Summary:
Waterloo, Illinois, has one listed middle school, Waterloo Junior High School, which serves grades 6–8 and enrolls 613 students. In 2025–26, its all-grades results were 79% proficient in English language arts (ELA) and 50% in mathematics; eighth-grade science proficiency was 70%. Each result was above the state figure: by 22 percentage points in ELA, 11 in mathematics, and 18 in science. The clearest takeaway is that the school outperformed the state in all three reported subjects, with its largest lead in ELA.
Waterloo Junior High is both the top and bottom school in this one-school list, so there is no local school-to-school comparison. Against Illinois, however, it stands out most in ELA: 79% proficient versus 56% statewide. Its mathematics result, 50% versus 40% statewide, is its smallest relative advantage, while science was 70% versus 52%. SchoolDigger rated the school four stars and placed it at rank 230 of 1,126, in the 80th percentile, for 2025–26. These figures offer useful state and ranking context, but do not show how it compares with other middle schools nearby.
Scores rose in ELA and mathematics from 2024–25 to 2025–26: the school increased from 75% to 79% in ELA and from 47% to 50% in mathematics. Its lead over the state widened by 1 point in ELA and 3 points in mathematics. Eighth-grade science also improved, from 67% to 70%, but the state improved faster, so the school’s lead narrowed by 4 points. SchoolDigger’s percentile ranking moved down from 90th in 2023–24 to 85th in 2024–25 and 80th in 2025–26, even as ELA and math scores rose. Other context: the 2024–25 student–teacher ratio was 17:1, and 18% of students were free/reduced lunch eligible; chronic absenteeism in 2025–26 was 12%, below the state’s 24% but above Waterloo CUSD 5 at 9%.
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