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
181	Giant City Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-8	1062 Boskydell Rd	Carbondale	62902	Jackson County	Giant City CCSD 130	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(618) 457-5391	218	16	13.6	38.5%	162 (74.3%)	10 (4.6%)	20 (9.2%)	3 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	22 (10.1%)	$14,225			$1,207			$13,018	85.3	85.5	166	15		171659001964
182	Gwendolyn Brooks Middle School	Public	6-8	325 S Kenilworth Ave	Oak Park	60302	Cook County	Oak Park Education Service District 97	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(708) 524-3050	947	74	12.7	20.8%	433 (45.7%)	187 (19.7%)	170 (18.0%)	24 (2.5%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	118 (12.5%)	$22,663			$1,088			$21,575	85.2	82.3	208	26		172925004581
183	Breese Elementary School	Public	3-8	777 Memorial Dr	Breese	62230	Clinton County	Breese Education Service District 12	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(618) 526-7128	357	22	16.2	34.7%	304 (85.2%)	2 (0.6%)	44 (12.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (2.0%)	$10,285			$25			$10,260	85.1	85.4	168	15		170701000363
184	Jane Addams Junior High School	Public	4-8	700 S Springinsguth Rd	Schaumburg	60193	Cook County	Schaumburg CCSD 54	No	(n/a)	No	No	(847) 357-5900	695	59	11.8		296 (42.6%)	46 (6.6%)	151 (21.7%)	143 (20.6%)	2 (0.3%)	1 (0.1%)	56 (8.1%)	$20,126			$813			$19,313	84.9	88.9	123	61		173474003646
185	Hollis Consolidated Grade School	Public	K-8	5613 W Tuscarora Rd	Peoria	61607	Peoria County	Hollis Cons School District 328	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(309) 697-1325	147	14	10.5	23.8%	133 (90.5%)	1 (0.7%)	8 (5.4%)	1 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (2.7%)	$28,431			$688			$27,743	84.7	81.3	214	29		171942002224
186	Waters Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-8	4540 N Campbell Ave	Chicago	60625	Cook County	Chicago Public Schools District 299	No	(n/a)	No	No	(773) 534-5090	702	46	15.2	22.9%	421 (60.0%)	10 (1.4%)	165 (23.5%)	35 (5.0%)	2 (0.3%)	1 (0.1%)	67 (9.5%)	$16,564			$1,133			$15,430	84.7	74.2	291	105		170993001147
187	Nichols Middle School	Public	6-8	800 Greenleaf St	Evanston	60202	Cook County	Evanston CCSD 65	No	(n/a)	No	No	(847) 859-8661	628	66	9.5	34.9%	283 (45.1%)	97 (15.4%)	146 (23.2%)	25 (4.0%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	72 (11.5%)	$24,508			$406			$24,102	84.6	82.1	210	23		171446001795
188	Oliver McCracken Middle School	Public	6-8	8000 E Prairie Rd	Skokie	60076	Cook County	Skokie School District 73-5	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(847) 673-1220	340	36	9.4	33.8%	111 (32.6%)	34 (10.0%)	48 (14.1%)	109 (32.1%)	2 (0.6%)	1 (0.3%)	25 (7.4%)	$28,358			$465			$27,893	84.3	76.8	267	79		171038001254
189	Fremont Junior High/Middle School	Public	6-8	28871 N Fremont Center Rd	Mundelein	60060	Lake County	Fremont School District 79	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(847) 566-9384	692	49	14		459 (66.3%)	19 (2.7%)	117 (16.9%)	70 (10.1%)	1 (0.1%)	5 (0.7%)	21 (3.0%)	$16,084			$215			$15,869	84.3	84.8	178	11		171593005958
190	Burr Elementary School	Public	K-8	1621 W Wabansia Ave	Chicago	60622	Cook County	Chicago Public Schools District 299	No	(n/a)	No	No	(773) 534-4090	465	33	14.3	24.1%	184 (39.6%)	38 (8.2%)	158 (34.0%)	22 (4.7%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	62 (13.3%)	$17,696			$1,410			$16,286	84.2	89.2	121	69		170993000636

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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:

State-Administered Standardized Tests: A Comprehensive Guide

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

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.