Is Neil Armstrong Elementary School a good school?

Neil Armstrong Elementary School ranks 1327 th of 2067 Illinois elementary schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 2 stars out of 5.

How many students attend Neil Armstrong Elementary School?

In the 2023-24 school year, 272 students attended Neil Armstrong Elementary School.

What is the racial makeup of Neil Armstrong Elementary School?

Students at Neil Armstrong Elementary School are 86% African American, 7% Hispanic, 4% Two or more races, 1% Asian.

Neil Armstrong Elementary School

Summary:

Neil Armstrong Elementary School is a public elementary school located in Richton Park, Illinois, serving 281 students from kindergarten to 5th grade. The school is part of the Education Service District 159, which is ranked 729 out of 813 districts in Illinois and has a 1-star rating from SchoolDigger.

Neil Armstrong Elementary School has consistently ranked in the bottom half of Illinois elementary schools, with only 24.8% of students proficient or better in English Language Arts and 16.6% proficient or better in Mathematics, compared to state averages of 41.2% and 28.4% respectively. The school's performance on the Illinois Science Assessment is also below the state average. However, the school's African American students perform significantly better than the overall student population, ranking 144 out of 655 Illinois elementary schools in this subgroup. Conversely, the school's performance for low socioeconomic status students is more concerning, ranking 926 out of 1,793 Illinois elementary schools in this subgroup.

The school has also experienced a significant increase in chronic absenteeism, from 3.1% in the 2019-2020 school year to 24.9% in the 2023-2024 school year, which is higher than the state and district averages. Despite the increased spending per student, from $15,741 in 2019-2020 to $21,993 in 2022-2023, the school's academic performance remains low. Nearby schools in other districts, such as Illinois School and Arcadia Elementary School, have higher academic performance and rankings, suggesting that the low performance of Neil Armstrong Elementary School may be more related to the district and community factors rather than solely the school itself.

Detail:

Public K-5

5030 Imperial Dr
Richton Park, IL 60471-1604

(708) 481-7424

District: Education Service District 159

SchoolDigger Rank:
1327^th of 2,067 Illinois Elementary Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $24,363

Student/teacher ratio: 13.1

Number of students: 272

Racial breakdown:

African American:

86.0%

Hispanic:

7.0%

Two or more races:

4.4%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 68%

See top rated Illinois elementary schools

Compare Neil Armstrong Elementary School to nearby elementary schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Neil Armstrong Elementary School ranks worse than 64.2% of elementary schools in Illinois. It also ranks 2^nd among 4 ranked elementary schools in the Education Service District 159. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 32.66. (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 Racial makeup is: African American (86%), Hispanic (7%), two or more races (4.4%). (See more...)

Compare Details 68% of students are receiving a free or discounted lunch. This is the lowest percentage in the Education Service District 159. (See more...)

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Neil Armstrong Elementary School is 13.1, which is the 2^nd best among 4 elementary schools in the Education Service District 159. (See more...)

Compare Neil Armstrong Elementary School employs 20.7 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Neil Armstrong Elementary School is $24,363. 2 elementary schools in the Education Service District 159 spend more per student.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Neil Armstrong Elementary School:

SchoolDigger ranks Neil Armstrong Elementary School 1327^th of 2067 Illinois public elementary schools. (See Neil Armstrong Elementary School in the ranking list.)

Elementary School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Male students:

African American students:

Education Service District 159:

SchoolDigger ranks Education Service District 159 729^th of 813 Illinois school districts. (See district ranking list.)

Average Parent Rating:

Read all reviews and ratings detail for Neil Armstrong Elementary School.

