Is Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School a good school?

Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School ranks 208 th of 1363 Illinois middle schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School?

In the 2023-24 school year, 981 students attended Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School.

What is the racial makeup of Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School?

Students at Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School are 48% White, 19% African American, 17% Hispanic, 12% Two or more races, 3% Asian, 2% Not Specified.

What high school do graduates of Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School attend?

Students who attend Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School usually go on to attend Oak Park & River Forest High School

Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School

Summary:

Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School is a public middle school in Oak Park, Illinois, serving 958 students in grades 6-8. This high-performing school consistently ranks among the top 20-30% of Illinois middle schools, with strong academic outcomes that exceed state and district averages.

Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School's academic performance is particularly impressive, with proficiency rates in English Language Arts and Math that are significantly higher than the state averages. The school's diverse student population, with significant representation of Hispanic, White, and African American students, performs well across different subgroups, indicating the school's ability to effectively serve a diverse community. Additionally, the school's chronic absenteeism rate is generally lower than state and district averages, and its per-student spending is higher than the state average.

Compared to nearby schools, Irving Middle School and Northwest Middle School, which are located within a 3-mile radius, Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School outperforms them in academic achievement. However, Roosevelt School in the neighboring River Forest School District 90 also ranks in the top 5% of Illinois middle schools, outperforming Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School in some measures. The school's relatively low percentage of students from low-socioeconomic backgrounds, compared to nearby schools, may contribute to its strong academic performance.

Detail:

Public 6-8

325 S Kenilworth Ave
Oak Park, IL 60302-3597

(708) 524-3050

District: Oak Park Education Service District 97

SchoolDigger Rank:
208^th of 1,363 Illinois Middle Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $17,592

Students who attend Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School usually attend:

High:

Oak Park & River Forest High School

Feeder schools for Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School:

Elementary:	Abraham Lincoln Elementary School
	Oliver W Holmes Elementary School
	Whittier Elementary School
	William Hatch Elementary School

Student/teacher ratio: 13.6

Number of students: 981

Racial breakdown:

White:

47.7%

African American:

18.8%

Hispanic:

17.1%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 23.6%

See top rated Illinois middle schools

Compare Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School to nearby middle schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School ranks better than 84.7% of middle schools in Illinois. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 82.3. (See more...)

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 Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School is diverse. Racial makeup is: White (47.7%), African American (18.8%), Hispanic (17.1%). (See more...)

Compare Details 23.6% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School is 13.6. (See more...)

Compare Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School employs 71.7 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School is $17,592.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School:

SchoolDigger ranks Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School 208^th of 1363 Illinois public middle schools. (See Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School in the ranking list.)

Middle School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Multi-racial students:

English Language Learner students:

Special Education students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Disabled students:

Male students:

African American students:

Hispanic students:

White students:

Oak Park Education Service District 97:

SchoolDigger ranks Oak Park Education Service District 97 150^th of 813 Illinois school districts. (See district ranking list.)

Average Parent Rating:

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Rank History for Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School

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Rank History for all students at Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2003	79.37	233^rd	1185	80.3%
2004	67.11	445^th	1204	63.0%
2005	74.36	333^rd	1209	72.5%
2006	71.38	374^th	1272	70.6%
2007	74.24	308^th	1287	76.1%
2008	76.07	282^nd	1293	78.2%
2009	72.61	363^rd	1318	72.5%
2010	73.70	351^st	1327	73.5%
2011	72.31	373^rd	1344	72.2%
2012	74.33	325^th	1365	76.2%
2013	78.38	256^th	1367	81.3%
2014	80.07	221^st	1322	83.3%
2015	87.82	142^nd	1302	89.1%
2016	75.06	264^th	1294	79.6%
2017	65.47	377^th	1293	70.8%
2018	48.57	621^st	1293	52.0%
2019	51.54	601^st	1356	55.7%
2021	82.98	159^th	1241	87.2%
2022	74.77	281^st	1369	79.5%
2023	72.68	302^nd	1367	77.9%
2024	82.30	208^th	1363	84.7%

See the entire list of Illinois Middle School Rankings!

