ 18
#40 of 146
▲ 3
Enrollment
ranked largest first
947#34 of 691#9 of 148
Students per teacher
ranked fewest first
12.8:1#259 of 558#81 of 138
Diversity index
ranked most diverse first
69.5%#42 of 560#13 of 138
Free and reduced lunch
ranked highest share first
20.8%#518 of 581#106 of 117
Enrollment change since 2017-18
ranked steepest decline first
-2.0%#410 of 440#90 of 97
Ranked against other public middle schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.

4-year change

SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25
Enrollment
947
+38 (+4%) vs 2020
+13% since 2010-11, when it was 835
Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Enrollment and staffing by year

School yearStudentsTeachers (FTE)Students per teacherFree and reduced lunch
2024-259477412.8:121% (197)
2023-2498171.713.7:124% (232)
2022-2395874.112.9:118% (177)
2020-21909N/AN/AN/A
2017-1896671.313.6:117% (165)
2015-169626614.6:120% (192)
2010-118356313.3:122% (180)
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School.

Since 2017-18: students down 2% (966 to 947); teachers up 4% (71.3 to 74).

About Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School

Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School is a large middle school in Oak Park, Illinois, (ZIP code 60302). The school enrolls 947 students in grades 6 through 8. Across middle schools in Illinois, the average enrollment is about 462.

Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School is one of 10 schools in Oak Park ESD 97, which enrolls 5,560 students in total.

White students account for 46% of enrollment at Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School, more than any other group. Other groups make up 20% Black, 18% Hispanic, 12% multiracial, and 3% Asian. Cook County residents are about 44% White, a similar share. The diversity index for Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School is 69%. For US public schools as a whole it is 70%.

A staff of 74 full-time-equivalent teachers puts the student-to-teacher ratio at 12.8:1. The average for middle schools in Illinois is about 13.0:1. The share of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch is 21%. The 66% average for public schools in Cook County is 45 points higher.

Among Illinois public middle schools, Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School outscored 70%, which works out to a B+ on the allk12 Grade.

After adjusting for student poverty, Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School lands between the top and bottom 10% of Illinois schools. Its average proficiency rate across its state test results is 61.2%; the prediction is 59.5%.

For Cook County, Census Bureau data show the median household earns about $83,498 a year, roughly 43% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and about 10% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Counting Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School, Cook County has 1,406 public schools.

Straight-line distance to the nearest public school, Percy Julian Middle School, is about 0.7 miles. Other public schools within five miles: at least 8. The average proficiency across nearby scored schools is 64.4%; Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School's is 61.2%, ranking 6th of 7.

Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School is in a suburban area outside a principal city, within an urbanized area with a population of 250,000 or more, a location NCES labels Suburb: Large.

Between 2020-21 and 2024-25, Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School had a net gain of 38 students, or 4%.

You can use this page to share news and ask questions about athletics, class schedules, and weather closures. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.

Cook County at a glance

View full county profile
Population
5,182,090
Census ACS
Median income
$83,498
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
43%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
10%
Below federal line
Schools in county
1,406
697,934 students

Quick facts

School name
Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School
District
Oak Park ESD 97
Address
325 S Kenilworth Ave, Oak Park, IL 60302
Phone
(708) 524-3050
County
Cook County
Level
Middle
Grade range
06–08
Total enrollment
947
Teachers (FTE)
74
Student–teacher ratio
12.8:1
Free and reduced lunch
197 (21%)
Locale
21-Suburb: Large
NCES ID
172925004581
Charter school
No
Virtual school
No

Related schools

Other schools in Oak Park ESD 97
Other schools in Oak Park
Nearby schools

Frequently asked questions

About Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School
How many students attend Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School?
Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School enrolls approximately 947 students in grades 06-08.
What age range does Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School serve?
Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School serves students from grade 06 through grade 08.
How many students per teacher at Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School?
Approximately 12.8:1 students per teacher at Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School.
How diverse is Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School?
Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School reports a student body of 46% White, 18% Hispanic, 20% Black, 3% Asian, 12% Two or more.
Who oversees Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School?
Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School is overseen by Oak Park ESD 97 in Cook County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.
+ Post