Summary:
ZIP code 60109 has one listed middle school, Central Middle School, serving grade 8. Its latest results show a clear strength across all three tested subjects: grade-8 proficiency was higher than the state rate by 27 points in English Language Arts (ELA), 28 points in math, and 19 points in science.
Central Middle School is both the top and bottom school in this list because it is the only one, so there is no in-area school-to-school comparison. In 2025–2026, 90% of its grade-8 students were proficient in ELA, compared with 63% statewide; math proficiency was 62%, versus 35% statewide; and science proficiency was 71%, versus 52% statewide. Attendance is another positive indicator: chronic absenteeism was 11%, below the 24% state rate and the 13% rate in Central CUSD 301.
Results improved in all three subjects from 2024–2025 to 2025–2026: ELA rose 7 points, math 4 points, and science 4 points. The school’s advantage over the state grew by 4 points in ELA and 3 in math, but narrowed by 2 points in science. SchoolDigger ranked the school 99th of 1,126 schools in 2025–2026, at the 91st percentile with five stars; its earlier listing was 105th of 1,368, at the 92nd percentile with five stars in 2024–2025. The school reports 418 students, an 18.4:1 student–teacher ratio in 2024–2025, and 17% eligible for free/reduced lunch in 2024–2025. Rankings are SchoolDigger’s own, and changing statewide school counts make them imperfect for year-to-year comparisons.
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