Top 20 'Most Challenging' High Schools in Illinois

The Washington Post ranked more than 2,300 of the most challenging high schools in the nation based on a formula it calls the “Challenge Index.”

To calculate a high school’s Challenge Index, the Washington Post took the total number of advanced placement, international baccalaureate and advanced international certificate of education tests administered at a school in 2014 and divided by the number of seniors who graduated that year.

While a total of 72 Illinois high schools made the cut, these 20 ranked among the top 3 percent nationally. And once again, schools in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs dominated the rankings.

Here are the top 20 most challenging in Illinois. We include a link to the full set of rankings, but recommend you sort by state to find the other Illinois schools.

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.