Illinois Schools Named Among Most Challenging High Schools in America

The top-ranking Illinois school on the list was College Prep School of America in Lombard

A new report has ranked the most challenging high schools in the nation and a number of Illinois schools made the list.

The report by the Washington Post ranked more than 23,000 public schools in America based on their placement tests and graduation rates.

The top-ranking Illinois school on the national list was College Prep School of America in Lombard, which made the list at no. 173. The school had an average ACT score of 27 and an average SAT score of 1,918. It also boasted a 100 percent four-year graduation rate with all of its students moving on to four-year colleges.

College Prep School of America was followed by Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, which ranked at no. 183 and Lincoln Park High School at no. 187.

The rankings were based on a “Challenge Index,” which is found by taking the total number of advanced placement, international baccalaureate and advanced international certificate of education tests given at a school each year and dividing that by the number of seniors who graduated in May or June.

The schools are then ranked based on their “Challenge Index” ratios and only those with a ratio of at least 1.00, meaning they had as many tests as they did graduates, make the national list.

Researchers said only 11 percent of the 22,000 U.S. public high schools analyzed managed to reach that standard.

Magnet and charter high schools that draw a high concentration of top students were not included in the report, researchers said.

“The Challenge Index is designed to identify schools that have done the best job in persuading average students to take college-level courses and tests,” according to the report. “It does not work with schools that have no, or almost no, average students.”

The most challenging school ranked on the list was BASIS Oro Valley in Oro Valley, Arizona.

The top 20 schools from Illinois to make the list include:

  • No. 173: College Prep School of America, Lombard
  • No. 183: Adlai E. Stevenson, Lincolnshire
  • No. 187: Lincoln Park High School, Chicago
  • No. 240: Islamic Foundation School, Villa Park
  • No. 303: Whitney M. Young Magnet, Chicago
  • No. 313: Glenbard West, Glen Ellyn
  • No. 383: Lindblom Math and Science Academy, Chicago
  • No. 391: Lane Tech, Chicago
  • No. 392: Prospect High School, Mount Prospect
  • No. 450: Riverside Brookfield, Riverside
  • No. 483: Hinsdale Central, Hinsdale
  • No. 496: Buffalo Grove High School, Buffalo Grove
  • No. 520: John Hersey, Arlington Heights
  • No. 521: Jones College Prep, Chicago
  • No. 558: Grayslake Central, Grayslake
  • No. 567: Elk Grove High School, Elk Grove
  • No. 584: Evanston Township High School, Evanston
  • No. 604: Westmont High School, Westmont
  • No. 664: Glenbard South, Glen Ellyn
  • No. 665: Hinsdale South, Darien
  • No. 695: Rolling Meadows High School, Rolling Meadows

See the full list here.

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