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
981	Joppa Junior & Senior High School	Public	7-12	911 Joppa North Ave	Joppa	62953	Massac County	Joppa-Maple Grove UD 38	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(618) 543-7589	78	10	8	61.5%	73 (93.6%)	3 (3.8%)	1 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.3%)	$24,850			$2,061			$22,788	27.1	25.2	1001	20		170001505226
982	Plamondon Elementary School	Public	K-8	2642 W 15th Pl	Chicago	60608	Cook County	Chicago Public Schools District 299	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(773) 534-1789	92	20	4.6	81.5%	5 (5.4%)	18 (19.6%)	68 (73.9%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	$37,273			$7,463			$29,810	27	34.8	819	163		170993001037
983	Goreville Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-8	201 S Ferne Clyffe Rd	Goreville	62939	Johnson County	Goreville CUD 1	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(618) 995-2142	464	26	17.6	34.3%	452 (97.4%)	5 (1.1%)	2 (0.4%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (0.9%)	$13,765			$582			$13,183	26.8	30.8	888	95		170001405225
984	Acero Charter - SPC Zizumbo Elementary	Public, Charter	K-8	4248 W 47th St	Chicago	60632	Cook County	Chicago Public Schools District 299	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(773) 579-3470	532	32	16.6	86.3%	11 (2.1%)	2 (0.4%)	515 (96.8%)	3 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	$16,630			$860			$15,769	26.7	24.6	1010	26		170993006444
985	Pontiac Junior High School	Public	6-8	600 N Morrow St	Pontiac	61764	Livingston County	Pontiac CCSD 429	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(815) 842-4343	326	29	11.3	50.0%	233 (71.5%)	25 (7.7%)	44 (13.5%)	3 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	21 (6.4%)	$17,884			$990			$16,895	26.7	26.6	965	20		173216003365
986	Memorial Junior High School	Public	6-8	2721 Ridge Rd	Lansing	60438	Cook County	Lansing School District 158	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(708) 474-2383	854	55	15.5	99.2%	54 (6.3%)	507 (59.4%)	235 (27.5%)	5 (0.6%)	3 (0.4%)	2 (0.2%)	48 (5.6%)	$16,589			$1,228			$15,360	26.6	26.5	969	17		172202002470
987	Dubois Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-8	330 E 133rd St	Chicago	60827	Cook County	Chicago Public Schools District 299	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(773) 535-5582	201	20	10	95.0%	0 (0.0%)	191 (95.0%)	10 (5.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	$27,138			$4,830			$22,308	26.5	18.8	1126	139		170993000731
988	South Central Middle School	Public	6-8	503 S Madison St	Kinmundy	62854	Marion County	South Central CUD 401	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(618) 547-7734	140	13	10.4	56.4%	137 (97.9%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.7%)	$14,936			$712			$14,224	26.5	15.6	1214	226		170011405392
989	Legacy Academy of Excellence Charter	Public, Charter	K-8	4029 Prairie Rd	Rockford	61102	Winnebago County	Rockford School District 205	Yes	(n/a)	No	Yes	(815) 961-1100	234	8	29.2	19.7%	34 (14.5%)	125 (53.4%)	57 (24.4%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (7.3%)	$17,083			$2,022			$15,061	26.4	15.3	1222	233		173451006077
990	Nightingale Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-8	5250 S Rockwell St	Chicago	60632	Cook County	Chicago Public Schools District 299	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(773) 535-9270	917	65	14.1	90.6%	6 (0.7%)	6 (0.7%)	893 (97.4%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (1.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	$17,600			$1,924			$15,675	26.3	29	922	68		170993000992

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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:

High school students working on a science experiment

Magnet Schools: Unleashing the Power of Education

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.