Best Public High Schools
Our first rankings in five years go deeper than ever, with 110 schools across the six-county metro area.
How We Ranked the Schools
The performance measures were based on data obtained from the Illinois State Board of Education for the 2022–23 school year, the most recent available. Calculations were done by the research nonprofit RTI International, based on weighting instructions provided by Chicago. Note that not all the measures used appear in the rankings tables.
The Measures We Used
- Spending per pupil is the instructional expenditure reported by the district.
- SAT attainment rate is the percentage of students meeting or exceeding state standards on the SAT reading and math exams. Separately factored in: SAT attainment figures adjusted for the school’s percentage of low-income students. Income-adjusted figures are widely used to evaluate how a school’s performance compares with predicted levels.
- 5Essentials is a teacher and student survey that assesses five key aspects of a school’s learning environment. Figures shown in the rankings tables are the average scores for all five rubrics.
- Attendance is a school’s average daily rate, an indicator of the learning environment.
- Graduation rate is the percentage of students who graduated within four years of entering high school.
How We Weighted the Measures
Chicago High Schools
- SAT reading attainment rate: 12.5%
- SAT math attainment rate: 12.5%
- SAT reading attainment rate, income-adjusted: 12.5%
- SAT math attainment rate, income-adjusted: 12.5%
- 5Essentials: 15%
- Attendance: 15%
- Graduation rate: 20%
Suburban High Schools
- SAT reading attainment rate: 12.5%
- SAT math attainment rate: 12.5%
- SAT reading attainment rate, income-adjusted: 12.5%
- SAT math attainment rate, income-adjusted: 12.5%
- Instructional spending per pupil: 15%
- Attendance: 15%
- Graduation rate: 20%