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
461	Twain Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-8	5134 S Lotus Ave	Chicago	60638	Cook County	Chicago Public Schools District 299	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(773) 535-2290	850	58	14.5	74.6%	61 (7.2%)	18 (2.1%)	764 (89.9%)	5 (0.6%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	$16,918			$1,867			$15,051	62.5	62.3	423	38		170993001130
462	Gemini Middle School	Public	6-8	8955 N Greenwood Ave	Niles	60714	Cook County	East Maine School District 63	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(847) 827-1181	1,111	93	12	60.2%	353 (31.8%)	66 (5.9%)	265 (23.9%)	308 (27.7%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	117 (10.5%)	$19,373			$773			$18,600	62.4	62.6	419	43		171314001552
463	Kellogg Elementary School	Public	K-8	9241 S Leavitt St	Chicago	60643	Cook County	Chicago Public Schools District 299	No	(n/a)	No	No	(773) 535-2590	299	22	13.5	31.8%	42 (14.0%)	235 (78.6%)	17 (5.7%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.3%)	$20,651			$1,527			$19,123	62.3	72.1	322	141		170993000882
464	Winchester Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-8	283 S Elm St	Winchester	62694	Scott County	Winchester CUSD 1	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(217) 742-9551	401	29	13.9	47.6%	384 (95.8%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (2.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (1.7%)	$12,509			$871			$11,637	62.3	31.7	870	406		174266004287
465	Black Magnet Elementary School	Public	K-8	9101 S Euclid Ave	Chicago	60617	Cook County	Chicago Public Schools District 299	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(773) 535-6390	336	25	13.4	70.5%	0 (0.0%)	327 (97.3%)	8 (2.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	$20,618			$2,305			$18,312	62.3	54.8	527	62		170993000609
466	Stewardson-Strasburg Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-8	2806 E 600 North Rd	Strasburg	62465	Shelby County	Stewardson-Strasburg CUD 5A	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(217) 682-3621	290	21	14	39.0%	271 (93.4%)	3 (1.0%)	6 (2.1%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (3.1%)	$10,473			$810			$9,663	62.2	74.5	289	177		173783003886
467	Hannah Beardsley Middle School	Public	6-8	515 E Crystal Lake Ave	Crystal Lake	60014	McHenry County	Crystal Lake CCSD 47	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(815) 477-5897	829	59	14	37.8%	509 (61.4%)	18 (2.2%)	254 (30.6%)	21 (2.5%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	26 (3.1%)	$14,254			$596			$13,658	62	58.9	466	1		171135001799
468	Arthur Grade School	Public	PK, KG-8	126 E Lincoln St	Arthur	61911	Douglas County	Arthur CUSD 305	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(217) 543-2109	258	21	12	55.8%	199 (77.1%)	1 (0.4%)	46 (17.8%)	2 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (3.9%)	$14,324			$1,519			$12,804	62	60.8	440	28		170426000120
469	Budlong Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-8	2701 W Foster Ave	Chicago	60625	Cook County	Chicago Public Schools District 299	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(773) 534-2591	776	54	14.5	54.8%	272 (35.1%)	44 (5.7%)	286 (36.9%)	124 (16.0%)	8 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	42 (5.4%)	$16,912			$1,741			$15,171	62	60.1	445	24		170993000625
470	Friendship Junior High School	Public	6-8	550 Elizabeth Ln	Des Plaines	60018	Cook County	Community Cons School District 59	No	(n/a)	No	No	(847) 593-4350	633	59	10.7	61.5%	240 (37.9%)	34 (5.4%)	232 (36.7%)	101 (16.0%)	9 (1.4%)	2 (0.3%)	15 (2.4%)	$22,291			$701			$21,590	62	63.7	409	61		171377001730

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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:

Public School Districts and Their Services: A Comprehensive Guide

State-Administered Standardized Tests: 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.