Best Middle Schools in Illinois

A teacher high-fives a student in a classroom.

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)
172465002672	901	Marissa Junior & Senior High School	Public	7-12	300 School View Dr	Marissa	62257	St. Clair County	Marissa CUSD 40	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	(n/a)	(618) 295-2393	260	22	11.9	62.7%	230 (88.5%)	3 (1.2%)	11 (4.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (6.2%)	$17,266			$1,735			$15,531	30.2	37.2	812	89
170139506040	902	Mercer County Junior High School	Public	6-8	1002 Sw 6Th St	Aledo	61231	Mercer County	Mercer County School District 404	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	No	(309) 584-4174	299	24	12.6	47.2%	279 (93.3%)	4 (1.3%)	6 (2.0%)	3 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (2.0%)	$15,154			$1,968			$13,186	30.2	43.1	713	189
170993006521	903	Acero Charter - Esmera Santiago Cmps	Public, Charter	K-8	2510 W Cortez St	Chicago	60622	Cook County	Chicago Public Schools District 299	Yes	(n/a)	(n/a)	(n/a)	(312) 455-5410	219	19	11.5		4 (1.8%)	11 (5.0%)	202 (92.2%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.5%)	$22,911			$1,862			$21,049	30.2	45.5	679	224
171284001537	904	Dwight Common School	Public	PK, KG-8	801 S Columbia St	Dwight	60420	Livingston County	Dwight Common School District 232	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	Yes	(815) 584-6221	545	37	14.5	44.0%	457 (83.9%)	4 (0.7%)	58 (10.6%)	4 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	22 (4.0%)	$12,441			$1,212			$11,229	30.1	41.1	753	151
171245004919	905	Roosevelt Junior High School	Public	7-8	111 W 146th St	Dolton	60419	Cook County	Dolton School District 148	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	Yes	(708) 201-2071	132	14	9.2	97.7%	1 (0.8%)	121 (91.7%)	9 (6.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	$27,767			$4,672			$23,095	30	22.7	1056	151
172625002795	906	Milton Pope Elementary School	Public	K-8	3197 E 28th Rd	Marseilles	61341	LaSalle County	Miller Township CCSD 210	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	Yes	(815) 357-8151	197	14	14	20.3%	179 (90.9%)	1 (0.5%)	16 (8.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.5%)	$17,482			$885			$16,597	29.9	53.6	537	369
170993001157	907	Whitney Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-8	2815 S Komensky Ave	Chicago	60623	Cook County	Chicago Public Schools District 299	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	Yes	(773) 534-1560	598	41	14.7	95.0%	5 (0.8%)	1 (0.2%)	591 (98.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	$17,620			$2,950			$14,670	29.9	39.5	780	127
170993006311	908	Christopher House Chrt Elementary School	Public, Charter	PK, KG-8	5235 W Belden St	Chicago	60639	Cook County	Chicago Public Schools District 299	Yes	(n/a)	(n/a)	Yes	(773) 922-7542	444	5	88.8	74.8%	4 (0.9%)	11 (2.5%)	427 (96.2%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	$23,607			$2,121			$21,486	29.8	40.5	764	144
171476004930	909	Fairmont School	Public	PK, KG-8	735 Green Garden Pl	Lockport	60441	Will County	Fairmont School District 89	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	Yes	(815) 726-6156	312	31	10	100.0%	29 (9.3%)	89 (28.5%)	185 (59.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	2 (0.6%)	6 (1.9%)	$24,605			$1,504			$23,101	29.8	35.4	839	70
170993006446	910	CICS - Bucktown Campus	Public, Charter	K-8	2235 N Hamilton Ave	Chicago	60647	Cook County	Chicago Public Schools District 299	Yes	(n/a)	(n/a)	(n/a)	(773) 645-3321	621	49	12.6	81.6%	16 (2.6%)	119 (19.2%)	470 (75.7%)	1 (0.2%)	4 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (1.8%)	$21,803			$163			$21,640	29.7	21.4	1088	178

Sign up for updates!

Be the first to know when we update our rankings!

Other SchoolDigger ranking lists for Illinois

Elementary Schools Middle Schools High Schools Districts Cities

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:

No Child Left Behind (NCLB): A Comprehensive Analysis of Its Impact on Education

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.