Enrollment
217
Elementary
DISTRICT 463 · STATE 381
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOLS DIST 299·NCES 170993001141
Wacker Elementary School
9746 S Morgan St, Chicago, IL 60643 · (773) 535-2821 · Cook County
GRADES PK–08ELEMENTARY11-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL217 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
9.9:1
22 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 14.6:1 · STATE 13.9:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
85%
185 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 | 14 | 6% |
| Kindergarten | 20 | 9% |
| Grade 1 | 24 | 11% |
| Grade 2 | 23 | 11% |
| Grade 3 | 17 | 8% |
| Grade 4 | 26 | 12% |
| Grade 5 | 20 | 9% |
| Grade 6 | 23 | 11% |
| Grade 7 | 20 | 9% |
| Grade 8 | 30 | 14% |
This year's kindergarten class (20) is 33% smaller than its 8th grade class (30).
Student demographics
5%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
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
Wacker Elementary School→Harlan Community Academy High School
Based on published attendance-zone data from Chicago Public Schools Dist 299. Zones change; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
IAR + ISA 2024-25 . % Proficient (Levels 4-5)English Language Arts
30.8%
IL avg 51.0% . +8.9pp since 2023
Math
15.8%
IL avg 37.9% . +9.9pp since 2023
What this means: On the IAR + ISA, Illinois's statewide test, about 31 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 16 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 10 points.
IAR + ISA results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 30.8% | 15.8% |
| 2023-24 | 21.9% | 5.9% |
% 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
21.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
22.3%
based on IL schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-0.4pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 22% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 22% 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 Wacker Elementary School
Wacker Elementary School's state test result (21.9% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wacker Elementary School this school | 217 | 85.3% | 21.9% |
| Evers Elementary School Chicago | 233 | 87.1% | 23.2% |
| Mollison Elementary School Chicago | 237 | 85.7% | 9.0% |
| Kipling Elementary School Chicago | 237 | 87.8% | 31.2% |
| Avalon Park Elementary School Chicago | 225 | 85.8% | 18.8% |
| Cuffe Math-Sci Tech Elementary Academy Chicago | 249 | 86.7% | 19.4% |
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 Wacker Elementary School ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In Illinois | In Cook County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 21.9% | #1,545 of 1,925 | #531 of 760 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 15.8% | #1,717 of 2,077 ▲ 102 | #598 of 829 ▲ 65 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 30.8% | #1,644 of 2,077 ▼ 141 | #598 of 829 ▼ 51 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 217 | #1,988 of 2,419 | #802 of 901 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 9.9:1 | #106 of 2,035 | #62 of 817 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 5.4% | #1,990 of 2,042 | #785 of 819 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 85.3% | #396 of 2,132 | #285 of 804 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -26.7% | #242 of 1,461 | #154 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 2024-25Enrollment
217
-17 (-7%) vs 2020
-30% since 1990-91, when it was 311
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 | 217 | 22 | 9.9:1 | 85% (185) |
| 2023-24 | 220 | 17 | 12.9:1 | 81% (179) |
| 2022-23 | 218 | 16.5 | 13.2:1 | 82% (178) |
| 2020-21 | 234 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| 2017-18 | 296 | 13.3 | 22.2:1 | 88% (260) |
| 2015-16 | 266 | 13 | 20.5:1 | 89% (238) |
| 2010-11 | 253 | 10 | 25.3:1 | 85% (215) |
| 2000-01 | 298 | 15 | 19.9:1 | N/A |
| 1990-91 | 311 | 13 | 23.9:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Wacker Elementary School.
Since 2017-18: students down 27% (296 to 217); teachers up 65% (13.3 to 22).
About Wacker Elementary School
Among the schools in Chicago, Illinois, is Wacker Elementary School, a small elementary school. Enrollment in 2024-25 was 217 students in pre-K through 8. The average for elementary schools in Illinois is about 381 students, so this school is 43% smaller than average.
Chicago Public Schools Dist 299 has 622 schools; together they serve 324,396 students.
Federal enrollment data show Wacker Elementary School is 97% Black. Among all residents of Cook County, the Black share is about 22%. Pick two students at random and there is a 5% chance they belong to different racial or ethnic groups; that figure is the school's diversity index.
Wacker Elementary School's 22 full-time-equivalent teachers put its ratio at 9.9:1. That is lower than the 13.9:1 average for elementary schools in Illinois. Eligibility for subsidized school meals is 85%. That is 19 points above the 66% average for public schools in Cook County.
Given its share of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, Wacker Elementary School would be expected to post about 22.3%. Its actual average proficiency rate on state tests is 21.9%.
Census Bureau estimates for Cook County show that the median household income is $83,498, a bachelor's degree or higher is held by about 43% of adults, and the poverty rate is about 10%. There are 1,406 public schools in Cook County, enrolling about 697,934 students in all.
The next-closest public school is Green W Elementary School, about 0.3 miles away. The count of other public schools within five miles is at least 8. Of 8 schools in the immediate area with test results, Wacker Elementary School ranks 5th on average proficiency.
Its NCES locale code is City: Large: the school is inside a principal city with a population of 250,000 or more.
Enrollment declined 7% from its 2020-21 level of 234.
Posts about science fairs, picture day, and bus routes are welcome on this page. Questions from prospective families are welcome too.
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
Nearby schools
- Green W Elementary School0.3 mi · 267
- Evers Elementary School0.5 mi · 233
- CICS - Longwood Campus0.5 mi · 1,137
- CICS - Loomis Primary Campus0.5 mi · 333
- Fernwood Elementary School0.5 mi · 259
- Garvey M Elementary School0.7 mi · 262
Frequently asked questions
About Wacker Elementary SchoolHow large is Wacker Elementary School?
Wacker Elementary School enrolls approximately 217 students in grades PK-08.
What age range does Wacker Elementary School serve?
Wacker Elementary School serves students from grade PK through grade 08.
How many students per teacher at Wacker Elementary School?
Approximately 9.9:1 students per teacher at Wacker Elementary School.
How diverse is Wacker Elementary School?
Wacker Elementary School reports a student body of 1% Hispanic, 97% Black, 1% Two or more.
Who oversees Wacker Elementary School?
Wacker 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.