Stevenson makes Newsweek list of top high schools

Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire heads a list of several area suburban high schools to land on Newsweek magazine's annual rankings of the top public high schools in America.

In all, 47 Illinois schools made the list. Northside College Prep in Chicago was ranked 57th, which is the highest in the state.

At 149, Stevenson was the highest ranked of the suburban schools, marking the fifth consecutive year it reached Newsweek's top 200 list. It remains the only public high school in Lake County to reach the top 200. "This confirms what we have said at Stevenson for a long time: Provide students with a rigorous curriculum and excellent teachers, and they will rise to the challenge," Stevenson High School District 125 Superintendent Eric Twadell said.

Hinsdale Central High School checked in at 276 on the list. It was the highest ranked school in DuPage County.

"We believe deeply in the advanced placement program," Hinsdale Central principal Kevin Pobst said. "We do very aggressively encourage students to take advanced placements classes."

Elk Grove High School in Cook County was one of many that made the list for the first time, ranking at 1,122.

Newsweek based its rankings on a ratio derived from the number of Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB) or Cambridge tests taken by all students at a school. It then divides that by the number of graduating seniors.

Newsweek also based the ranking on the portion of graduating seniors with at least one passing grade on the AP or IB tests.