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!

JUST IN! Illinois IAR test scores and updated rankings for the 2023-24 school year were recently posted to SchoolDigger!

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.

School															Students/Teachers											Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)							Ranking (2024 vs 2023)
ID	Rank (of 1363)	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 (2024)	Average Standard Score (2023)	Rank (2023)	Rank Change from 2023	SchoolDigger Rating (2024)
173978004006	251	Union Ridge Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-8	4600 N Oak Park Ave	Harwood Heights	60706	Cook County	Union Ridge School District 86	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	Yes	(708) 867-5822	649	50	12.9	48.8%	418 (64.4%)	7 (1.1%)	155 (23.9%)	61 (9.4%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.5%)	5 (0.8%)	$15,317			$595			$14,723	78	80.3	221	30
171435001774	252	Erie Middle School	Public	5-8	500 5th Ave	Erie	61250	Whiteside County	Erie CUSD 1	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	(309) 659-2239	176	21	8.3	25.0%	163 (92.6%)	1 (0.6%)	8 (4.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (2.3%)	$21,849			$00			$21,849	77.9	82.9	189	63
174263004283	253	Wilmington Middle School	Public	6-8	715 S Joliet St	Wilmington	60481	Will County	Wilmington CUSD 209U	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	Yes	(815) 926-1687	295	21	13.9	42.7%	245 (83.1%)	2 (0.7%)	38 (12.9%)	2 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (2.7%)	$16,027			$2,217			$13,810	77.9	81.7	203	50
173022005540	254	Jerling Junior High School	Public	6-8	8851 W 151st St	Orland Park	60462	Cook County	Orland School District 135	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	Yes	(708) 364-3708	637	48	13.3		477 (74.9%)	25 (3.9%)	93 (14.6%)	29 (4.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (2.0%)	$16,827			$522			$16,305	77.8	76.8	252	2
172729002891	255	Mount Pulaski Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-8	119 N Garden St	Mount Pulaski	62548	Logan County	Mt Pulaski CUSD 23	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	Yes	(217) 792-7220	379	25	14.9	33.2%	361 (95.3%)	7 (1.8%)	5 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (1.6%)	$16,335			$14,840			$1,495	77.8	71	315	60
172976006079	256	Amelia V Carriel Junior High	Public	6-8	451 N 7 Hills Rd	O Fallon	62269	St. Clair County	O Fallon CCSD 90	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	(618) 622-2932	676	31	21.5	28.6%	436 (64.5%)	121 (17.9%)	40 (5.9%)	13 (1.9%)	2 (0.3%)	1 (0.1%)	63 (9.3%)	$10,504			$669			$9,835	77.7	70.5	325	69
172574002783	257	Metamora Grade School	Public	PK, KG-8	815 E Chatham St	Metamora	61548	Woodford County	Metamora CCSD 1	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	Yes	(309) 367-2361	827	54	15.3	17.3%	763 (92.3%)	3 (0.4%)	26 (3.1%)	3 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	32 (3.9%)	$10,347			$254			$10,093	77.7	91.2	98	159
173057003177	258	Independence Junior High School	Public	6-8	6610 W Highland Dr	Palos Heights	60463	Cook County	Palos Heights School District 128	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	(708) 448-0737	224	20	11.2		157 (70.1%)	11 (4.9%)	46 (20.5%)	4 (1.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (2.7%)	$17,673			$702			$16,970	77.6	79.5	228	30
170022204117	259	Nippersink Middle School	Public	6-8	10006 N Main St	Richmond	60071	McHenry County	Nippersink School District 2	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	(815) 678-7129	385	32	12	22.3%	334 (86.8%)	5 (1.3%)	38 (9.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (2.1%)	$17,284			$301			$16,983	77.6	71.8	307	48
171983005640	260	Heineman Middle School	Public	6-8	725 Dr John Burkey Dr	Algonquin	60102	McHenry County	Huntley Community School District 158	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	(847) 659-4300	751	58	13	17.4%	532 (70.8%)	31 (4.1%)	105 (14.0%)	49 (6.5%)	2 (0.3%)	1 (0.1%)	29 (3.9%)	$15,317			$256			$15,062	77.5	70.5	323	63

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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 test scores released by the Illinois State Board of Education.
These rankings were last updated on October 30, 2024, 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

Public School Districts and Their Services: 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.