Summary:
ZIP code 61111 has one listed middle school, Harlem Middle School, serving grades 6–8 and enrolling 1,330 students. With no other middle schools in the list, there is no meaningful local school-to-school comparison. In 2025–2026, Harlem’s results were below Illinois in every reported subject, with the largest overall shortfall in math: 23% proficient compared with 40% statewide, a 17-point gap.
There is no area leader or trailer because Harlem is the only school listed. Its English Language Arts (ELA) results were closer to the state than its math results: 52% proficient in ELA versus 56% statewide, a 4-point gap; in eighth-grade science, 35% were proficient versus 52% statewide, a 17-point gap. The grade-level results show the same pattern: ELA was 5–10 points below Illinois across grades 6–8, while math was 12–16 points below. Chronic absenteeism was also higher than the comparison figures, at 28% at Harlem, 26% in the district, and 24% statewide. These figures describe differences, not their causes.
Progress has been mixed: ELA improved and its state gap narrowed, but math and science fell further behind. From 2024–2025 to 2025–2026, ELA proficiency rose from 44% to 52%, and the gap with Illinois narrowed from 9 points to 4. Math rose from 22% to 23%, but its gap widened by 1 point; eighth-grade science fell from 37% to 35%, while the state result rose from 45% to 52%, widening the gap by 8 points. SchoolDigger’s ranking moved from the 41st percentile in both 2023–2024 and 2024–2025 to the 23rd percentile in 2025–2026 (864th of 1,126 schools). For context, the student–teacher ratio was 14.2:1 in 2024–2025, and 60% of students were free/reduced lunch eligible that year; these figures do not allow comparison with similar local schools.
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