Several high schools in the Chicago area have been recognized as among the nation's best in an annual ranking by Newsweek magazine.
Newsweek evaluated high schools based on how well they prepare their students for college and how successful they are at overcoming obstacles posed by socioeconomic inequality. They created two lists: one for the "best schools" based solely on performance and another for "beating the odds."
Coming in at an impressive No. 10 on the list of 500 top schools and No. 7 on the "beating the odds" list is Walter Payton College Prep on the Near North Side. The high school has a high percentage of college-bound graduates — 97.8 percent — as well as a high graduation rate at 98.6 percent. In the "college readiness" category, the school scored 93.8 percent.
Northside College Prep in the North Park neighborhood also ranked high on both lists, coming in at No. 12 on the "best schools" list and No. 2 on the "beating the odds" list.
Other Chicago-area high schools named on the "best schools" list include New Trier Township High School in Winnetka (No. 14), Lake Forest High School (No. 34), Jones College Prep (No. 46), Naperville North High School (No. 58), Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire (No. 82), Glenbrook South High School in Glenview (No. 90) and Naperville Central High School (No. 95).
Many of the same schools also appeared on the "beating the odds" list, which includes Jones College Prep (No. 13), New Trier Township High School (No. 66), Brooks College Prep Academy (No. 88) and Lane Tech (No. 110).
New Jersey earned the most top spots in the "best schools" list.
Local
The top 10 "best schools" in the country are, in order, Thomas Jefferson High in Virginia; High Technology High School in New Jersey; Academy for Mathematics, Science and Engineering in New Jersey; Union County Magnet High School in New Jersey; Bergen County Academics in New Jersey; Gretchen Whitney High in California; Middlesex County Academy for Science, Mathematics and Engineering Technologies in New Jersey; International Academy in Michigan; Academy of Allied Health and Science in New Jersey; and Walter Payton College Prep.
The top 10 "beating the odds" schools are, in order, Success Academy in Utah; Northside College Prep; Transmountain Early College High School in Texas; the Brooklyn Latin School in New York; West St. John High School in Louisiana; Townsend Harris High School in New York; Walter Payton College Prep; Hollis F. Price Middle College High School in Tennessee; San Gabriel High in California; and Valley View High School in Texas.
