Summary:
ZIP code 60477 has two middle schools serving grades 6–8: Central Middle School and Virgil I Grissom Middle School. In 2025–26, both schools scored above the state in all-grades ELA and math, and in eighth-grade science. Their average proficiency was 76% in ELA, 51% in math, and 61% in eighth-grade science—about 19, 11, and 10 points above the state, respectively. The clearest overall finding is that Grissom led on the latest all-grades results, with its largest advantage in math.
Grissom was the top performer overall: 77% of students were proficient in ELA and 60% in math, compared with 74% and 42% at Central. Grissom’s math lead was 17 points overall and widened to 30 points in eighth grade (61% versus 31%). That grade is a notable exception for Central: its eighth-grade math result was 4 points below the state, while Grissom’s was 27 points above. Central did have a small ELA edge in sixth grade, 76% to 74%; Grissom led in seventh- and eighth-grade ELA. Both schools exceeded the state in eighth-grade science.
Both schools improved in every subject with two years of results, and each gained ground relative to the state. Central’s increases were 8 points in ELA, 9 in math, and 14 in eighth-grade science; Grissom’s were 5, 4, and 10 points. SchoolDigger rated Central three stars and ranked it in the 68th percentile in 2025–26; Grissom had four stars and ranked in the 84th percentile. Central’s student-teacher ratio was 11.8 in 2024–25, compared with 12.5 at Grissom. Central reported 39% of students eligible for free/reduced lunch in 2024–25, while Grissom reported 18% directly certified for free meals in 2021–22; these are different measures and years, so they are not directly comparable.
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