Is Mather High School a good school?

Mather High School ranks 449 th of 697 Illinois high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Mather High School?

In the 2023-24 school year, 1,777 students attended Mather High School.

What is the racial makeup of Mather High School?

Students at Mather High School are 50% Hispanic, 20% Asian, 15% African American, 13% White, 1% Two or more races.

What schools feed into Mather High School?

Mather High School is fed by the following schools: Elementary : Clinton Elementary School Elementary : Jamieson Elementary School Elementary : Mosaic School of Fine Arts Elementary : Peterson Elementary School Elementary : Rogers Elementary School Elementary : Solomon Elementary School Elementary : West Ridge Elementary School

Mather High School

Summary:

Mather High School is a public high school in Chicago, Illinois, serving 1,749 students in grades 9-12. The school faces significant challenges, with academic performance, graduation rates, and chronic absenteeism all falling well below state and district averages.

Mather High School's standardized test scores are notably lower than the state and district, with only 14.6% of 11th-grade students proficient or better in SAT Mathematics, compared to 26.1% statewide and 18.6% in the district. The school's performance in SAT English Language Arts and ISA Science is also below average. Mather High School's ranking among Illinois high schools has consistently been in the bottom half, ranging from 449 out of 697 schools in 2023-2024 to 507 out of 699 schools in 2022-2023. The school's four-year graduation rate has fluctuated between 67.4% and 83.2%, and its dropout rate has ranged from 2.9% to 5.0%.

Compared to nearby schools, such as Senn High School and Amundsen High School, Mather High School's academic performance is significantly lower. The highly selective Northside College Preparatory High School also outperforms Mather High School across all academic metrics. However, Mather High School ranks highly for African American and English Language Learner students, as well as for students with disabilities and homeless students, suggesting the school may be able to leverage its strengths in these areas to improve overall outcomes.

Detail:

Public 9-12

5835 N Lincoln Ave
Chicago, IL 60659-4610

(773) 534-2350

District: Chicago Public Schools District 299

SchoolDigger Rank:
449^th of 697 Illinois High Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $16,423

Feeder schools for Mather High School:

Elementary:	Clinton Elementary School
	Jamieson Elementary School
	Mosaic School of Fine Arts
	Peterson Elementary School
	More...
	Rogers Elementary School
	Solomon Elementary School
	West Ridge Elementary School

Student/teacher ratio: 14.9

Number of students: 1,777

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

50.3%

Asian:

20.3%

African American:

14.5%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 81.3%

See top rated Illinois high schools

Compare Mather High School to nearby high schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Mather High School ranks worse than 64.4% of high schools in Illinois. It also ranks 30^th among 145 ranked high schools in the Chicago Public Schools District 299. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 33.18. (See more...)

The four-year cohort graduation rate measures the percentage of students at Mather High School who earn a standard high school diploma within four years of starting ninth grade.

The high school dropout rate measures the percentage of students who do not complete their high school education.

Chronic absenteeism in a school refers to a situation where students repeatedly miss school, with the threshold often defined as missing 10% or more of school days for any reason, excused or unexcused.

Student Body

Compare Details Student population at Mather High School is diverse. Racial makeup is: Hispanic (50.3%), Asian (20.3%), African American (14.5%). (See more...)

Compare Details 81.3% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Mather High School is 14.9. 89 high schools in the Chicago Public Schools District 299 have better student/teacher ratios. (See more...)

Compare Mather High School employs 119 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Mather High School is $16,423. 125 high schools in the Chicago Public Schools District 299 spend more per student.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Mather High School:

SchoolDigger ranks Mather High School 449^th of 697 Illinois public high schools. (See Mather High School in the ranking list.)

High School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

English Language Learner students:

Special Education students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Homeless students:

Female students:

Disabled students:

Male students:

Asian students:

African American students:

Hispanic students:

White students:

Chicago Public Schools District 299:

SchoolDigger ranks Chicago Public Schools District 299 688^th of 813 Illinois school districts. (See district ranking list.)

What do you think?

Your rating for Mather High School?

(Ranking FAQ)

Rank History for Mather High School

Compare

Rank History for all students at Mather High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2003	6.76	535^th	586	8.7%
2004	8.51	530^th	592	10.5%
2005	10.95	523^rd	590	11.4%
2006	7.65	539^th	596	9.6%
2007	7.21	550^th	612	10.1%
2008	8.75	552^nd	624	11.5%
2009	9.69	558^th	632	11.7%
2010	9.77	563^rd	643	12.4%
2011	7.90	580^th	655	11.5%
2012	12.80	570^th	665	14.3%
2013	18.79	545^th	670	18.7%
2014	12.48	582^nd	670	13.1%
2015	32.34	410^th	614	33.2%
2016	32.34	447^th	643	30.5%
2017	19.36	531^st	642	17.3%
2018	24.72	506^th	647	21.8%
2019	28.77	510^th	701	27.2%
2021	28.52	484^th	688	29.7%
2022	22.91	545^th	699	22.0%
2023	28.87	507^th	699	27.5%
2024	33.18	449^th	697	35.6%

