Out of Newsweek's top 500 high schools in the country for 2015, 30 of those high schools are in Illinois.
Several of the state's high schools that appeared on the list rank among the nation's top 20, with Walter Payton College Prep High School in Chicago taking the No. 10 spot. Newsweek rated Thomas Jefferson High School in Alexandria, Va., as the very best in the U.S., and six of the top 10 high schools nationwide are located in New Jersey.
Take a look at the list below to see which Illinois high schools made Newsweek's rankings, including each school's college readiness score, graduation rate, the percent of 12th grade students who enrolled in college and the percent of low-income students. The national rank is indicated in parenthesis. For Newsweek's methodology, see the document at the bottom of the page.
30. Metea Valley High School (#497)
- College Readiness - 76.2
- Graduation Rate - 99.0%
- College Bound - 93.9%
- Poverty - 24.9%
- College Readiness - 76.5
- Graduation Rate - 100.0%
- College Bound - 97.6%
- Poverty - 12.9%
- College Readiness - 76.6
- Graduation Rate - 100.0%
- College Bound - 95.4%
- Poverty - 7.9%
- College Readiness - 77.0
- Graduation Rate - 95.9%
- College Bound - 94.5%
- Poverty - 20.2%
- College Readiness - 77.2
- Graduation Rate - 100.0%
- College Bound - 95.9%
- Poverty - 23.6%
- College Readiness - 77.6
- Graduation Rate - 97.9%
- College Bound - 90.0%
- Poverty - 24.7%
- College Readiness - 77.6
- Graduation Rate - 98.5%
- College Bound - 87.2%
- Poverty - 22.1%
- College Readiness - 77.6
- Graduation Rate - 97.7%
- College Bound - 95.9%
- Poverty - 7.6%
- College Readiness - 77.7
- Graduation Rate - 96.8%
- College Bound - 97.1%
- Poverty - 12.4%
- College Readiness - 77.7
- Graduation Rate - 96.0%
- College Bound - 90.6%
- Poverty - 7.4%
- College Readiness - 77.9
- Graduation Rate - 97.4%
- College Bound - 88.1%
- Poverty - 14.5%
- College Readiness - 78.1
- Graduation Rate - 98.0%
- College Bound - 100.0%
- Poverty - 9.5%
- College Readiness - 78.2
- Graduation Rate - 96.5%
- College Bound - 93.2%
- Poverty - 10.3%
- College Readiness - 78.6
- Graduation Rate - 100.0%
- College Bound - 93.8%
- Poverty - 12.5%
- College Readiness - 79.9
- Graduation Rate - 90.8%
- College Bound - 93.5%
- Poverty - 15.0%
- College Readiness - 79.9
- Graduation Rate - 93.9%
- College Bound - 98.4%
- Poverty - 12.2%
- College Readiness - 80.2
- Graduation Rate - 99.2%
- College Bound - 92.7%
- Poverty - 9.3%
To see the top 13 high schools in Illinois, including New Trier Township and Naperville North, check out Reboot Illinois.
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