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
481	Jersey Community High School	Public	8-12	801 N State St	Jerseyville	62052	Jersey County	Jersey CUSD 100	No	(n/a)	No	No	(618) 498-5561	961	60	16	39.8%	878 (91.4%)	4 (0.4%)	34 (3.5%)	10 (1.0%)	5 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	30 (3.1%)	$13,196			$661			$12,535	60.7			(n/a)		172043002310
482	Rock Falls Middle School	Public	6-8	1701 12th Ave	Rock Falls	61071	Whiteside County	Rock Falls Education Service District 13	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(815) 626-2626	246	22	11.3	75.2%	137 (55.7%)	8 (3.3%)	86 (35.0%)	2 (0.8%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (4.5%)	$18,111			$1,370			$16,740	60.4	66.7	385	97		173435003523
483	Raccoon Cons Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-8	3601 State Route 161	Centralia	62801	Marion County	Raccoon Cons School District 1	No	(n/a)	No	No	(618) 532-7329	204	16	12.7	48.0%	179 (87.7%)	4 (2.0%)	8 (3.9%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (1.0%)	10 (4.9%)	$13,474			$467			$13,007	60.4	46.9	639	156		173303003433
484	James Hart School	Public	6-8	18220 Morgan St	Homewood	60430	Cook County	Homewood School District 153	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(708) 799-5544	681	61	11.1	46.7%	140 (20.6%)	388 (57.0%)	100 (14.7%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	50 (7.3%)	$16,947			$569			$16,379	60.3	53.4	551	67		171953002230
485	Elverado Junior High School	Public	6-8	190 Harrison St	Vergennes	62994	Jackson County	Elverado CUSD 196	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(618) 684-3527	69	7	9.4	68.1%	60 (87.0%)	4 (5.8%)	2 (2.9%)	1 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (2.9%)	$14,474			$1,349			$13,125	60.1	52.3	566	81		171386001733
486	Harriet Tubman Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-8	2851 N Seminary Ave	Chicago	60657	Cook County	Chicago Public Schools District 299	No	(n/a)	No	No	(773) 534-5725	308	32	9.6	33.8%	117 (38.0%)	56 (18.2%)	94 (30.5%)	10 (3.2%)	4 (1.3%)	1 (0.3%)	26 (8.4%)	$25,441			$1,934			$23,508	59.9	43.4	697	211		170993000763
487	Joseph Arthur Middle School	Public	4-8	160 Saint Ellen Mine Rd	O Fallon	62269	St. Clair County	Central School District 104	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(618) 632-6336	299	25	12.2		114 (38.1%)	106 (35.5%)	31 (10.4%)	15 (5.0%)	1 (0.3%)	4 (1.3%)	28 (9.4%)	$15,365			$1,627			$13,738	59.9	33.6	842	355		170917006007
488	Goudy Technology Academy	Public	PK, KG-8	5120 N Winthrop Ave	Chicago	60640	Cook County	Chicago Public Schools District 299	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(773) 534-2480	491	44	11.2	82.3%	34 (6.9%)	150 (30.5%)	156 (31.8%)	134 (27.3%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (3.1%)	$21,216			$2,611			$18,605	59.8	38.7	767	279		170993000797
489	Dore Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-8	7134 W 65Th St	Chicago	60638	Cook County	Chicago Public Schools District 299	No	(n/a)	No	No	(773) 535-2080	745	58	12.9	47.7%	122 (16.4%)	17 (2.3%)	590 (79.2%)	6 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (0.5%)	6 (0.8%)	$20,574			$1,965			$18,609	59.8	59.7	451	38		170993000725
490	Hinckley-Big Rock Middle School	Public	5-8	47W984 Route 30	Big Rock	60511	Kane County	Hinckley Big Rock CUSD 429	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(630) 556-4190	216	21	10	25.9%	184 (85.2%)	4 (1.9%)	21 (9.7%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (2.8%)	$19,761			$491			$19,270	59.8	69.4	352	138		171926002211

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Other SchoolDigger ranking lists for Illinois

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New! SchoolDigger ranking lists for IL student subgroups:

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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:

Alternative Schools vs Public Schools: A Comparison

No Child Left Behind (NCLB): A Comprehensive Analysis of Its Impact on 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.