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
91	Lincoln Middle School	Public	6-8	200 S Lincoln Ave	Park Ridge	60068	Cook County	Park Ridge CCSD 64	No	(n/a)	No	No	(847) 318-4215	749	60	12.3		616 (82.2%)	3 (0.4%)	76 (10.1%)	30 (4.0%)	3 (0.4%)	2 (0.3%)	19 (2.5%)	$19,814			$380			$19,433	91.9	86.7	146	55		173084003216
92	Field School	Public	6-8	2055 Landwehr Rd	Northbrook	60062	Cook County	West Northfield School District 31	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(847) 272-6884	333	34	9.7		126 (37.8%)	3 (0.9%)	38 (11.4%)	122 (36.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	43 (12.9%)	$25,508			$482			$25,026	91.8	93.2	80	12		174170004176
93	Thomas Middle School	Public	6-8	1430 N Belmont Ave	Arlington Heights	60004	Cook County	Arlington Heights School District 25	No	(n/a)	No	No	(847) 398-4260	1,024	77	13.2	16.0%	722 (70.5%)	16 (1.6%)	94 (9.2%)	174 (17.0%)	2 (0.2%)	10 (1.0%)	6 (0.6%)	$17,182			$665			$16,517	91.8	82.3	209	116		170414000106
94	Aptakisic Junior High School	Public	6-8	1231 Weiland Rd	Buffalo Grove	60089	Lake County	Aptakisic-Tripp CCSD 102	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(847) 353-5506	940	67	14.1		294 (31.3%)	20 (2.1%)	52 (5.5%)	526 (56.0%)	2 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	46 (4.9%)	$17,549			$1,166			$16,383	91.6	93	82	12		170390004367
95	Geneva Middle School North	Public	6-8	1357 Viking Dr	Geneva	60134	Kane County	Geneva CUSD 304	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(630) 463-3700	623	53	11.7		510 (81.9%)	5 (0.8%)	66 (10.6%)	12 (1.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	30 (4.8%)	$19,110			$435			$18,676	91.6	87	142	47		171638005827
96	Lake Zurich Middle - N Campus	Public	6-8	95 Hubbard Ln	Hawthorn Woods	60047	Lake County	Lake Zurich CUSD 95	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(847) 719-3600	697	55	12.6	23.4%	487 (69.9%)	18 (2.6%)	71 (10.2%)	88 (12.6%)	9 (1.3%)	3 (0.4%)	21 (3.0%)	$19,362			$302			$19,060	91.6	92.6	90	6		172190002461
97	Emerson Middle School	Public	6-8	8101 N Cumberland Ave	Niles	60714	Cook County	Park Ridge CCSD 64	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(847) 318-8110	890	77	11.5		698 (78.4%)	8 (0.9%)	78 (8.8%)	74 (8.3%)	1 (0.1%)	2 (0.2%)	29 (3.3%)	$19,090			$510			$18,580	91.6	87.7	137	40		173084002472
98	Creston Elementary School	Public	K-8	202 W South St	Creston	60113	Ogle County	Creston CCSD 161	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(815) 384-3920	76	10	7.4	46.1%	44 (57.9%)	4 (5.3%)	25 (32.9%)	1 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (2.6%)	$19,766			$1,538			$18,228	91.5			(n/a)		171122001341
98	Rutland Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-8	3231 N Il Route 71	Ottawa	61350	LaSalle County	Rutland CCSD 230	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(815) 433-2949	70	11	6.3	14.3%	55 (78.6%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (17.1%)	2 (2.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.4%)	$28,707			$1,010			$27,697	91.5			(n/a)		173510003676
100	Willowbrook Middle School	Public	5-8	6605 Prairie Hill Rd	South Beloit	61080	Winnebago County	Prairie Hill CCSD 133	No	(n/a)	No	No	(815) 389-3957	348	25	13.9	15.8%	277 (79.6%)	11 (3.2%)	31 (8.9%)	11 (3.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	18 (5.2%)	$10,888			$58			$10,830	91.3	92.8	84	16		173255006063

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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:

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

Public School Districts and Their Services: 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.