See the entire list of Illinois High School Rankings!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Mather High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	46.87	50^th	151	66.9%
2019	44.81	76^th	183	58.5%
2021	44.05	72^nd	189	61.9%
2022	66.99	30^th	205	85.4%
2023	37.93	125^th	217	42.4%
2024	57.90	57^th	248	77.0%

See the entire list of Best Illinois High Schools for English Language Learner Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at Mather High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	27.23	248^th	374	33.7%
2019	38.97	221^st	473	53.3%
2021	29.28	270^th	453	40.4%
2022	40.41	222^nd	493	55.0%
2023	42.79	201^st	476	57.8%
2024	55.77	142^nd	482	70.5%

See the entire list of Best Illinois High Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Mather High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	40.23	354^th	585	39.5%
2019	40.35	376^th	639	41.2%
2021	41.98	317^th	611	48.1%
2022	36.63	409^th	626	34.7%
2023	43.61	359^th	644	44.3%
2024	45.15	313^th	639	51.0%

See the entire list of Best Illinois High Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Homeless students at Mather High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2022	97.03	5^th	98	94.9%
2023	81.14	11^th	104	89.4%
2024	25.74	68^th	125	45.6%

See the entire list of Best Illinois High Schools for Homeless Students!

Rank History for Female students at Mather High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	17.03	528^th	620	14.8%
2019	32.17	454^th	665	31.7%
2021	22.29	487^th	639	23.8%
2022	18.22	534^th	658	18.8%
2023	29.72	462^nd	656	29.6%
2024	33.43	426^th	664	35.8%

See the entire list of Best Illinois High Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Disabled students at Mather High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	43.90	196^th	428	54.2%
2024	30.88	245^th	429	42.9%

See the entire list of Best Illinois High Schools for Disabled Students!

Rank History for Male students at Mather High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	31.37	440^th	619	28.9%
2019	25.48	505^th	675	25.2%
2021	32.89	418^th	653	36.0%
2022	26.68	480^th	664	27.7%
2023	27.32	497^th	668	25.6%
2024	32.43	434^th	668	35.0%

See the entire list of Best Illinois High Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for Asian students at Mather High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	4.99	126^th	132	4.5%
2019	4.23	123^rd	130	5.4%
2021	5.68	127^th	135	5.9%
2022	4.29	134^th	141	5.0%
2023	4.14	128^th	134	4.5%
2024	3.94	129^th	137	5.8%

See the entire list of Best Illinois High Schools for Asian Students!

Rank History for African American students at Mather High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	34.76	154^th	253	39.1%
2019	38.65	151^st	299	49.5%
2021	31.17	186^th	281	33.8%
2022	47.57	119^th	294	59.5%
2023	43.53	135^th	301	55.1%
2024	64.24	61^st	299	79.6%

See the entire list of Best Illinois High Schools for African American Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Mather High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	21.24	244^th	291	16.2%
2019	31.74	220^th	317	30.6%
2021	23.75	254^th	317	19.9%
2022	23.19	262^nd	335	21.8%
2023	24.41	263^rd	333	21.0%
2024	36.21	198^th	336	41.1%

See the entire list of Best Illinois High Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for White students at Mather High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	16.38	490^th	548	10.6%
2019	19.79	478^th	552	13.4%
2021	27.72	395^th	553	28.6%
2022	11.02	531^st	560	5.2%
2023	40.90	309^th	557	44.5%
2024	21.32	443^rd	554	20.0%

See the entire list of Best Illinois High Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: Illinois State Board of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Data source: Illinois State Board of Education

We're sorry, but no reviews have been submitted for Mather High School.

If you have first-hand knowledge about Mather High School, submit a rating!

Reviews:
No reviews have been submitted!

