Best Middle Schools in Illinois

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Find the best Illinois middle schools with SchoolDigger.com! Focused on test scores for accurate rankings, our user-friendly site simplifies your search. Empower your decisions by exploring top-rated schools, only on SchoolDigger.com - the ultimate guide to K-12 schools!

Year after year, SchoolDigger is always the first to publish Illinois test scores and rankings. Other sites use stale test score data that are several years old! Be in the know with the very latest performance metrics.

The list is updated annually upon the release of the ISA and IAR test scores by the Illinois State Board of Education. The most recent update was on Thursday, October 30, 2025.

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School														Students/Teachers											Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)							Ranking (2025 vs 2024)					ID
Rank (of 1368)	School	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Disc Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Per Pupil Expenditures: Total	Personnel from Federal Funds	Non-Personnel from Federal Funds	Total from Federal Funds	Personnel from State and Local Funds	Non-Personnel from State and Local Funds	Total from State and Local Funds	Average Standard Score (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Rank (2024)	Rank Change from 2024	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	ID
661	Talman Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-8	5450 S Talman Ave	Chicago	60632	Cook County	Chicago Public Schools District 299	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(773) 535-7850	332	28	11.8	89.8%	24 (7.2%)	4 (1.2%)	300 (90.4%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.6%)	$22,640			$2,915			$19,725	47.5	33.5	846	185		170993004726
662	Paw Paw Junior High School	Public	6-8	511 Chapman St	Paw Paw	61353	Lee County	Paw Paw CUSD 271	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(815) 627-2841	42	6	7.3	52.4%	35 (83.3%)	1 (2.4%)	6 (14.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	$22,412			$1,307			$21,105	47.3			(n/a)		172235006774
663	Aplington Middle School	Public	6-8	610 E Mason St	Polo	61064	Ogle County	Polo CUSD 222	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(815) 946-2519	114	9	12.7	48.2%	102 (89.5%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (7.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (2.6%)	$13,093			$1,197			$11,897	47.3	59.1	461	202		173210003361
664	Tri-Point Junior High/Elementary	Public	4-8	519 S Margaret Ave	Piper City	60959	Ford County	Tri Point CUSD 6-J	No	(n/a)	No	No	(815) 686-2247	129	13	9.9	96.1%	106 (82.2%)	3 (2.3%)	12 (9.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.8%)	7 (5.4%)	$22,332			$749			$21,584	47.3	50.2	594	70		173948000171
665	Elgin Math and Science Academy Charter	Public, Charter	K-8	1600 Dundee Ave	Elgin	60120	Kane County	Elgin Math and Science Academy Charter	Yes	(n/a)	No	Yes	(630) 883-5013	499	33	15	46.5%	135 (27.1%)	64 (12.8%)	229 (45.9%)	40 (8.0%)	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.4%)	28 (5.6%)	$14,788			$539			$14,249	47.2	40.7	736	71		170143506608
666	Galatia Junior High	Public	6-8	200 N McKinley St	Galatia	62935	Saline County	Galatia CUSD 1	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(618) 297-4571	96	7	14.6	51.0%	87 (90.6%)	2 (2.1%)	2 (2.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (5.2%)	$10,899			$1,566			$9,334	47.2	63.1	415	251		171602001910
667	Ladd Community Cons School	Public	PK, KG-8	232 E Cleveland St	Ladd	61329	Bureau County	Ladd CCSD 94	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(815) 894-2363	183	16	11.1	53.0%	135 (73.8%)	0 (0.0%)	36 (19.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (6.6%)	$16,497			$115			$16,383	47.1	46.8	644	23		172151002419
668	Cobden Junior High School	Public	6-8	413 N Appleknocker St	Cobden	62920	Union County	Cobden SUD 17	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(618) 893-4031	96	8	11.6	93.8%	72 (75.0%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (17.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (7.3%)	$12,322			$1,399			$10,924	47	46.3	652	16		171057001273
669	Lincoln Junior High School	Public	6-8	7839 Lincoln Ave	Skokie	60077	Cook County	Skokie School District 69	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(847) 676-3545	628	54	11.6	62.3%	164 (26.1%)	76 (12.1%)	114 (18.2%)	221 (35.2%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	51 (8.1%)	$21,145			$1,814			$19,332	46.8	44	689	20		173648003760
670	Blue Ridge Intermediate-Junior High School	Public	4-8	107 South McKinley Street	Mansfield	61854	Piatt County	Blue Ridge CUSD 18	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(217) 489-5201	232	21	11	47.8%	217 (93.5%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (3.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (3.4%)	$18,815			$1,145			$17,670	46.7	51.1	587	83		170000305123

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Other SchoolDigger ranking lists for Illinois

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New! SchoolDigger ranking lists for IL student subgroups:

Female Students Male Students Asian Students African American Students Hispanic Students White Students Multi-racial Students English Language Learner Students Special Education Students Low Socio Economic Status Students Homeless Students Disabled Students Military Connected Students

About our rankings:

Schooldigger calculates school rankings based on IAR English Language Arts, IAR Mathematics, ISA Science test scores released by the Illinois State Board of Education.
These rankings were last updated on October 30, 2025, and are based on the most recent test scores available. We update rankings as we receive new test scores from the Illinois State Board of Education, usually on a yearly basis.
Our sources of data include the National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education and the Illinois State Board of Education.
For more information about our ranking process, please see our Ranking FAQ. Details about our methodology are here.

Educational resources:

Alternative Schools vs Public Schools: A Comparison

Public School Districts and Their Services: A Comprehensive Guide

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau, the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Illinois State Board of Education.