Schools in Afton · DeKalb Community Unit School District 428, Indian Creek Community Unit District 425
Afton’s public schools score below 72% of Illinois districts
The public schools Afton’s kids attend, from kindergarten through graduation, trail 72% of Illinois’s districts on state tests and graduation. Among towns with similar incomes, they rank near the bottom.
8%beats similar-income towns
Reading proficiency
16%
▼ 15 pts vs IL 31%
2020–21
Math proficiency
11%
▼ 15 pts vs IL 26%
2020–21
Graduate on time
84%
▼ 3 pts vs IL 87%
class of 2018
Spent per student
$21.6K
▲ 0% vs IL $21.6K
FY2024
Schools
1
The School Grade
How Afton compares
C− Test scoresC− Graduation
Illinois school districts we grade (853)Better than 28%
Lower resultsHigher results
Illinois towns with similar household incomes (924)Better than 8%
Towns in DeKalb County (19)Better than 16%
High confidence. Built on 2,323 tested students and a graduating class of 441; ordinary year-to-year swings are unlikely to change it.
How the School Grade works
- Results, not inputs. Math and reading proficiency on Illinois’s state tests against the state average, plus the four-year graduation rate. Spending and class size are shown but don’t count. Tests: 2020–21; graduation: class of 2018.
- The whole path. A town’s grade follows its kids through every district that serves it, weighted by students tested. Tests count 60%, graduation 40%.
- Graded within the state. Each state writes its own tests, so districts are compared with the rest of Illinois only. A+ is the top 5%, A the next 10%, A− the next 10%, the B range the next 30%, the C range the next 30%, D the rest.
- What a grade can’t tell you. Test results track family income, so we also compare towns with similar incomes. Visit, ask other parents, and read neighbor reviews. It’s our own summary of U.S. Department of Education data, not an official rating.
Where will my kid go?
Pick a grade. These are the public schools that serve Afton (some depend on your address).
9 schools teach K in Afton’s district. Which one depends on your address: Founders Elementary School, Cortland Elementary School, Littlejohn Elem School and Gwendolyn Brooks Elem Sch and more.
9 schools teach 1st grade in Afton’s district. Which one depends on your address: Founders Elementary School, Cortland Elementary School, Littlejohn Elem School and Gwendolyn Brooks Elem Sch and more.
9 schools teach 2nd grade in Afton’s district. Which one depends on your address: Founders Elementary School, Cortland Elementary School, Littlejohn Elem School and Gwendolyn Brooks Elem Sch and more.
9 schools teach 3rd grade in Afton’s district. Which one depends on your address: Founders Elementary School, Cortland Elementary School, Littlejohn Elem School and Gwendolyn Brooks Elem Sch and more.
9 schools teach 4th grade in Afton’s district. Which one depends on your address: Founders Elementary School, Cortland Elementary School, Littlejohn Elem School and Gwendolyn Brooks Elem Sch and more.
9 schools teach 5th grade in Afton’s district. Which one depends on your address: Founders Elementary School, Cortland Elementary School, Littlejohn Elem School and Gwendolyn Brooks Elem Sch and more.
The path, start to finish
PK–59 elementary schoolsDepends on your address
6–83 middle schoolsDepends on your address
9–122 high schoolsDepends on your address
Two districts serve Afton
Each district’s own page has its spending, test scores, enrollment and every school.
DeKalb Community Unit School District 428Grades PK–12 · 13 schools · 6,771 students
$21,601IL $21,567
C−Indian Creek Community Unit District 425Grades PK–12 · 3 schools · 750 students
$17,266IL $21,567
B+Test scores · 2020–21
Well below the state in reading
Reading · PK–12, DeKalb Community Unit School District 42816%
State average 30.7%
Reading · PK–12, Indian Creek Community Unit District 42529%
State average 30.7%
Math · PK–12, DeKalb Community Unit School District 42811%
State average 25.8%
Math · PK–12, Indian Creek Community Unit District 42529%
State average 25.8%
Afton vs. its neighbors
Afton’s schools rank 5th of 6 among the towns that share its borders. School Grade, by percentile among Illinois districts.
Every school in Afton
1 school. Grades are ours, from state tests and graduation. Stars are from neighbors.
Also serving Afton · in other towns
Founders Elementary School
C−565 students15:1Rate it →
Cortland Elementary School
C−523 students13:1Rate it →
Littlejohn Elem School
C−362 students15:1Rate it →
Gwendolyn Brooks Elem Sch
D−328 students14:1Rate it →
Jefferson Elem School
C308 students11:1Rate it →
Malta Elementary School
C+293 students15:1Rate it →
Lincoln Elementary School
C272 students16:1Rate it →
Indian Creek Elementary School
A269 students10:1Rate it →
Tyler Elementary School
C−265 students14:1Rate it →
Huntley Middle School
C865 students12:1Rate it →
Clinton Rosette Middle School
C575 students12:1Rate it →
Indian Creek Middle School
B−213 students12:1Rate it →
Private & other
Parents talk
What Afton families are saying about school.
Parents weigh in
Live in Afton? Is a C for its schools right?
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Start the conversation
Within reach
Colleges →Colleges near Afton
There’s no college in Afton, but 6 are within 30 miles. The closest is Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, 5.4 miles away.
Northern Illinois UniversityUniversity or college · Public · DeKalb
5.4 mi13,307 students
Kishwaukee CollegeCommunity college · Public · Malta
8.3 mi2,332 students
Waubonsee Community CollegeCommunity college · Public · Sugar Grove
16.2 mi7,090 students
Aurora UniversityUniversity or college · Private nonprofit · Aurora
22.5 mi4,169 students
Elgin Community CollegeCommunity college · Public · Elgin
25.3 mi8,241 students
Judson UniversityUniversity or college · Private nonprofit · Elgin
28.1 mi958 students
Straight-line distance from the center of Afton. Degree-granting colleges with students on campus · College Scorecard · IPEDS.
School data: U.S. Department of Education (NCES, EDFacts, F-33 school finance). The School Grade is our own summary of state test results and graduation rates, graded within Illinois. Stars are from neighbors.