Best Public Schools in Berkeley, IL

Berkeley, Illinois, has two schools in Berkeley School District 87, serving grades 3–5 at Sunnyside Intermediate School and grades 6–8 at MacArthur Middle School. The schools have similar enrollments—344 and 357 students—and both show a broad challenge: in 2025–2026, proficiency was below state levels in every reported grade for both ELA and math.

Neither school leads across both subjects: MacArthur had the higher all-grades ELA result, 35% versus 34% at Sunnyside, while Sunnyside led in math, 26% versus 22%. Both ELA results were well below the 56% state rate; both math results were below the 40% state rate. A grade-level bright spot is Sunnyside’s fourth grade, with 44% proficient in ELA and 35% in math—both about 2 points above the district, though still below state benchmarks. The lowest reported grade-level result is MacArthur’s eighth-grade math at 10%, 5 points below its district and 25 below the state.

Scores rose from 2024–2025 to 2025–2026 in both subjects at both schools: ELA increased by 2 points at MacArthur and 5 at Sunnyside; math rose by 4 and 2 points, respectively. The state gap narrowed in both subjects at Sunnyside and in math at MacArthur, but MacArthur’s ELA gap widened by 1 point. SchoolDigger gives both schools one star and the district zero stars. For context, the 2024–2025 student-teacher ratios were 12.3 at MacArthur and 10.5 at Sunnyside; free/reduced lunch eligible rates were 76% and 80%, respectively. These figures describe the schools but do not explain their results.