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
561	Forest Park Middle School	Public	6-8	925 Beloit Ave	Forest Park	60130	Cook County	Forest Park School District 91	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(708) 366-5742	186	21	8.8	53.8%	29 (15.6%)	103 (55.4%)	40 (21.5%)	3 (1.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (5.9%)	$34,696			$1,224			$33,472	54.7	54	540	21		171545001858
562	Winfield Central School	Public	3-8	0S150 Winfield Rd	Winfield	60190	DuPage County	Winfield School District 34	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(630) 909-4960	189	20	9.6	29.6%	113 (59.8%)	11 (5.8%)	43 (22.8%)	8 (4.2%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.5%)	13 (6.9%)	$22,392			$933			$21,459	54.6	68	361	201		174272005191
563	Geo T Wilkins Junior High School	Public	7-8	8001 S 82nd Ave	Justice	60458	Cook County	Indian Springs School District 109	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(708) 496-8708	508	45	11.4	67.1%	236 (46.5%)	90 (17.7%)	161 (31.7%)	11 (2.2%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (1.6%)	$19,346			$765			$18,581	54.6	59.7	453	110		170717004585
564	Sandwich Middle School	Public	6-8	600 S Wells St	Sandwich	60548	DeKalb County	Sandwich CUSD 430	No	(n/a)	No	No	(815) 786-2138	420	32	13	51.2%	307 (73.1%)	2 (0.5%)	94 (22.4%)	2 (0.5%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (3.1%)	$16,429			$727			$15,703	54.6	54.1	539	25		173537004314
565	Benton Grade School 5-8	Public	5-8	1000 Forrest St	Benton	62812	Franklin County	Benton CCSD 47	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(618) 438-4011	429	34	12.6	61.1%	400 (93.2%)	1 (0.2%)	14 (3.3%)	5 (1.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (2.1%)	$14,282			$939			$13,343	54.5	47	636	71		170595004370
566	Athens Junior High School	Public	7-8	501 Warrior Way	Athens	62613	Menard County	Athens CUSD 213	No	(n/a)	No	No	(217) 636-8380	144	11	13.5	40.3%	125 (86.8%)	2 (1.4%)	7 (4.9%)	1 (0.7%)	1 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (5.6%)	$11,639			$271			$11,367	54.4	51.7	576	10		170447004530
567	Horizon Science Academy-McKinley Pk	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	2245 W Pershing Rd	Chicago	60609	Cook County	Horizon Science Academy-McKinley Pk	Yes	(n/a)	No	Yes	(773) 247-8400	873	81	10.7	80.3%	54 (6.2%)	93 (10.7%)	720 (82.5%)	3 (0.3%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.2%)	$20,542			$2,294			$18,249	54.3	54.5	532	35		170141006254
568	Crab Orchard Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-8	19189 Bailey St	Marion	62959	Williamson County	Crab Orchard CUSD 3	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(618) 982-2181	323	22	14.8	20.1%	316 (97.8%)	1 (0.3%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.2%)	$12,937			$1,482			$11,455	54.3	52	569	1		171110004587
569	Belle Valley School	Public	PK, KG-8	2465 Amann Dr	Belleville	62220	St. Clair County	Belle Valley School District 119	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(618) 236-5200	997	79	12.6	82.4%	199 (20.0%)	615 (61.7%)	49 (4.9%)	10 (1.0%)	5 (0.5%)	3 (0.3%)	116 (11.6%)	$13,818			$1,637			$12,181	54.3	53.7	545	24		170558000229
570	Pawnee Junior/Senior High School	Public	7-12	810 4th St	Pawnee	62558	Sangamon County	Pawnee CUSD 11	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(217) 625-2471	247	24	10.2	8.9%	234 (94.7%)	3 (1.2%)	2 (0.8%)	2 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (2.4%)	$16,324			$456			$15,868	54.2	33.2	848	278		173093003221

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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:

Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA): Transforming Education in America

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Virtual Schools: The Future of Online Education

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.