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
611	Montmorency CCSD #145	Public	K-8	9415 Hoover Rd	Rock Falls	61071	Whiteside County	Montmorency CCSD 145	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(815) 625-6616	209	21	9.9	37.8%	166 (79.4%)	1 (0.5%)	34 (16.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (3.8%)	$15,555			$880			$14,675	50.9	73.3	306	305		172659002846
612	Putnam County Junior High School	Public	6-8	13183 N 350th Ave	Mc Nabb	61335	Putnam County	Putnam County CUSD 535	No	(n/a)	No	No	(815) 882-2800	162	16	10.1	38.3%	136 (84.0%)	2 (1.2%)	22 (13.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (1.2%)	$19,596			$943			$18,653	50.9	40.9	731	119		173296003409
613	Indian Creek Middle School	Public	5-8	335 E Garfield St	Waterman	60556	DeKalb County	Indian Creek CUSD 425	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(815) 264-3351	213	19	11.5	40.8%	169 (79.3%)	7 (3.3%)	29 (13.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (3.8%)	$17,159			$623			$16,536	50.7	47.5	624	11		173597000455
614	Ashley Com Consolidated School	Public	PK, KG-8	450 N Third St	Ashley	62808	Washington County	Ashley CCSD 15	No	(n/a)	No	No	(618) 485-6611	115	12	9.5	53.9%	109 (94.8%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (3.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (1.7%)	$16,401			$1,218			$15,183	50.5			(n/a)		170434000125
615	Southwestern Middle School	Public	7-8	8226 Route 111	Piasa	62079	Macoupin County	Southwestern CUSD 9	No	(n/a)	No	No	(618) 372-3813	171	14	12.1	42.1%	161 (94.2%)	1 (0.6%)	4 (2.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.6%)	4 (2.3%)	$14,334			$523			$13,811	50.3	38.5	769	154		173150003321
616	Odell Grade School	Public	PK, KG-8	203 N East St	Odell	60460	Livingston County	Odell CCSD 435	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(815) 998-2272	155	18	8.6	75.5%	149 (96.1%)	2 (1.3%)	3 (1.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.6%)	$23,896			$1,846			$22,049	50.2	43	702	86		172952003077
617	Shabbona Middle School	Public	6-8	725 School St	Morris	60450	Grundy County	Morris School District 54	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(815) 942-0056	360	25	14.5	48.3%	247 (68.6%)	10 (2.8%)	82 (22.8%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (5.3%)	$16,009			$925			$15,085	50.2	51.9	573	44		172661002850
618	Timber Ridge Middle School	Public	6-8	2101 S Bronk Rd	Plainfield	60586	Will County	Plainfield School District 202	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(815) 439-3410	885	58	15.3	40.1%	400 (45.2%)	97 (11.0%)	320 (36.2%)	24 (2.7%)	3 (0.3%)	1 (0.1%)	40 (4.5%)	$14,224			$1,026			$13,199	50.1	50.7	590	28		173174001873
619	Gillespie Middle School	Public	6-8	412 Oregon St	Gillespie	62033	Macoupin County	Gillespie CUSD 7	No	(n/a)	No	No	(217) 839-2116	244	18	13.6	62.7%	229 (93.9%)	2 (0.8%)	2 (0.8%)	2 (0.8%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (3.3%)	$14,533			$755			$13,778	50.1	51.4	581	38		171668000560
620	Bismarck-Henning Junior High School	Public	5-8	17302 E 2750 North Rd	Bismarck	61814	Vermilion County	Bismarck Henning CUSD	No	(n/a)	No	No	(217) 759-7301	246	18	13.6	44.3%	216 (87.8%)	6 (2.4%)	13 (5.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (4.5%)	$15,831			$232			$15,599	50	44.8	674	54		170639000308

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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:

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

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.