Highland Park High School Named No. 38 High School In Illinois

HIGHLAND PARK, IL — Highland Park High School has been named one of the best high schools in Illinois, according to a new ranking by U.S. News and World Report.

This year’s list ranks more than 17,800 public high schools throughout the country. Among those schools, HPHS was ranked No. 38 in Illinois and No. 735 nationwide.

That marks a decline compared to last year, when U.S. News ranked Highland Park High School No. 28 in the state and No. 619 in the nation.

Within the same high school district, Deerfield High School was ranked 12th in the state — just behind Glenbrook North and New Trier high schools — and 316th in the nation.

The purpose of the rankings is to provide insight into academic performance among underserved groups, showing how well schools are supporting these students, Anita Narayan, managing editor of education at U.S. News, said in a news release.

Families can also use the rankings to see how schools compare at the national, state and local level on factors such as graduation rates and college readiness, Narayan said.

Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Virginia, was ranked No. 1 in the nation, as well as among magnet schools.

Here are the top 10 schools in this year’s national Best High Schools ranking:

1. Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology - Alexandria, Virginia
2. Academic Magnet High School - North Charleston, South Carolina
3. The Davidson Academy of Nevada - Reno, Nevada
4. Payton College Preparatory High School - Chicago, Illinois
5. School for Advanced Studies - Miami, Florida
6. Sumner Academy of Arts and Science - Kansas City, Kansas
7. Merrol Hyde Magnet School - Hendersonville, Tennessee
8. BASIS Chandler - Chandler, Arizona
9. Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science and Technology - Lawrenceville, Georgia
10. Signature School - Evansville, Indiana

The methodology used for this year’s ranking focused on six factors: college readiness, reading and math proficiency, reading and math performance, underserved student performance, college curriculum breadth and graduation rates.

The data used in this edition is from the 2018-2019 academic school year and, therefore, was not affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. More information is available about the ranking's methodology online.

In addition to the national rankings, U.S. News also published rankings at the state, metro area and school district levels. Only metro areas and school districts with three or more high schools were included in these subrankings.

BASIS Chandler in Arizona is at the top of the list for charter schools, and High Technology High School in Lincroft, New Jersey, is the No. 1 STEM school nationwide.

In Illinois, the top five schools are all Chicago Public Schools selective enrollment high schools. Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire is ranked sixth in the state and Lake Forest High School is ranked seventh.