Abraham Lincoln Elem School vs Whittier Elem School

Abraham Lincoln Elementary School and Whittier Elementary School sit 2.2 miles apart in Oak Park, Illinois, yet their state rankings tell a sharp story: Whittier ranks #29 of 3,813 Illinois schools while Abraham Lincoln ranks #95 — a gap of 66 positions that reflects a consistent performance edge across every measured category. Both schools earn strong overall ratings, but Whittier's 9.5/10 edges Abraham Lincoln's 9.0/10, with that half-point delta rooted in measurable academic and growth differences rather than noise.

On academics, Whittier Elementary School scores 8.9/10 versus Abraham Lincoln Elementary School's 8.5/10 — a 0.4-point gap that places Whittier in a tier where fewer than 30 Illinois elementary schools score higher. The growth story is more pronounced: Whittier posts a 9.8/10 growth score against Abraham Lincoln's 9.1/10, meaning students at Whittier are advancing relative to academic peers at a faster rate. For families who weight year-over-year learning gains — not just incoming achievement levels — that 0.7-point growth delta is the most consequential number on this page.

Both schools enroll a nearly identical free-and-reduced lunch share at 17%, so neither school serves a meaningfully more economically diverse population than the other. Where they differ is size and staffing. Abraham Lincoln Elementary School enrolls 576 students with a 11.8:1 student-teacher ratio, while Whittier Elementary School serves 370 students at a tighter 10.3:1 ratio. That difference translates to roughly one and a half fewer students per classroom at Whittier — a real-world distinction families seeking smaller group instruction will feel daily.

One structural difference applies to families with young children: Whittier Elementary School serves grades PK–05, offering a pre-kindergarten entry point, while Abraham Lincoln Elementary School begins at kindergarten. Families looking to start their child in a pre-K program without switching schools mid-cycle will find Whittier the only option of the two. Abraham Lincoln's larger enrollment also means a broader peer community and potentially more extracurricular variety for grades K–5, which can matter for families prioritizing social breadth over classroom intimacy.