High-school rankings
Best high schools in the nation:
- Newsweek's 2008 ranking of the best public high schools in the U.S., based on a single metric: the number of AP or IB exams taken by all students at a school, divided by the number of graduating seniors.
Illinois public high schools were ranked as follows (May 2008):
Northside College Prep (#14)
Lincoln Park HS (#88)
Stevenson HS (#153)
Payton College Prep (#158)
Hinsdale Central (#345)
Oak Park & River Forest HS (#377)
Whitney Young (#520)
Schools
deemed too elite for the list, including the Illinois Math & Science Academy (IMSA) and University Lab School (Urbana, IL)
Newsweek's
2007 ranking of Illinois high schools, which looks quite different from the 2008 list: Lincoln Park HS was ranked highest in Illinois, and Whitney Young was the 4th-best in the state, for example.
- Chicago Sun-Times' October 2008 ranking of Chicago-area public elementary, middle, and high schools
Top elementary and middle schools included the following Chicago schools: Whitney Young, Edison, Lenart, Hawthorne, Decatur, Keller.
Public high school rankings:
| Top 10 High Schools in Illinois (Chicago Sun-Times analysis) |
| 2008 Rank | 2007 Rank | 2008 Percentile | School | City |
| 1 | 1 | 90.91 | Northside College Prep* | Chicago |
| 2 | 2 | 88.20 | Payton College Prep* | Chicago |
| 3 | 4 | 84.49 | New Trier Twp | Winnetka |
| 4 | 3 | 84.38 | Young Magnet* | Chicago |
| 5 | 5 | 82.12 | Hinsdale Central | Hinsdale |
| 6 | 6 | 80.51 | Stevenson | Lincolnshire |
| 7 | 8 | 79.10 | Glenbrook North | Northbrook |
| 8 | 7 | 78.96 | Deerfield | Deerfield |
| 9 | 16 | 76.58 | Jones College Prep* | Chicago |
| 10 | 18 | 75.65 | Fremd | Palatine |
- National ranking of public high schools by US News & World Report (December 2007)
Northside College Prep (#34)
Payton College Prep (#36)
Whitney Young (#67)
Stevenson HS (#77)
Lincoln Park (#90)
Jones College Prep (#100)
- National ranking of public and private schools that send the greatest percentage of students to top colleges, by the Wall Street Journal
- How valid are such rankings?
- Information on Illinois 2009 National Merit Semifinalists
List of Illinois high schools with the greatest number of National Merit Semifinalists (this year's Illinois cutoff: 214)
- Chicago-area 2008 National Merit Scholars and their high schools
Winners of $2,500 National Merit Scholarships (from the National Merit Scholarship Corporation)
Winners of National Merit Scholarships financed by companies, foundations, and other business organizations (Chicago Tribune, 4/17/08)
List of 2008 Illinois National Merit Semifinalists