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
931	Bluford Grade School	Public	PK, KG-8	901 6th St	Bluford	62814	Jefferson County	Bluford Unit School District 318	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(618) 732-8242	236	20	11.7	39.4%	224 (94.9%)	1 (0.4%)	4 (1.7%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (2.5%)	$13,510			$1,060			$12,451	30.3	38.6	768	163		170141706362
932	Tarkington Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-8	3330 W 71st St	Chicago	60629	Cook County	Chicago Public Schools District 299	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(773) 535-4700	791	58	13.6	93.0%	9 (1.1%)	124 (15.7%)	654 (82.7%)	1 (0.1%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	$17,444			$2,212			$15,231	30.3	26.8	962	30		170993005803
933	Northlake Middle School	Public	6-8	202 S Lakewood Ave	Northlake	60164	Cook County	Berkeley School District 87	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(708) 449-3195	378	31	12.3	84.4%	11 (2.9%)	4 (1.1%)	355 (93.9%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (1.9%)	$21,524			$1,155			$20,370	30.2	21	1077	144		170600000281
934	Nathan Hale Middle School	Public	6-8	5220 135th St	Crestwood	60445	Cook County	Cook County School District 130	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(708) 385-6690	334	30	11.1	65.3%	83 (24.9%)	75 (22.5%)	167 (50.0%)	6 (1.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.9%)	$21,381			$2,463			$18,919	30.1	30.4	895	39		170651000334
935	Central A & M Middle School	Public	6-8	404 Colegrove St Ste A	Assumption	62510	Christian County	Central A & M CUD 21	No	(n/a)	No	No	(217) 226-4241	177	14	12.6	44.6%	165 (93.2%)	3 (1.7%)	1 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (4.5%)	$12,402			$686			$11,717	30	26.4	971	36		170910000129
936	Pleasant Valley Intermediate School	Public	4-8	3314 W Richwoods Blvd	Peoria	61604	Peoria County	Pleasant Valley School District 62	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(309) 679-0634	166	18	9.2	99.4%	50 (30.1%)	88 (53.0%)	4 (2.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	23 (13.9%)	$23,205			$928			$22,277	29.9	31.5	874	62		173195006536
937	Albany Park Multicultural Elementary	Public	7-8	4929 N Sawyer Ave	Chicago	60625	Cook County	Chicago Public Schools District 299	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(773) 534-5108	243	18	13.5	92.2%	10 (4.1%)	10 (4.1%)	199 (81.9%)	15 (6.2%)	6 (2.5%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.2%)	$20,123			$2,613			$17,510	29.9	25.8	986	49		170993004962
938	Washington Junior High School	Public	7-8	3300 18th Ave	Rock Island	61201	Rock Island County	Rock Island School District 41	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(309) 793-5915	529	33	16.2	64.5%	185 (35.0%)	162 (30.6%)	104 (19.7%)	24 (4.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	53 (10.0%)	$14,754			$2,209			$12,545	29.8	26.4	972	34		173441003529
939	North Clay Elementary/Junior High School	Public	PK, KG-8	550 Route 45 N	Louisville	62858	Clay County	North Clay CUSD 25	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(618) 665-3393	379	34	11.1	37.2%	349 (92.1%)	2 (0.5%)	20 (5.3%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (1.6%)	$12,984			$1,139			$11,846	29.8	21.4	1073	134		172881004772
940	South Beloit Junior High School	Public	7-8	840 Blackhawk Blvd	South Beloit	61080	Winnebago County	County of Winnebago School District 320	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(815) 389-1421	118	9	12.9	50.0%	68 (57.6%)	3 (2.5%)	41 (34.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (5.1%)	$20,967			$2,099			$18,868	29.8	35.5	809	131		173660002341

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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

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.