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)
172529002758	561	Parkland School	Public	6-8	1802 N Ringwood Rd	McHenry	60050	McHenry County	McHenry CCSD 15	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	(779) 244-1700	680	57	11.9	44.6%	434 (63.8%)	9 (1.3%)	210 (30.9%)	8 (1.2%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (2.5%)	$17,822			$708			$17,115	52.7	49.9	592	31
171851004407	562	Havana Junior High School	Public	5-8	801 E Laurel Ave	Havana	62644	Mason County	Havana CUSD 126	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	Yes	(309) 543-6677	315	20	15.4	58.4%	300 (95.2%)	3 (1.0%)	6 (1.9%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (1.6%)	$16,433			$859			$15,574	52.6	42	733	171
170993001027	563	Peirce Elementary International Studies School	Public	PK, KG-8	1423 W Bryn Mawr Ave	Chicago	60660	Cook County	Chicago Public Schools District 299	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	(773) 534-2440	1,067	75	14.3	36.2%	493 (46.2%)	87 (8.2%)	337 (31.6%)	51 (4.8%)	8 (0.7%)	1 (0.1%)	88 (8.2%)	$16,615			$2,654			$13,961	52.5	54.8	518	45
171353001640	564	Lincoln Middle School	Public	6-8	145 West St	Edwardsville	62025	Madison County	Edwardsville CUSD 7	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	(618) 656-0485	818	52	15.7	26.2%	632 (77.3%)	72 (8.8%)	35 (4.3%)	11 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	67 (8.2%)	$13,619			$804			$12,816	52.5	61.7	424	140
170606000288	565	Lincoln Middle School	Public	6-8	6432 16th St	Berwyn	60402	Cook County	Berwyn North School District 98	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	Yes	(708) 795-2475	807	55	14.6	83.1%	27 (3.3%)	103 (12.8%)	649 (80.4%)	14 (1.7%)	2 (0.2%)	2 (0.2%)	10 (1.2%)	$16,179			$927			$15,252	52.4	43.3	711	146
171386001733	566	Elverado Junior High School	Public	6-8	190 Harrison St	Vergennes	62994	Jackson County	Elverado CUSD 196	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	Yes	(618) 684-3527	73	8	8.6	65.8%	68 (93.2%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (4.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (2.7%)	$14,819			$2,351			$12,469	52.3	68.4	347	219
170141906371	567	Spring Garden Middle School	Public	5-8	511 S Elm St	Ina	62846	Jefferson County	Spring Garden CCSD 178	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	Yes	(618) 437-5361	86	9	9.1	50.0%	80 (93.0%)	2 (2.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (4.7%)	$12,561			$1,938			$10,623	52.3	30	913	346
174068004088	568	North Wamac Grade School	Public	K-8	1500 Case St	Centralia	62801	Marion County	North Wamac School District 186	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	Yes	(618) 532-1826	133	9	14.7	98.5%	111 (83.5%)	5 (3.8%)	4 (3.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.8%)	1 (0.8%)	11 (8.3%)	$13,061			$1,982			$11,080	52.2	47.9	628	60
171110004587	569	Crab Orchard Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-8	19189 Bailey St	Marion	62959	Williamson County	Crab Orchard CUSD 3	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	Yes	(618) 982-2181	339	21	16.1	23.0%	328 (96.8%)	1 (0.3%)	2 (0.6%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (2.1%)	$10,338			$940			$9,398	52	45.9	664	95
170993001001	570	Armour Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-8	950 W 33rd Pl	Chicago	60608	Cook County	Chicago Public Schools District 299	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	Yes	(773) 535-4530	246	27	9.1	82.9%	20 (8.1%)	29 (11.8%)	177 (72.0%)	10 (4.1%)	1 (0.4%)	1 (0.4%)	8 (3.3%)	$25,970			$4,695			$21,275	52	48.8	612	42

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New! SchoolDigger ranking lists for IL student subgroups:

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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:

Student-Teacher Ratios and their Impact on Class Sizes & School Selection

Girl in a wheelchair raising her hand in a classroom setting

Understanding an IEP: The Ultimate Guide for Parents and Educators

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.