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
581	Cornell Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-8	300 N 7th St	Cornell	61319	Livingston County	Cornell CCSD 426	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(815) 358-2216	114	11	10.3	26.3%	106 (93.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (2.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (4.4%)	$20,295			$3,336			$16,959	53	57.5	488	93		171086001325
582	Parker Junior High School	Public	6-8	2810 School St	Flossmoor	60422	Cook County	Flossmoor School District 161	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(708) 647-5400	822	66	12.4	54.3%	69 (8.4%)	568 (69.1%)	114 (13.9%)	4 (0.5%)	1 (0.1%)	2 (0.2%)	64 (7.8%)	$19,738			$845			$18,893	52.9	47.8	617	35		171542001849
583	Franklin Junior/Senior High School	Public	6-12	110 State	Franklin	62638	Morgan County	Franklin CUSD 1	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(217) 675-2395	157	17	9.1	26.1%	155 (98.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (1.3%)	$22,683			$318			$22,365	52.9	36.5	800	217		171575001885
584	Locke A Elementary Charter Academy	Public, Charter	K-8	3141 W Jackson Blvd	Chicago	60612	Cook County	Chicago Public Schools District 299	Yes	(n/a)	No	Yes	(773) 265-7232	346	24	14.4	87.0%	0 (0.0%)	342 (98.8%)	3 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	$25,374			$1,124			$24,250	52.9	51.5	579	5		170993003564
585	Grayville Junior Senior High School	Public	6-12	728 W North St	Grayville	62844	White County	Grayville CUSD 1	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(618) 375-7114	145	13	11.5	53.8%	143 (98.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.7%)	$13,920			$1,410			$12,510	52.7	50.9	589	4		171758002058
586	Linne Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-8	3221 N Sacramento Ave	Chicago	60618	Cook County	Chicago Public Schools District 299	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(773) 534-5262	687	46	14.9	52.5%	143 (20.8%)	18 (2.6%)	481 (70.0%)	5 (0.7%)	3 (0.4%)	2 (0.3%)	35 (5.1%)	$16,580			$2,153			$14,427	52.5	57.3	492	94		170993000919
587	John L Nash Middle School	Public	5-8	1134 E 3100 North Rd	Clifton	60927	Iroquois County	Central CUSD 4	No	(n/a)	No	No	(815) 694-2323	278	25	11.3	41.4%	255 (91.7%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (5.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (3.2%)	$14,742			$438			$14,304	52.5	45.8	660	73		171041001259
588	Knoxville Junior High School	Public	5-8	701 E Mill St	Knoxville	61448	Knox County	Knoxville CUSD 202	No	(n/a)	No	No	(309) 289-4126	262	19	14	36.3%	252 (96.2%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (3.1%)	$13,221			$644			$12,577	52.5	33.9	839	251		172139002406
589	Lundahl Middle School	Public	6-8	560 Nash Rd	Crystal Lake	60014	McHenry County	Crystal Lake CCSD 47	No	(n/a)	No	No	(815) 459-5971	797	60	13.2	35.4%	489 (61.4%)	22 (2.8%)	240 (30.1%)	19 (2.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	27 (3.4%)	$14,495			$784			$13,711	52.4	44.5	677	88		171135001360
590	Carson Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-8	5516 S Maplewood Ave	Chicago	60629	Cook County	Chicago Public Schools District 299	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(773) 535-9222	724	51	14.3	83.8%	2 (0.3%)	22 (3.0%)	696 (96.1%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	$17,015			$2,061			$14,954	52.4	49.1	603	13		170993005546

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Other SchoolDigger ranking lists for Illinois

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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:

Girl in a wheelchair raising her hand in a classroom setting

Understanding an IEP: The Ultimate Guide for Parents and Educators

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

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.