The Best High Schools In Illinois
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Of the best 500 high schools in the United States, 30 of them are in Illinois, according to the latest analysis by Newsweek magazine.
Two Chicago magnet schools lead the pack.
Payton College Prep ranks 10 in the nation, followed by Northside College Prep at No. 12.
However, just in terms of college readiness, Lake Forest High School tops the list of schools in Illinois, with 99.2 percent of students identified as ready for post secondary education.
Newsweek also published a separate list that takes into account the effects of poverty on high school education, noting schools that manage to achieve at a high level despite those odds against it.
Of particular note in Chicago was Lane Tech and Brooks College Prep, which both reported graduation and college enrollment rates well above 90 percent--despite have nearly 60 percent of its students living in poverty.
To arrive at its list, Newsweek used a variety of criteria, including state math and reading assessment scores, college enrollment, graduation rate, advanced placement coursework, SAT/ACT scores and counselor-to-student ratios.
Here is the full Illinois list. (Rnk=National Ranking; Ready=College Readiness; Grads=Graduation Rate; Poor=Percent Of Students In Poverty)
| Rnk | Name | Ready | Grads | Coll. | Poor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 | Payton College Preparatory | 93.8 | 98.6% | 97.8% | 32.1% |
| 12 | Northside College Preparatory | 93.7 | 99.2% | 97.7% | 36.2% |
| 14 | New Trier Township HS | 93.3 | 99.6% | 95.7% | 3.8% |
| 34 | Lake Forest High School | 88.6 | 99.2% | 94.6% | 3.8% |
| 46 | Jones College Prep High School | 87.5 | 99.0% | 98.0% | 46.9% |
| 58 | Naperville North High School | 86.4 | 99.4% | 98.1% | 15.8% |
| 82 | Adlai E. Stevenson High School | 85.1 | 98.2% | 92.4% | 4.9% |
| 90 | Glenbrook South High School | 84.8 | 99.2% | 94.9% | 19.9% |
| 95 | Naperville Central High School | 84.7 | 99.3% | 98.0% | 8.6% |
| 104 | William Fremd High School | 84.5 | 99.4% | 96.5% | 7.5% |
| 161 | Barrington High School | 82.2 | 95.7% | 96.0% | 16.9% |
| 175 | Lake Zurich High School | 82.0 | 97.4% | 94.0% | 8.7% |
| 250 | John Hersey High School | 80.2 | 95.5% | 94.9% | 15.5% |
| 251 | Prairie Ridge High School | 80.2 | 99.2% | 92.7% | 9.3% |
| 262 | Grayslake Centrol High School | 79.9 | 93.9% | 98.4% | 12.2% |
| 263 | Highland Park High School | 79.9 | 90.8% | 93.5% | 15% |
| 323 | Cary-Grove Community HS | 78.6 | 100.0% | 93.8% | 12.5% |
| 346 | Prospect High School | 78.2 | 96.5% | 93.2% | 10.3% |
| 349 | Minooka Community | 78.1 | 98.0% | 100.0% | 9.5% |
| 364 | Morton High School | 77.9 | 97.4% | 88.1% | 14.5% |
| 380 | Maine South High School | 77.7 | 96.0% | 90.6% | 7.4% |
| 382 | J B Conant High School | 77.7 | 96.8% | 97.1% | 12.4% |
| 387 | St Charles North High School | 77.6 | 97.7% | 95.9% | 7.6% |
| 388 | Wheaton North High School | 77.6 | 98.5% | 87.2% | 22.1% |
| 393 | Waubonsie Valley High School | 77.6 | 97.9% | 90.0% | 24.7% |
| 415 | Hinsdale South High School | 77.2 | 100.0% | 95.9% | 23.6% |
| 442 | Buffalo Grove High School | 77.0 | 95.9% | 94.5% | 20.2% |
| 467 | Dunlap High School | 76.6 | 100.0% | 95.4% | 7.9% |
| 470 | Monticello High School | 76.5 | 100.0% | 97.6% | 12.9% |
| 497 | Metea Valley High School | 76.2 | 99.0% | 93.9% | 24.9% |
Only two Indiana high schools made the list, neither of them in Northwest Indiana.