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Rank History for Neil Armstrong Elementary School

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Rank History for all students at Neil Armstrong Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2003	33.06	1503^rd	2020	25.6%
2004	46.12	1282^nd	2030	36.8%
2005	50.93	1213^th	2022	40.0%
2006	44.52	1409^th	2086	32.5%
2007	54.85	1200^th	2095	42.7%
2008	39.80	1458^th	2092	30.3%
2009	32.40	1603^rd	2120	24.4%
2010	44.36	1404^th	2139	34.4%
2011	52.43	1228^th	2147	42.8%
2012	48.14	1342^nd	2166	38.0%
2013	33.59	1521^st	2167	29.8%
2014	42.90	1264^th	2093	39.6%
2015	34.95	1260^th	2052	38.6%
2016	35.61	1277^th	2046	37.6%
2017	40.41	1158^th	2044	43.3%
2018	59.11	779^th	2037	61.8%
2019	48.94	988^th	2086	52.6%
2021	29.76	1294^th	1948	33.6%
2022	41.57	1138^th	2082	45.3%
2023	32.98	1322^nd	2077	36.4%
2024	32.66	1327^th	2067	35.8%

See the entire list of Illinois Elementary School Rankings!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Neil Armstrong Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	69.24	346^th	1765	80.4%
2019	72.80	294^th	1816	83.8%
2021	53.53	555^th	1514	63.3%
2022	65.50	418^th	1763	76.3%
2023	44.44	945^th	1808	47.7%
2024	44.95	926^th	1793	48.4%

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

Rank History for Female students at Neil Armstrong Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	57.96	750^th	1964	61.8%
2019	49.60	954^th	2019	52.7%
2022	41.67	1050^th	1970	46.7%
2023	36.90	1159^th	1957	40.8%
2024	29.62	1342^nd	1942	30.9%

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

Rank History for Male students at Neil Armstrong Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	58.87	721^st	1972	63.4%
2019	48.74	947^th	2019	53.1%
2022	40.51	1082^nd	1977	45.3%
2023	27.16	1394^th	1984	29.7%
2024	35.89	1164^th	1959	40.6%

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

Rank History for African American students at Neil Armstrong Elementary School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked Elementary Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	90.12	30^th	698	95.7%
2019	86.91	38^th	711	94.7%
2021	76.97	31^st	428	92.8%
2022	78.59	59^th	684	91.4%
2023	65.45	139^th	692	79.9%
2024	63.85	144^th	655	78.0%

See the entire list of Best Illinois Elementary Schools for African American 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: 5)

100%

Reviews:

by a parent
Monday, April 24, 2017

Neil Armstrong is a great school, staff is wonderful and the school is in a nice environment I absolutely love this and the community in which it is in, I would definitely recommend this school to someone moving to Richton Park. Close Quote

Enrollment information for Neil Armstrong Elementary School

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1988	541	35	18	17	n/a	n/a	n/a	0	611
1989	504	30	23	10	n/a	n/a	n/a	0	567
1990	493	48	17	11	n/a	n/a	n/a	0	569
1991	461	55	17	10	0	n/a	n/a	0	543
1992	468	57	12	8	0	n/a	n/a	0	545
1993	432	63	11	17	0	n/a	n/a	0	523
1994	418	83	11	13	0	n/a	n/a	0	525
1995	321	107	12	11	0	n/a	n/a	0	451
1996	321	107	12	11	0	n/a	n/a	0	451
1997	279	125	10	17	0	n/a	n/a	0	431
1998	230	175	8	13	1	n/a	n/a	0	427
1999	188	190	5	12	1	n/a	n/a	0	396
2000	176	247	11	11	0	n/a	n/a	0	445
2001	119	327	8	16	0	n/a	n/a	0	470
2002	37	438	11	8	0	n/a	n/a	0	494
2003	37	438	11	8	0	n/a	n/a	0	494
2004	18	480	5	8	0	n/a	n/a	0	511
2005	16	457	1	5	3	n/a	n/a	2	484
2006	48	450	3	7	1	n/a	n/a	14	523
2007	2	307	2	2	0	n/a	n/a	12	325
2008	5	338	3	5	1	n/a	n/a	17	369
2009	2	352	2	0	1	n/a	n/a	20	377
2010	2	281	1	1	0	n/a	n/a	15	300
2011	4	269	4	3	0	0	17	0	297
2012	4	282	1	2	0	0	14	0	303
2013	5	278	2	2	0	0	17	0	304
2014	1	276	3	1	0	0	21	0	302
2015	2	271	3	1	0	0	22	0	299
2016	1	279	2	0	0	0	17	0	299
2017	2	278	2	1	0	0	16	0	299
2018	7	291	2	2	0	0	16	0	318
2019	3	311	1	3	0	1	14	0	333
2020	2	282	2	8	0	1	17	0	312
2021	2	264	0	8	0	1	14	0	289
2022	2	264	0	19	2	1	12	0	300
2023	4	243	0	18	1	1	14	0	281
2024	2	234	3	19	1	1	12	0	272

