Northside College Prep Ranked Among Nation's Top 20 Best High Schools

Northside College Preparatory High School landed in the top 20 nationally and ranked #1 in the state according to annual rankings published Tuesday by U.S. News and World Report.

The grade 9-12 magnet school at 5501 W. Kedzie Ave. was ranked #15 in the country on U.S. News and World’s annual 2015 “Best High Schools” list.

According to U.S. News, many different kinds of schools were recognized in this year’s Best High School rankings. U.S. News looked at more than 29,000 public high schools in all 50 states and the District of Columbia to determine which schools excelled in each state and nationally.

The rankings are designed to capture how well high schools educate all their students and prepare them for college-level work, a press release from U.S. News said.

To create the 2015 Best High Schools rankings, U.S. News worked with RTI International, a North Carolina-based research firm. High schools were evaluated in three stages.

U.S. News first looked at overall student performance on state-required tests. Although more high schools qualified for rankings this year because of a change to the methodology, schools still had to perform better average to pass.

The rankings also factor how effectively schools educated their least-advantaged students, including those of black, Hispanic and low-income backgrounds. Finally, U.S. News assessed schools based on how prepared students were for college based on participation in and performance on Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate exams.

In the national rankings,​ 500 high schools received gold medals, 2,027 schools earned silver and 3,990 took home bronze.

Northside College Prep achieved a gold medal. In addition to the school’s #15 national and #1 state ranking, Northside was rated #5 among magnet schools and #29 in STEM readiness.

Five other Chicago public schools also landed on U.S. News top 10 state rankings for high schools, including Walter Payton College Preparatory (#2), Jones College Prep (#3), Whitney M. Young Magnet High School (#4), Lane Technical High School (#6), and Lincoln Park High School (#10).

To be eligible for a state ranking, a school must be awarded a national gold or silver medal, U.S. News said.

Northside College Preparatory High School By The Numbers:

National Rank - #15

State Rank - #1

Magnet Rank - #5

STEM Rank - #29

Total Enrollment - 1,069

Total Minority Enrollment (based on %) - 58

Total Economically Disadvantaged (based on %) - 36

Proficient in Reading - 100%

Proficient in Math - 98%

College Readiness Index - 99.7 %