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
771	Shepherd Middle School	Public	7-8	701 E McKinley Rd	Ottawa	61350	LaSalle County	Ottawa Education Service District 141	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(815) 433-1133	353	31	11.5	54.7%	247 (70.0%)	14 (4.0%)	69 (19.5%)	4 (1.1%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	18 (5.1%)	$18,253			$868			$17,385	40.4	37	793	22		173030003140
772	Beecher City Junior-Senior High School	Public	6-12	438 E State Highway 33	Beecher City	62414	Effingham County	Beecher City CUSD 20	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(618) 487-5100	165	16	10	46.1%	151 (91.5%)	4 (2.4%)	3 (1.8%)	3 (1.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (2.4%)	$14,859			$101			$14,759	40.3	46.7	645	127		170546000225
773	Jefferson Middle School	Public	6-8	1115 Crescent Dr	Champaign	61821	Champaign County	Champaign CUSD 4	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(217) 351-3790	711	55	13	59.5%	204 (28.7%)	332 (46.7%)	58 (8.2%)	40 (5.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	76 (10.7%)	$16,964			$925			$16,039	40.3	31.2	881	108		170942000550
774	McPherson Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-8	4728 N Wolcott Ave	Chicago	60640	Cook County	Chicago Public Schools District 299	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(773) 534-2625	794	69	11.5	41.7%	264 (33.2%)	64 (8.1%)	371 (46.7%)	37 (4.7%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	56 (7.1%)	$23,010			$2,105			$20,905	39.9	31.3	879	105		170993000959
775	Clinton Junior High School	Public	6-8	701 Illini Dr	Clinton	61727	De Witt County	Clinton CUSD 15	No	(n/a)	No	No	(217) 935-2103	385	35	10.9	53.8%	335 (87.0%)	3 (0.8%)	29 (7.5%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (4.2%)	$20,316			$1,188			$19,128	39.9	44.2	684	91		171044001261
776	Canton Middle School	Public	7-8	1100 Sunset Cir	Streamwood	60107	Cook County	School District U-46	No	(n/a)	No	No	(630) 213-5525	531	33	16.1	53.1%	111 (20.9%)	38 (7.2%)	325 (61.2%)	42 (7.9%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.4%)	13 (2.4%)	$27,318			$1,525			$25,792	39.9	34.4	830	54		171371001705
777	CICS - Washington Pk Campus	Public, Charter	K-8	110 E 61st St	Chicago	60637	Cook County	Chicago Public Schools District 299	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(773) 347-0200	493	18	27.3	95.3%	2 (0.4%)	476 (96.6%)	13 (2.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.4%)	$16,864			$1,770			$15,094	39.8	32.8	855	78		170993006512
778	Kansas High School	Public	7-12	310 S Front	Kansas	61933	Edgar County	Kansas CUSD 3	No	(n/a)	No	No	(217) 948-5175	73	13	5.5	63.0%	66 (90.4%)	5 (6.8%)	1 (1.4%)	1 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	$21,978			$748			$21,230	39.8	72.7	312	466		172079002371
779	Century Junior/Senior High School	Public	6-12	4721 Shawnee College Rd	Ullin	62992	Pulaski County	Century CUSD 100	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(618) 845-3518	146	16	9.3	61.6%	125 (85.6%)	10 (6.8%)	2 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (6.2%)	$13,720			$736			$12,984	39.7	29.5	917	138		173963004003
780	Greenfield Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-8	115 Prairie St	Greenfield	62044	Greene County	Greenfield CUSD 10	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(217) 368-2551	309	27	11.6	45.0%	297 (96.1%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (1.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (1.9%)	$15,467			$841			$14,626	39.4	18.6	1132	352		171767002063

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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:

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

Charter Schools vs Regular Public Schools: Understanding the Key Differences

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.