NCES CCD 2024-25 23 schools IL

Best-Resourced Schools in Waukegan, IL

Compiled from official source data by .

23 public K-12 schools in Waukegan from NCES Common Core of Data: enrollment, grade span, demographics, and Civil Rights Data Collection statistics for every active campus.

PlainSchools home → About this data
23
Schools
14,159
Students
32.4/100
Avg Resource Index
14.5:1
Avg Student-Teacher Ratio

National city placement

Lean reported-resource profile

According to NCES CCD 2024-25, Waukegan has more public-school enrollment than 88% of the 4,487 US cities in this directory. Waukegan's average Resource Investment Index falls in the lower portion of the 4,487-city comparison set. The index is a resource snapshot, not an academic grade: it reflects the federal staffing, counselor, gifted-program, and attendance fields available for local campuses. The most useful next step is to open the individual schools below and identify which component is pulling each score down, because the same city average can hide very different campus-level constraints.

A full K–12 ladder sits inside the city boundary

Waukegan's list includes 11 elementary, 5 middle, and 1 high-school campus, plus 6 combined-grade records. The city average spans every major grade stage, so the ranked table is more informative when read within level than as one interchangeable queue.

The composite and staffing measures point in different directions

Waukegan's average Resource Investment Index sits at the 18th percentile, while its teacher-staffing measure sits at the 61st percentile. The 43-point percentile gap is a reminder that the index is not a class-size score: counselors, gifted-program reporting, and attendance also affect it. Compare those components directly when two schools have similar index totals; the same headline score can arise from a different mix of reported resources.

City enrollment
Top 12%
School count
Top 12%
Resource Index average
18th percentile
Teacher staffing
61st percentile

Waukegan High School accounts for 29.6% of all Waukegan public-school enrollment

That dominant concentration means Waukegan-wide averages can mask substantial variation outside the largest entity. Grade level: High. The share measures enrollment concentration only; it does not establish how districts allocate programs, capital, or staff. Enrollment-weighted aggregates give this entity more weight than any smaller peer, while an unweighted entity average treats every record equally.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Waukegan school enrollment varies 19× across entities

Waukegan school enrollment ranges from 221 students (lowest) to 4,186 students (highest), a spread of 3,965 students. That spread reflects typical urban portfolio variation between specialty programs and large neighbourhood schools. Per-school staffing and program breadth can differ sharply at opposite ends of that enrollment range, so the city average should not be treated as a typical campus.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data

Waukegan student-teacher ratio is 14.5:1 — near the typical range (US average ~15.7) — citywide staffing is neither unusually lean nor unusually crowded by this measure

student-teacher ratio is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: the ratio counts FTE classroom teachers against total enrollment, push-in specialists, English-language aides, special-education co-teachers, and counselors are not included in most reporting Variation between sub-units within Waukegan is typically wider than the Waukegan-aggregate figure suggests.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data, Public School Universe

# School Score
1. Andrew Cooke Magnet Elem School 51
2. Learn Chtr 9 Campus in Waukegan 48
3. Little Fort Elem School 43
4. Greenwood Elem School 43
5. John S Clark Elem School 40
6. Robert E Abbott Middle School 36
7. Clearview Elem School 35
8. Early Learning Center 35
9. John R Lewis Middle School 34
10. Jack Benny Middle School 34
11. H R Mccall Elem School 33
12. Hyde Park Elem School 33
13. Miguel Juarez Middle School 32
14. Edith M Smith Middle School 32
15. Oakdale Elem School 27
16. Lyon Magnet Elementary School 26
17. Carman-Buckner Elem School 25
18. Washington Elem School 25
19. Waukegan High School 24
20. Glenwood Elementary School 24
21. Glen Flora Elem School 24
22. Whittier Elem School 23
23. North Elem School 19

Most racially and ethnically mixed schools in Waukegan

Ranked by the Simpson student-body diversity index (0-100) from NCES race and ethnicity data, where higher means a more evenly mixed student body. It measures mix, not quality.

  1. 1 John S Clark Elem School 51.9/100
  2. 2 Andrew Cooke Magnet Elem School 48.4/100
  3. 3 H R Mccall Elem School 42.2/100
  4. 4 Jack Benny Middle School 41.7/100
  5. 5 Little Fort Elem School 39.1/100

What do families ask about schools in Waukegan?

Which Waukegan school has the highest Resource Investment Index? ▼

Andrew Cooke Magnet Elem School has the highest Resource Investment Index among the Waukegan schools in this federal-data comparison at 51/100. The index summarizes reported staffing, counseling, gifted-program, and attendance inputs; it is not an academic rating.

How many schools are in Waukegan, IL? ▼

Waukegan has 23 public schools with a total enrollment of 14,159 students. 1 are charter schools. Average student-teacher ratio: 14.5:1.

Other Cities in Illinois

Chicago
633 schools
Aurora
47 schools
Rockford
44 schools
Naperville
41 schools
Peoria
34 schools
Joliet
31 schools

Side-by-side: Compare any two schools or districts in Illinois →

Data from NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) 2024-25 and Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) 2021-22. The Resource Investment Index uses reported student-teacher ratio, counselor access, gifted programs, and attendance; it is not an academic rating. Cities must include at least five schools to be listed. This public-data comparison is for informational purposes: verify current enrollment, attendance boundaries, and programs with the school district before acting. See the guide to understanding NCES data.