Best high schools in U.S.: Stevenson, Lake County schools lead the way in Illinois
When it comes to high school education in the suburbs, Lake County schools are at the top of the class, according to the latest U.S. News & World Report rankings of nearly 18,000 public high schools across the country.
Led by Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, four of the top five suburban high schools in the magazine's annual rankings are in Lake County. Rounding out the top five are Vernon Hills High School, Lake Forest High School, Hinsdale Central High School and Libertyville High School.
Stevenson places sixth overall in Illinois and 201st in the nation. All of the top five schools in the state are in Chicago: Payton College Preparatory (10th in the U.S.), Northside College Preparatory, Jones College Prep, Young Magnet and Lane Technical.
The magazine ranked 17,680 public high schools in all, based on data from the 2020-21 school year.
Rankings are based on weighted scores from six indicators of school quality: college readiness (30%); college curriculum breadth (10%); state assessment proficiency (20%); state assessment performance (20%); underserved student performance (10%); and graduation rate (10%).
After Libertyville High, the top 10 among schools in the Daily Herald coverage area includes Neuqua Valley in Naperville, New Trier in Winnetka, Glenbrook South in Glenview, Fremd in Palatine, Glenbrook North in Northbrook, and Barrington High School.
Schools ranked between 11 and 20 include: John Hersey High School in Arlington Heights; Westmont; Metea Valley in Aurora; Naperville Central; Lake Zurich; Prospect in Mount Prospect; Glenbard West in Glen Ellyn; Naperville North; Maine South in Park Ridge; and St. Charles North.
Among the 664 Illinois schools ranked, 36 placed in the top 5% nationally, 68 placed in the top 10%, and 156 placed in the Top 25%.
Nationally, the top five ranked schools are The Early College at Guilford in North Carolina; Signature School in Indiana; the School for Advanced Studies in Florida; The Davidson Academy of Nevada; and Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Virginia.
To read the full rankings and associated reporting, visit www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools.
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