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
871	Zapata Elementary Academy	Public	PK, KG-8	2728 S Kostner Ave	Chicago	60623	Cook County	Chicago Public Schools District 299	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(773) 534-1390	524	46	11.3	91.0%	13 (2.5%)	3 (0.6%)	507 (96.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	$21,259			$2,132			$19,128	34.5	37.8	782	89		170993001609
872	Jefferson Middle School	Public	6-8	255 W Vermont St	Villa Park	60181	DuPage County	School District 45 DuPage County	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(630) 516-7800	375	35	10.7	59.5%	76 (20.3%)	30 (8.0%)	250 (66.7%)	7 (1.9%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (2.9%)	$21,018			$1,155			$19,864	34.3	31.6	873	1		174035004058
873	Morrill Elementary Math & Sci School	Public	PK, KG-8	6011 S Rockwell St	Chicago	60629	Cook County	Chicago Public Schools District 299	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(773) 535-9288	600	41	14.6	96.2%	17 (2.8%)	139 (23.2%)	442 (73.7%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	$19,231			$2,912			$16,319	34.2	22.3	1056	183		170993000970
874	Challand Middle School	Public	6-8	1700 6th Ave	Sterling	61081	Whiteside County	Sterling CUSD 5	No	(n/a)	No	No	(815) 626-3300	726	44	16.5	62.8%	398 (54.8%)	13 (1.8%)	261 (36.0%)	6 (0.8%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	45 (6.2%)	$13,868			$568			$13,300	34.2	37	792	82		174231004264
875	Elden D Finley Junior High School	Public	6-8	10835 Lombard Ave	Chicago Ridge	60415	Cook County	Chicago Ridge School District 127-5	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(708) 636-2005	405	35	11.5	64.9%	237 (58.5%)	27 (6.7%)	108 (26.7%)	7 (1.7%)	6 (1.5%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (4.9%)	$18,102			$863			$17,239	34.1	25.4	995	120		170999001229
876	Lowpoint-Washburn Junior Senior High School	Public	6-12	508 E Walnut St	Washburn	61570	Woodford County	Lowpoint-Washburn CUSD 21	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(309) 248-7521	156	15	10.7	46.8%	146 (93.6%)	1 (0.6%)	6 (3.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.9%)	$17,513			$1,272			$16,242	34	49.5	601	275		174092004104
877	Arcola High School	Public	7-12	351 W Washington St	Arcola	61910	Douglas County	Arcola CUSD 306	No	(n/a)	No	No	(217) 268-4962	299	27	11	57.2%	153 (51.2%)	2 (0.7%)	135 (45.2%)	2 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (2.3%)	$16,209			$455			$15,754	34	31.3	877			170396000083
878	Everett F Kerr Middle School	Public	6-8	12915 Maple Ave	Blue Island	60406	Cook County	Cook County School District 130	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(708) 385-5959	304	29	10.3	81.9%	22 (7.2%)	37 (12.2%)	244 (80.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	$23,475			$2,639			$20,837	34	36.3	802	76		170651000328
879	Acero Charter - Octavio Paz Elementary School	Public, Charter	K-8	2651 W 23rd St	Chicago	60608	Cook County	Chicago Public Schools District 299	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(773) 890-1054	98	13	7.8	94.9%	0 (0.0%)	2 (2.0%)	96 (98.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	$37,688			$1,480			$36,209	34	32.3	858	21		170993006482
880	Cumberland Middle School	Public	5-8	1496 Illinois Route 121	Toledo	62468	Cumberland County	Cumberland CUSD 77	No	(n/a)	No	Yes	(217) 923-3135	282	14	20	35.8%	274 (97.2%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.7%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (1.8%)	$10,823			$83			$10,739	33.8	49.7	599	281		173909003965

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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:

Charter Schools vs Regular Public Schools: Understanding the Key Differences

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.