Rank History for Multi-racial students at Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	39.53	97^th	164	40.9%
2019	49.62	89^th	179	50.3%
2021	82.73	15^th	97	84.5%
2022	66.61	63^rd	195	67.7%
2023	55.53	85^th	194	56.2%
2024	74.29	48^th	184	73.9%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Middle Schools for Multi-racial Students!

Rank History for English Language Learner students at Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2024	73.21	51^st	486	89.5%

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

Rank History for Special Education students at Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	36.49	342^nd	602	43.2%
2019	50.30	268^th	792	66.2%
2021	67.35	79^th	548	85.6%
2022	51.29	228^th	781	70.8%
2023	65.61	178^th	805	77.9%
2024	79.91	116^th	802	85.5%

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

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	20.40	1008^th	1161	13.2%
2019	19.21	1072^nd	1217	11.9%
2021	64.13	220^th	1019	78.4%
2022	32.15	835^th	1221	31.6%
2023	32.36	857^th	1234	30.6%
2024	37.87	733^rd	1219	39.9%

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

Rank History for Female students at Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	49.68	588^th	1226	52.0%
2019	49.46	606^th	1276	52.5%
2021	79.76	155^th	1017	84.8%
2022	74.03	270^th	1286	79.0%
2023	74.46	256^th	1275	79.9%
2024	80.49	203^rd	1251	83.8%

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

Rank History for Disabled students at Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	76.79	72^nd	674	89.3%
2024	67.33	118^th	639	81.5%

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

Rank History for Male students at Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	46.64	600^th	1223	50.9%
2019	52.01	550^th	1296	57.6%
2021	78.91	158^th	1048	84.9%
2022	72.39	275^th	1286	78.6%
2023	67.61	325^th	1292	74.8%
2024	81.99	185^th	1264	85.4%

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

Rank History for Asian students at Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2018	17.89	181^st	209	13.4%
2019	25.13	165^th	201	17.9%

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

Rank History for African American students at Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	34.05	344^th	511	32.7%
2019	42.69	292^nd	565	48.3%
2021	65.45	70^th	385	81.8%
2022	51.68	206^th	573	64.0%
2023	58.57	157^th	569	72.4%
2024	65.38	114^th	548	79.2%

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

Rank History for Hispanic students at Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	40.32	343^rd	590	41.9%
2019	51.07	272^nd	639	57.4%
2021	85.53	37^th	517	92.8%
2022	82.82	66^th	662	90.0%
2023	86.80	44^th	661	93.3%
2024	85.35	56^th	643	91.3%

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

Rank History for White students at Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Middle Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	47.34	452^nd	889	49.2%
2019	42.30	525^th	905	42.0%
2021	80.56	106^th	813	87.0%
2022	73.83	176^th	898	80.4%
2023	66.53	246^th	895	72.5%
2024	82.12	127^th	875	85.5%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Middle 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

Review counts

All ratings (Avg rating: 1)

100%

Reviews:

by a parent
Thursday, December 6, 2018

The students are not disciplined and are extremely rude & disrespectful to the teachers and other students. It seems that no one is in charge or wants to take responsibility for leadership of the school environment, and the worst behaviors are tolerated, as though someone forgot that a school is a place for learning. We have seen and heard terrible things there. It seems like the leaders there spend all of their time discussing buzzword topics like diversity, race, inclusion, equity, gender, rather than doing the actual business of teaching students their subjects and how to behave. This is not a serious learning environment. Close Quote

by a citizen
Thursday, February 9, 2017

From the community's perspective, we see students who are very poorly managed outside. There is constant profanity of the most vulgar kind at high volumes throughout the day, after school, and at student events. This occurs in the presence of staff, administrators, and an Oak Park police officer assigned to the school. Students play on a concrete field they call the "prison yard" they and the balls run into busy traffic. The reports from inside the school that we have heard match much of what we see outside, and more increasingly over the past ten years. If your children are considering attending, it would be best to observe the school during different times of day, both inside and out, and after school. The lunch time is the worst, from what we can see. Our rating is based on what we see daily, and have heard from others who have attended. Close Quote

