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SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOLS DIST 299·NCES 170993001097

Smyser Elementary School

4310 N Melvina Ave, Chicago, IL 60634 · (773) 534-3711 · Cook County
GRADES PK–08ELEMENTARY11-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL773 STUDENTS
Enrollment
773
Elementary
DISTRICT 463 · STATE 381
Student : Teacher
14.1:1
55 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.6:1 · STATE 13.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
63%
484 students
DISTRICT 78% · STATE 56%
Community
5
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

GradeStudentsShare
Pre-K425%
Kindergarten7510%
Grade 18010%
Grade 27510%
Grade 3669%
Grade 49412%
Grade 5608%
Grade 69112%
Grade 77710%
Grade 811014%
Grade 930%

This year's kindergarten class (75) is 32% smaller than its 8th grade class (110).

Student demographics
53%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 64% · STATE 69% · US 70%
White
18123%
DISTRICT 11% · STATE 45% · US 43%
Hispanic
49364%
DISTRICT 47% · STATE 29% · US 30%
Black
324%
DISTRICT 34% · STATE 16% · US 15%
Asian
415%
DISTRICT 5% · STATE 6% · US 6%
Two+
223%
DISTRICT 2% · STATE 5% · US 5%
Native American
41%
DISTRICT 0% · STATE 0% · US 1%
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
38550%
Female
38850%

School pathway

Students here typically continue to
Smyser Elementary School→Taft High School
Based on published attendance-zone data from Chicago Public Schools Dist 299. Zones change; confirm enrollment with the district.

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Test scores

IAR + ISA 2024-25 . % Proficient (Levels 4-5)
English Language Arts
42.7%
IL avg 51.0% . +8.8pp since 2023
Math
27.4%
IL avg 37.9% . +9.1pp since 2023

What this means: On the IAR + ISA, Illinois's statewide test, about 43 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 27 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 9 points since 2023, while math scores are up about 9 points.

IAR + ISA results by year

School yearEnglish Language ArtsMath
2024-2542.7%27.4%
2023-2433.9%18.3%
% 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
35.6%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
35.4%
based on IL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+0.3pp
above demographic expectation

What this means: About 36% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 35% 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 Smyser Elementary School

Smyser Elementary School's state test result (35.6% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.

SchoolStudentsLow-incomeProficient
Smyser Elementary School this school77362.6%35.6%
Tioga Elementary School
Bensenville
75161.4%36.6%
John Mills Elementary School
Elmwood Park
71158.5%46.8%
Long Beach Elementary School
Montgomery
63259.5%27.4%
Portage Park Elementary School
Chicago
93366.9%34.9%
Bateman Elementary School
Chicago
90456.0%35.4%
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 Smyser Elementary School ranks

Among elementary schools
MeasureThis schoolIn IllinoisIn Cook County
State test proficiency
ranked highest first
35.6%#1,069 of 1,925#307 of 760
Math proficiency
ranked highest first
27.4%#1,375 of 2,077
▼ 116
#426 of 829
▼ 35
Reading proficiency
ranked highest first
42.7%#1,258 of 2,077
▼ 241
#418 of 829
▼ 88
Enrollment
ranked largest first
773#77 of 2,419#54 of 901
Students per teacher
ranked fewest first
14.1:1#1,286 of 2,035#574 of 817
Diversity index
ranked most diverse first
53.3%#819 of 2,042#292 of 819
Free and reduced lunch
ranked highest share first
62.6%#935 of 2,132#520 of 804
Enrollment change since 2017-18
ranked steepest decline first
-17.7%#546 of 1,461#313 of 661
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 2024-25
Enrollment
773
-89 (-10%) vs 2020
+64% since 1990-91, when it was 472
Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Enrollment and staffing by year

School yearStudentsTeachers (FTE)Students per teacherFree and reduced lunch
2024-2577354.814.1:163% (484)
2023-2476552.514.6:166% (507)
2022-2376352.514.5:163% (482)
2020-21862N/AN/AN/A
2017-1893947.719.7:176% (709)
2015-161,0015119.6:177% (773)
2010-111,0134920.7:179% (800)
2000-018994420.4:1N/A
1990-914722816.9:1N/A
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Smyser Elementary School.

Since 2017-18: students down 18% (939 to 773); teachers up 15% (47.7 to 54.8).

About Smyser Elementary School

Smyser Elementary School operates as a large elementary school in Chicago, Illinois. It enrolls 773 students in 2024-25. The grades offered are pre-K through 8. It has 103% more students than the average for elementary schools in Illinois (about 381).

Chicago Public Schools Dist 299 counts 324,396 students in its 622 schools, and Smyser Elementary School is one of them.

More than half of the students at Smyser Elementary School are Hispanic (64%). Next come 23% White, 5% Asian, 4% Black, and 3% multiracial. That compares with about 27% Hispanic among all Cook County residents. Measured by the diversity index, the student body scores 53%.

Teacher count: 54.8 full-time equivalents. Student-to-teacher ratio: 14.1:1. The average ratio among elementary schools in Illinois is similar, at 13.9:1. Eligibility for free or reduced-price lunch, often used to gauge student poverty, is 63%.

Smyser Elementary School's average proficiency rate across its state test results of 35.6% is within a point of the 35.4% the model predicts from its lunch-eligibility share.

Census data for Cook County show median household income comes to about $83,498, the share of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher is 43%, and roughly 10% of residents are in poverty. The county has 1,406 public schools and about 697,934 students.

A public school about 0.7 miles away, Rickover Naval Academy High Schl, is the closest to Smyser Elementary School. The count of other public schools within five miles is at least 8. Of 8 schools in the immediate area with test results, Smyser Elementary School ranks 6th on average proficiency.

The NCES locale for Smyser Elementary School is City: Large, which covers schools inside a principal city with a population of 250,000 or more.

The school's student count fell 10% between the 2020-21 and 2024-25 school years.

People can post here about homework, tutoring, and testing dates and other school topics. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to post.

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
Smyser Elementary School
District
Chicago Public Schools Dist 299
Address
4310 N Melvina Ave, Chicago, IL 60634
Phone
(773) 534-3711
County
Cook County
Level
Elementary
Grade range
PK–08
Total enrollment
773
Teachers (FTE)
55
Student–teacher ratio
14.1:1
Free and reduced lunch
484 (63%)
Locale
11-City: Large
NCES ID
170993001097
Charter school
No
Virtual school
No

Related schools

Other schools in Chicago Public Schools Dist 299
Other schools in Chicago
Nearby schools

Frequently asked questions

About Smyser Elementary School
What is the total enrollment at Smyser Elementary School?
Smyser Elementary School enrolls approximately 773 students in grades PK-08.
What grades does Smyser Elementary School serve?
Smyser Elementary School serves grades PK-08.
How many students per teacher at Smyser Elementary School?
Approximately 14.1:1 students per teacher at Smyser Elementary School.
How diverse is Smyser Elementary School?
Smyser Elementary School reports a student body of 23% White, 64% Hispanic, 4% Black, 5% Asian, 3% Two or more.
Who oversees Smyser Elementary School?
Smyser Elementary School is overseen by Chicago Public Schools Dist 299 in Cook County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.
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