The 16 Best Public High Schools in Illinois, as Ranked by Newsweek

The school year is back in full swing for Illinois’ high school students, and just in time, Newsweek has named the top 500 public high schools in the country.

Of those 500, 16 Illinois high schools made the cut based on an analysis of data from the 2011-12 academic year, which is the most recent available from the National Center for Education Statistics, though graduation rates provided by the Illinois State Board of Education are current.

All of the 16 top high schools are located in northern Illinois, but one in particular made it to the No. 3 spot overall, and you might be surprised by which one. Use the interactive bar chart to sort through each individual scoring category and see if your kids’ school is on there.

If you want a more in-depth look at how per-student spending, poverty rates and test scores affect a school district’s level of educational quality, we’ve got it for you here.

Like what you see here from Reboot Illinois? Then sign up for our daily email to get more great content right to your email inbox.

This article appears on all Patch Chicago sites. The views expressed in this post are those of Reboot Illinois and do not reflect those of Patch or its editors.