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
971	Crete-Monee Middle School	Public	6-8	635 Olmstead Ln	University Park	60484	Will County	Crete Monee CUSD 201U	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(708) 367-2400	1,002	94	10.6	65.0%	131 (13.1%)	594 (59.3%)	220 (22.0%)	4 (0.4%)	2 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	51 (5.1%)	$22,166			$969			$21,197	27.6	26.5	970	1		171125001347
972	Lorenzo R Smith Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-8	4120 S. Wheeler Rd	Pembroke Township	60958	Kankakee County	Pembroke CCSD 259	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(815) 944-5219	193	15	12.8	91.7%	15 (7.8%)	88 (45.6%)	76 (39.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (7.3%)	$24,053			$2,391			$21,662	27.6	27.6	948	24		173114003248
973	River Trail School	Public	K-8	333 N Oplaine Rd	Gurnee	60031	Lake County	Gurnee School District 56	No	(n/a)	No	No	(847) 249-6253	471	38	12.5	51.8%	89 (18.9%)	66 (14.0%)	269 (57.1%)	18 (3.8%)	2 (0.4%)	1 (0.2%)	26 (5.5%)	$18,783			$706			$18,078	27.5	36.9	796	177		171780005712
974	Field Elementary School	Public	5-8	7019 N Ashland Blvd	Chicago	60626	Cook County	Chicago Public Schools District 299	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(773) 534-2030	151	13	11.3	91.4%	10 (6.6%)	49 (32.5%)	68 (45.0%)	7 (4.6%)	1 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (10.6%)	$26,325			$3,857			$22,468	27.4	11.4	1303	329		170993000771
975	Locke J Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-8	2828 N Oak Park Ave	Chicago	60634	Cook County	Chicago Public Schools District 299	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(773) 534-3300	1,089	77	14.1	86.3%	152 (14.0%)	37 (3.4%)	872 (80.1%)	12 (1.1%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	13 (1.2%)	$16,933			$1,920			$15,012	27.4	22.4	1053	78		170993000927
976	Ray Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-8	5631 S Kimbark Ave	Chicago	60637	Cook County	Chicago Public Schools District 299	No	(n/a)	No	No	(773) 535-0970	613	42	14.7	44.9%	79 (12.9%)	364 (59.4%)	108 (17.6%)	33 (5.4%)	2 (0.3%)	3 (0.5%)	24 (3.9%)	$17,993			$1,771			$16,222	27.2	22.9	1043	67		170993001047
977	Belvidere South Middle School	Public	6-8	919 E 6th St	Belvidere	61008	Boone County	Belvidere CUSD 100	No	(n/a)	No	No	(815) 544-4175	754	71	10.5	65.1%	260 (34.5%)	27 (3.6%)	435 (57.7%)	6 (0.8%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	24 (3.2%)	$21,585			$788			$20,797	27.2	27.7	947	30		170579000256
978	Acero Charter - Officer Marquez Elementary	Public, Charter	K-8	2916 W 47th St	Chicago	60632	Cook County	Chicago Public Schools District 299	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(773) 321-2200	508	36	14.1	93.1%	1 (0.2%)	4 (0.8%)	502 (98.8%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	$16,077			$1,139			$14,938	27.1	28.7	928	50		170993006497
979	Cuba Middle School	Public	6-8	20325 N State Route 97	Cuba	61427	Fulton County	CUSD 3 Fulton County	No	(n/a)	No	No	(309) 785-7122	80	8	10	51.3%	76 (95.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (3.8%)	$16,929			$634			$16,295	27.1	34.9	818	161		171140001369
980	Washington Middle School	Public	5-8	100 E 12th St	Johnston City	62951	Williamson County	Johnston City CUSD 1	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(618) 983-7581	296	24	12.4	62.2%	261 (88.2%)	4 (1.4%)	13 (4.4%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (5.7%)	$15,912			$1,409			$14,503	27.1	23.5	1031	51		172055002322

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Other SchoolDigger ranking lists for Illinois

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New! SchoolDigger ranking lists for IL student subgroups:

Female Students Male Students Asian Students African American Students Hispanic Students White Students Multi-racial Students English Language Learner Students Special Education Students Low Socio Economic Status Students Homeless Students Disabled Students Military Connected Students

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

Student-Teacher Ratios and their Impact on Class Sizes & School Selection

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.