Enrollment
112
Elementary
DISTRICT 463 · STATE 381
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOLS DIST 299·NCES 170993000839
McDowell Elementary School
1419 E 89th St, Chicago, IL 60619 · (773) 535-6404 · Cook County
GRADES PK–05ELEMENTARY11-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL112 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
14.0:1
8 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.6:1 · STATE 13.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
79%
89 students
DISTRICT 78% · STATE 56%
Community
0
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-K | 12 | 11% |
| Kindergarten | 15 | 13% |
| Grade 1 | 14 | 13% |
| Grade 2 | 11 | 10% |
| Grade 3 | 20 | 18% |
| Grade 4 | 16 | 14% |
| Grade 5 | 24 | 21% |
This year's kindergarten class (15) is 38% smaller than its 5th grade class (24).
Student demographics
9%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 64% · STATE 69% · US 70%
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
Test scores
IAR + ISA 2024-25 . % Proficient (Levels 4-5)English Language Arts
41.4%
IL avg 51.0% . +10.1pp since 2023
Math
22.4%
IL avg 37.9% . +3.6pp since 2023
What this means: On the IAR + ISA, Illinois's statewide test, about 41 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 22 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 10 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 4 points.
IAR + ISA results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 41.4% | 22.4% |
| 2023-24 | 31.3% | 18.8% |
% 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 · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
31.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
25.6%
based on IL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+5.9pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 32% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 26% 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 McDowell Elementary School
McDowell Elementary School's state test result (31.6% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| McDowell Elementary School this school | 112 | 79.5% | 31.6% |
| Robinson Elementary School Chicago | 117 | 86.3% | 17.4% |
| Colemon J Elementary Academy Chicago | 166 | 77.7% | 38.6% |
| Frazier Perspectives Magnet Elementary School Chicago | 129 | 88.4% | 19.3% |
| Davis M Magnet Elementary School Chicago | 120 | 81.7% | 33.7% |
| LEARN Chtr - 7th Campus Chicago | 144 | 88.2% | 20.7% |
Matched among Illinois elementary 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 McDowell Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Illinois | In Cook County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 31.6% | #1,220 of 1,925 | #375 of 760 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 22.4% | #1,531 of 2,077 ▼ 298 | #502 of 829 ▼ 127 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 41.4% | #1,301 of 2,077 ▼ 173 | #439 of 829 ▼ 69 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 112 | #2,318 of 2,419 | #892 of 901 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 79.5% | #520 of 2,132 | #356 of 804 |
Ranked against other public elementary 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 2024-25Enrollment
112
-37 (-25%) vs 2020
-49% since 1990-91, when it was 220
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 112 | 8 | 14.0:1 | 79% (89) |
| 2023-24 | 115 | 10 | 11.5:1 | 92% (106) |
| 2022-23 | 117 | 11 | 10.6:1 | 91% (106) |
| 2020-21 | 149 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 155 | 9 | 17.2:1 | 95% (148) |
| 2015-16 | 181 | 9 | 20.1:1 | 93% (168) |
| 2010-11 | 167 | 11 | 15.2:1 | 90% (150) |
| 2000-01 | 205 | 10 | 20.5:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 220 | 8 | 27.5:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for McDowell Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 28% (155 to 112); teachers down 11% (9 to 8).
About McDowell Elementary School
McDowell Elementary School, located in Chicago, Illinois, is a very small elementary school. In all, 112 students attend the school in pre-K through 5. The school is 71% below the average for elementary schools in Illinois.
In Chicago Public Schools Dist 299, 622 schools enroll a combined 324,396 students.
Of every 100 students at McDowell Elementary School, about 96 are Black. Smaller groups are 3% multiracial. For comparison, the population of Cook County is roughly 22% Black. Its diversity index, the chance that two randomly chosen students belong to different racial or ethnic groups, is 9%.
There are about 14.0 students for every full-time-equivalent teacher at McDowell Elementary School, which has 8. It is about the same as the 13.9:1 average for elementary schools in Illinois. Eligibility for free or reduced-price lunch stands at 79%. That rate is above the 66% average among public schools in Cook County.
Compared with Illinois schools that have similar shares of low-income students, McDowell Elementary School's results are 5.9 points above predicted: 31.6% against 25.6%.
The county, Cook County, is where the school is located. The median household earns about $83,498 a year, 43% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and about 10% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Counting McDowell Elementary School, Cook County has 1,406 public schools.
Washington H Elementary School sits about 0.5 miles from McDowell Elementary School. There are at least 8 other public schools within five miles. By average proficiency, McDowell Elementary School is 4th among 9 schools close by.
NCES lists the school's locale as City: Large. That means it sits inside a principal city with a population of 250,000 or more.
The 2020-21-to-2024-25 change in enrollment was a 25% drop, from 149 to 112.
Use the discussion section to ask about homework, tutoring, and testing dates at McDowell Elementary School. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.
Cook County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
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
Related schools
Other schools in Chicago Public Schools Dist 299
- Lane Technical High SchoolHigh · 4,604 students
- Taft High SchoolHigh · 4,487 students
- Curie Metropolitan High SchoolHigh · 3,099 students
- Kenwood Academy High SchoolHigh · 2,268 students
- Young Magnet High SchoolHigh · 2,223 students
- Lincoln Park High SchoolHigh · 2,214 students
Other schools in Chicago
- Lane Technical High SchoolHigh · 4,604 students
- Taft High SchoolHigh · 4,487 students
- Curie Metropolitan High SchoolHigh · 3,099 students
- Kenwood Academy High SchoolHigh · 2,268 students
- Young Magnet High SchoolHigh · 2,223 students
- Lincoln Park High SchoolHigh · 2,214 students
Other McDowell Elementary schools
One other US public school is named McDowell Elementary. McDowell Elementary School is the 2nd largest of the 2.
- McDowell ElementaryPetaluma, CA · 329 students
Nearby schools
- Washington H Elementary School0.5 mi · 273
- Earhart Elementary Opt for Knowl School0.6 mi · 195
- Daisy Bates Academy of Social Justic0.6 mi · 225
- CICS - Avalon/South Shore0.7 mi · 469
- Black Magnet Elementary School0.7 mi · 336
- Ashe Elementary School0.7 mi · 387
Frequently asked questions
About McDowell Elementary SchoolWhat is the total enrollment at McDowell Elementary School?
McDowell Elementary School enrolls approximately 112 students in grades PK-05.
What age range does McDowell Elementary School serve?
McDowell Elementary School serves students from grade PK through grade 05.
What is the student-teacher ratio at McDowell Elementary School?
The student-to-teacher ratio at McDowell Elementary School is approximately 14.0:1 (8 FTE teachers).
What is the student diversity at McDowell Elementary School?
Student demographics at McDowell Elementary School are roughly 2% Hispanic, 96% Black, 3% Two or more.
What district is McDowell Elementary School in?
McDowell Elementary School is part of Chicago Public Schools Dist 299.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.