Enrollment information for Mather High School

Compare

Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1988	962	204	393	250	8	n/a	n/a	0	1817
1989	898	195	414	269	6	n/a	n/a	0	1782
1990	846	194	405	284	5	n/a	n/a	0	1734
1991	799	163	399	317	6	n/a	n/a	0	1684
1992	723	147	420	322	6	n/a	n/a	0	1618
1993	725	156	398	343	3	n/a	n/a	0	1625
1994	771	156	422	386	5	n/a	n/a	0	1740
1995	743	160	432	515	4	n/a	n/a	0	1854
1996	743	160	432	515	4	n/a	n/a	0	1854
1997	754	174	473	555	7	n/a	n/a	0	1963
1998	699	179	472	540	4	n/a	n/a	0	1894
1999	678	152	478	528	7	n/a	n/a	0	1843
2000	643	143	506	558	5	n/a	n/a	0	1855
2001	621	126	486	594	3	n/a	n/a	0	1830
2002	626	161	513	652	10	n/a	n/a	0	1962
2003	626	161	513	652	10	n/a	n/a	0	1962
2004	580	188	493	668	10	n/a	n/a	0	1939
2005	541	238	462	753	8	n/a	n/a	0	2002
2006	491	246	455	669	6	n/a	n/a	69	1936
2007	446	245	414	649	5	n/a	n/a	98	1857
2008	413	246	423	636	6	n/a	n/a	76	1800
2009	411	266	422	630	6	n/a	n/a	0	1735
2010	363	259	401	601	8	n/a	n/a	1	1633
2011	346	241	391	602	13	4	25	0	1622
2012	361	236	403	609	5	6	27	0	1647
2013	377	233	410	628	9	6	31	0	1694
2014	327	192	420	588	11	5	33	0	1576
2015	315	184	429	601	8	4	29	0	1570
2016	330	183	448	562	8	1	27	0	1559
2017	297	174	447	516	12	1	24	0	1471
2018	285	169	445	516	10	2	24	0	1451
2019	249	200	427	572	10	7	21	0	1486
2020	233	214	396	641	11	11	19	0	1525
2021	284	259	440	768	10	9	35	0	1805
2022	272	288	414	844	14	5	41	0	1878
2023	249	261	368	821	8	5	37	0	1749
2024	228	258	361	894	7	5	24	0	1777

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Mather High School

Compare

Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	1817	95.0	19.1	n/a
1989	1782	101.0	17.6	n/a
1990	1734	102.2	16.9	n/a
1991	1684	99.4	16.9	n/a
1992	1618	100.2	16.1	n/a
1993	1625	99.0	16.4	n/a
1994	1740	95.0	18.3	n/a
1995	1854	116.4	15.9	n/a
1996	1854	116.4	15.9	n/a
1997	1963	122.6	16.0	n/a
1998	1894	118.2	16.0	n/a
1999	1843	114.0	16.2	n/a
2000	1855	115.0	16.1	n/a
2001	1830	110.6	16.5	n/a
2002	1962	113.0	17.4	67.8
2003	1962	113.0	17.4	67.8
2004	1939	107.6	18.0	82
2005	2002	132.8	15.1	77
2006	1936	141.0	13.7	87
2007	1857	100.0	18.6	89.3
2008	1800	112.0	16.1	88.6
2009	1735	110.0	15.8	83.1
2010	1633	102.0	16.0	91.7
2011	1622	102.0	15.9	84.7
2012	1647	103.0	15.9	86.8
2013	1694	128.0	13.2	86.7
2014	1576	101.0	15.6	89.3
2015	1570	99.0	15.8	91.4
2016	1559	96.0	16.2	87.7
2017	1471	89.6	16.4	86.5
2018	1451	82.4	17.5	88.1
2019	1486	96.5	15.3	86.5
2020	1525	102.0	14.9	86.4
2021	1805	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	1878	115.2	16.2	77.9
2023	1749	125.0	13.9	75.7
2024	1777	119.0	14.9	81.3

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Mather High School

Compare

Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	1817	95.0	19.1	n/a
1989	1782	101.0	17.6	n/a
1990	1734	102.2	16.9	n/a
1991	1684	99.4	16.9	n/a
1992	1618	100.2	16.1	n/a
1993	1625	99.0	16.4	n/a
1994	1740	95.0	18.3	n/a
1995	1854	116.4	15.9	n/a
1996	1854	116.4	15.9	n/a
1997	1963	122.6	16.0	n/a
1998	1894	118.2	16.0	n/a
1999	1843	114.0	16.2	n/a
2000	1855	115.0	16.1	n/a
2001	1830	110.6	16.5	n/a
2002	1962	113.0	17.4	67.8
2003	1962	113.0	17.4	67.8
2004	1939	107.6	18.0	82
2005	2002	132.8	15.1	77
2006	1936	141.0	13.7	87
2007	1857	100.0	18.6	89.3
2008	1800	112.0	16.1	88.6
2009	1735	110.0	15.8	83.1
2010	1633	102.0	16.0	91.7
2011	1622	102.0	15.9	84.7
2012	1647	103.0	15.9	86.8
2013	1694	128.0	13.2	86.7
2014	1576	101.0	15.6	89.3
2015	1570	99.0	15.8	91.4
2016	1559	96.0	16.2	87.7
2017	1471	89.6	16.4	86.5
2018	1451	82.4	17.5	88.1
2019	1486	96.5	15.3	86.5
2020	1525	102.0	14.9	86.4
2021	1805	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	1878	115.2	16.2	77.9
2023	1749	125.0	13.9	75.7
2024	1777	119.0	14.9	81.3

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.

Immunization Rates