by a citizen
Thursday, December 29, 2016

Student management at Brooks leaves much to be desired. Students outside the building scream strings of the vilest profanity (males and females) at all hours of the school day and into the evening. Students play sports in the street, run in front of cars, chase balls in traffic--all the while staff, administrators, and a police officer look on and do nothing. If this is what is occurring outside, it is hard to imagine that classroom instruction is any more ordered or respectful. Close Quote

Enrollment information for Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
2002	509	266	38	37	3	n/a	n/a	0	853
2003	509	266	38	37	3	n/a	n/a	0	853
2004	483	291	33	43	4	n/a	n/a	0	854
2005	431	282	33	41	1	n/a	n/a	45	833
2006	420	254	23	39	0	n/a	n/a	46	782
2007	404	280	34	32	0	n/a	n/a	52	802
2008	433	252	33	41	0	n/a	n/a	55	814
2009	444	270	34	31	0	n/a	n/a	60	839
2010	459	224	31	47	4	n/a	n/a	64	829
2011	455	231	37	42	2	0	68	0	835
2012	484	211	40	58	0	0	70	0	863
2013	474	238	46	43	0	0	84	0	885
2014	477	227	48	44	1	0	94	0	891
2015	495	247	44	47	2	0	109	0	944
2016	495	204	35	126	0	0	102	0	962
2017	522	205	33	128	0	0	102	0	990
2018	508	189	32	138	0	0	99	0	966
2019	473	185	39	116	0	0	93	0	906
2020	450	197	35	119	1	0	106	0	908
2021	470	181	32	121	1	0	104	0	909
2022	494	181	20	131	1	1	118	3	949
2023	484	173	22	146	1	1	116	15	958
2024	468	184	26	168	0	1	117	17	981

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 Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
2002	853	65.9	12.9	15.4
2003	853	65.9	12.9	15.4
2004	854	65.0	13.1	18.6
2005	833	59.0	14.1	21.1
2006	782	56.0	14.0	23.6
2007	802	52.0	15.4	24.3
2008	814	52.0	15.7	20.8
2009	839	59.9	14.0	19.1
2010	829	60.9	13.6	20.5
2011	835	63.0	13.2	21.6
2012	863	63.0	13.6	16
2013	885	69.2	12.7	25.2
2014	891	64.5	13.8	27.7
2015	944	62.0	15.2	25.8
2016	962	66.0	14.5	20
2017	990	72.1	13.7	19.5
2018	966	71.2	13.5	17.1
2019	906	68.3	13.2	16.4
2020	908	70.8	12.8	17.5
2021	909	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	949	72.5	13.0	17.7
2023	958	74.1	12.9	18.5
2024	981	71.7	13.6	23.6

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 Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
2002	853	65.9	12.9	15.4
2003	853	65.9	12.9	15.4
2004	854	65.0	13.1	18.6
2005	833	59.0	14.1	21.1
2006	782	56.0	14.0	23.6
2007	802	52.0	15.4	24.3
2008	814	52.0	15.7	20.8
2009	839	59.9	14.0	19.1
2010	829	60.9	13.6	20.5
2011	835	63.0	13.2	21.6
2012	863	63.0	13.6	16
2013	885	69.2	12.7	25.2
2014	891	64.5	13.8	27.7
2015	944	62.0	15.2	25.8
2016	962	66.0	14.5	20
2017	990	72.1	13.7	19.5
2018	966	71.2	13.5	17.1
2019	906	68.3	13.2	16.4
2020	908	70.8	12.8	17.5
2021	909	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	949	72.5	13.0	17.7
2023	958	74.1	12.9	18.5
2024	981	71.7	13.6	23.6

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.

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