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!

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.

The list is updated annually upon the release of the IAR test scores by the Illinois State Board of Education. The most recent update was on Wednesday, October 30, 2024.

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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)
170993001098	1311	Smyth J Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-8	1059 W 13th St	Chicago	60608	Cook County	Chicago Public Schools District 299	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	Yes	(773) 534-7180	366	34	10.9	90.4%	3 (0.8%)	347 (94.8%)	13 (3.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.8%)	$24,381			$4,098			$20,283	11.1	11.6	1311
173123003265	1312	Annie Jo Gordon Community Lrning Center	Public	K-8	2727 W Krause Ave	Peoria	61605	Peoria County	Peoria School District 150	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	Yes	(309) 672-6522	592	43	13.6	91.6%	50 (8.4%)	326 (55.1%)	174 (29.4%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	37 (6.3%)	$16,310			$2,776			$13,534	11.1	9.8	1339	27
173189003345	1313	Pleasant Hill Elementary School	Public	PK, KG-8	501 E Quincy St	Pleasant Hill	62366	Pike County	Pleasant Hill CUSD 3	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	Yes	(217) 734-2311	264	20	13.4	65.2%	251 (95.1%)	4 (1.5%)	6 (2.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.1%)	$12,649			$1,605			$11,044	11.1	24.5	1014	299
170993000907	1314	Lawndale Elementary Community Academy	Public	PK, KG-8	3500 W Douglas Blvd	Chicago	60623	Cook County	Chicago Public Schools District 299	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	Yes	(773) 534-1635	188	18	10.4	95.2%	0 (0.0%)	180 (95.7%)	8 (4.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	$25,269			$4,403			$20,866	11	12.4	1292	22
171848005018	1315	Rosa L Parks Middle School	Public	5-8	14700 Robey Ave	Dixmoor	60426	Cook County	W Harvey-Dixmoor PSD 147	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	Yes	(708) 371-9575	323	12	26.6	99.7%	2 (0.6%)	169 (52.3%)	151 (46.7%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	$29,061			$8,851			$20,210	11	13.2	1277	38
171242006209	1316	School of Fine Arts	Public	7-8	292 Torrence Ave	Calumet City	60409	Cook County	Dolton School District 149	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	Yes	(708) 868-7565	182	8	23.7	100.0%	2 (1.1%)	171 (94.0%)	7 (3.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (1.1%)	$20,613			$3,289			$17,324	11	14.7	1241	75
174125001753	1317	Miguel Juarez Middle School	Public	6-8	201 N Butrick St	Waukegan	60085	Lake County	Waukegan CUSD 60	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	Yes	(224) 303-2660	662	43	15.3	73.6%	15 (2.3%)	68 (10.3%)	560 (84.6%)	5 (0.8%)	5 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (1.4%)	$23,426			$2,793			$20,633	10.9	12.2	1299	18
173708003844	1318	Washington Middle School	Public	6-8	2300 E Jackson St	Springfield	62703	Sangamon County	Springfield School District 186	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	Yes	(217) 525-3182	521	51	10.2	82.3%	178 (34.2%)	257 (49.3%)	14 (2.7%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	68 (13.1%)	$26,037			$4,163			$21,875	10.9	12.6	1291	27
170993000993	1319	Carver Primary School	Public	PK, KG-8	901 E 133rd Pl	Chicago	60827	Cook County	Chicago Public Schools District 299	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	Yes	(773) 535-5674	473	27	17.5	98.9%	0 (0.0%)	466 (98.5%)	5 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.4%)	$19,089			$4,389			$14,701	10.8	12.2	1298	21
170993002618	1320	Marine Leadership Academy - Ames	Public	7-12	1920 N Hamlin Ave	Chicago	60647	Cook County	Chicago Public Schools District 299	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	Yes	(773) 534-4970	622	52	12	88.3%	20 (3.2%)	10 (1.6%)	585 (94.1%)	4 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.3%)	$20,161			$3,825			$16,336	10.8	14.6	1244	76

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Other SchoolDigger ranking lists for Illinois

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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:

Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA): Transforming Education in America

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.