Stevenson Is 3rd Best High School In Country: Niche

As area students soon head back to school, many parents and students may be curious to see how their school district and school stacks up against others in the suburbs. With that in mind, Niche.com has again released its annual rankings of best schools and school district in the state and country. And, as has been the case in past rankings, Adlai Stevenson High School received high marks from Niche.

In its 2018 rankings, Niche ranked Stevenson as the third best public high school in Illinois and also as the third best high school in the country. Meanwhile, Buffalo Grove High School received a ranking of No. 34 in the state on Niche's best high schools list.

While providing a review of Stevenson for Niche, a senior had this to say:

Stevenson has wonderful teachers, learning resources, and academic vigor. Not only do the teachers encourage the hard work of every student, but the teachers also enjoy their jobs which contributes to the students' motivation to learn. The students at Stevenson are also extremely friendly compared to many other schools, creating a welcoming and peaceful environment. So many learning resources are also available to students throughout the day. At any time, a student can go to the Learning Center and get help from the teachers that work there. The teachers in the Learning Center know what each class is teaching and can always help. In addition to the amazing learning opportunities, students have a variety of options when joining clubs and sports.

To arrive at the rankings, Niche looked at data from the U.S. Department of Education as well as test scores, college data and ratings collected from Niche users. The methodology for each category of rankings varied with some factors having a higher weight for certain categories over others.

The 2018 rankings released this month rank elementary, middle and high schools as well as school districts. For all the state's budget and school funding woes, Illinois high schools did well.

Here is how the top Illinois high schools ranked nationally on Niche's 2018 list:

• No. 1: Walter Payton College Prep, Chicago,
• No. 2: Northside College Preparatory High School, Chicago
• No. 3: Adlai E. Stevenson High School, Lincolnshire
• No. 5: Illinois Mathematics & Science Academy, Aurora
• No. 6: Young Magnet High School, Chicago
• No. 20: New Trier Township High School, Winnetka
• No. 24: Hinsdale Central High School, Hinsdale

View Niche's full public high school rankings here.

Best Illinois High Schools 2017: U.S. News and World Report

Best elementary schools

No Illinois schools made the top 25 public middle school rankings, but one suburban school made the elementary school list.

Meadow Glens Elementary School in Naperville Community Unit School District No. 203 came in at No. 24, with an overall grade of A+. The school has just 447 students, according to the Niche rankings, and a student-teacher ratio of 14:1.

Locally, Half Day School in Lincolnshire was the only local elementary school t0 be ranked among the 25 best elementary schools in the state. Niche said Half Day School was the 19th best school in Illinois.

As for top local middle schools in the state, Daniel Wright Junior High School was ranked as the tenth best middle school in the state.

View the full Niche best elementary school rankings here. And view the best middle school rankings here.

Best school districts

Just one Illinois district— New Trier Township High School District No. 203, which received an A+ rating — ranked among Niche's Top 25 Best School Districts In America. Locally, Township High School District 214 fared well, coming in as the 12th best school district in the state with an A rating. Find the full list here.

For the best school districts, academics grade was given the highest priority in the methodology with 50 percent of the ranking being based on this data. Niche calculated academics grade by using data from the Department of Education as well as data that was self reported by Niche users. Teachers grade accounted for 15 percent of the ranking while culture and diversity and parent/student surveys on overall experience both accounted for 10 percent of the ranking. The remaining 15 percent of the ranking was based on health and safety, resources and facilities, clubs and activities, and sports.(Click here for more information on how Niche calculates its rankings.)

Niche assigns a standardized score for each factor, which is then weighted before an overall score is calculated for each school district. The overall scores are again standardized and some districts are disqualified from receiving a final letter grade if there isn’t enough data. School districts are then ranked numerically and assigned grades.

More: These Illinois Schools Are Among 'Best Colleges For Your Money

What do you think of the rankings? Let us know in the comments below.

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Feroze Dhanoa (Patch National Staff) contributed to this article