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 Neil Armstrong Elementary School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	611	31.6	19.3	n/a
1989	567	31.6	17.9	n/a
1990	569	30.5	18.6	n/a
1991	543	31.5	17.2	n/a
1992	545	31.0	17.5	n/a
1993	523	30.0	17.4	n/a
1994	525	29.0	18.1	n/a
1995	451	32.0	14.1	n/a
1996	451	32.0	14.1	n/a
1997	431	31.9	13.5	n/a
1998	427	32.0	13.3	n/a
1999	396	33.0	12.0	n/a
2000	445	31.0	14.4	n/a
2001	470	33.0	14.2	n/a
2002	494	37.0	13.4	27.5
2003	494	37.0	13.4	27.5
2004	511	33.0	15.5	35.8
2005	484	33.0	14.7	41.3
2006	523	30.7	17.0	30.6
2007	325	19.0	17.1	34.5
2008	369	19.0	19.4	35.2
2009	377	21.0	18.0	45.1
2010	300	20.0	15.0	59.6
2011	297	20.0	14.8	64
2012	303	21.0	14.4	63
2013	304	n/a	n/a	70.1
2014	302	22.7	13.3	69.5
2015	299	26.0	11.5	62.2
2016	299	24.0	12.4	68.6
2017	299	28.0	10.6	77.6
2018	318	29.2	10.8	71.4
2019	333	26.5	12.5	68.2
2020	312	22.5	13.8	64.4
2021	289	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	300	21.0	14.2	69.3
2023	281	20.5	13.6	52.7
2024	272	20.7	13.1	68

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 Neil Armstrong Elementary School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	611	31.6	19.3	n/a
1989	567	31.6	17.9	n/a
1990	569	30.5	18.6	n/a
1991	543	31.5	17.2	n/a
1992	545	31.0	17.5	n/a
1993	523	30.0	17.4	n/a
1994	525	29.0	18.1	n/a
1995	451	32.0	14.1	n/a
1996	451	32.0	14.1	n/a
1997	431	31.9	13.5	n/a
1998	427	32.0	13.3	n/a
1999	396	33.0	12.0	n/a
2000	445	31.0	14.4	n/a
2001	470	33.0	14.2	n/a
2002	494	37.0	13.4	27.5
2003	494	37.0	13.4	27.5
2004	511	33.0	15.5	35.8
2005	484	33.0	14.7	41.3
2006	523	30.7	17.0	30.6
2007	325	19.0	17.1	34.5
2008	369	19.0	19.4	35.2
2009	377	21.0	18.0	45.1
2010	300	20.0	15.0	59.6
2011	297	20.0	14.8	64
2012	303	21.0	14.4	63
2013	304	n/a	n/a	70.1
2014	302	22.7	13.3	69.5
2015	299	26.0	11.5	62.2
2016	299	24.0	12.4	68.6
2017	299	28.0	10.6	77.6
2018	318	29.2	10.8	71.4
2019	333	26.5	12.5	68.2
2020	312	22.5	13.8	64.4
2021	289	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	300	21.0	14.2	69.3
2023	281	20.5	13.6	52.7
2024	272	20.7	13.1	68

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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