Summary:
Arlington Heights School District 25 has two middle schools—Thomas Middle School and South Middle School—and both serve grades 6–8. In 2025–2026, both schools were above state proficiency rates in every reported subject and grade. Across the two schools, average proficiency was 76% in ELA, 57% in math and 80% in eighth-grade science, compared with state rates of 56%, 40% and 52%, respectively. The area’s clearest shared strength is eighth-grade science, where its average was 28 percentage points above the state.
Thomas has a slight overall edge in ELA and a clearer one in math: its all-grades results were 76.5% in ELA and 59% in math, versus 76.4% and 56% at South. The ELA results are nearly tied, with Thomas ahead by 0.1 point. South stands out in eighth-grade science (82% versus 79%) and seventh-grade ELA (83% versus 76%). Grade-level math results also split: Thomas leads sixth-grade math by 11 points, while South leads eighth-grade math by 6. Neither school leads across the board; both are above the district in overall ELA, but below it in overall math.
From 2024–2025 to 2025–2026, South’s results rose in all three reported subjects—by 2 points in ELA, 4 in math and 7 in science—while Thomas’s fell by 3, 1 and 2 points. The area’s advantage over the state narrowed in ELA and science, but widened slightly in math. SchoolDigger gives both schools four stars; its latest statewide rankings are 162nd of 1,126 for Thomas (86th percentile) and 189th (83rd percentile) for South. For context, their 2024–2025 student-teacher ratios were 13.2:1 and 12:1, and their free/reduced lunch eligible shares that year were 16.0% and 15.6%, respectively.
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