1 Grayslake Elementary School Among Top 100 In State: U.S. News

GRAYSLAKE, IL — Several elementary and middle schools in Grayslake have been ranked among the best in Illinois, according to a brand-new ranking released Tuesday by U.S. News & World Report.

For the inaugural list, U.S. News published rankings and data on more than 80,000 public elementary and middle schools across the United States. Schools are ranked at the state and district levels. The best charter schools and best magnet schools ranked as stand-alone categories.

U.S. News ranked Meadowview School as the best elementary school in the state among schools in Grayslake, according to the new list. Meadwoview ranked 90th among the 2,300 Illinois schools included in the rankings.

As for middle schools, U.S. News picked Prairie Crossing Charter School as the best among Grayslake schools.

Here’s a look at how schools in Grayslake ranked:

Elementary Schools

1. Meadowview School: 90
2. Prairieview School: 539
3. Woodview School 576
4. Prairie Crossing Charter School: 646
5. Avon Center Elementary School: 766

Middle Schools

1. Prairie Crossing Charter School: 145
2. Park West School: 295
3. Grayslake Middle School: 333

To determine the rankings, U.S. News used data from the U.S. Department of Education to analyze two areas at each school:

• Math and reading proficiency — or how well students perform on state assessments.
• Math and reading performance — or how well they perform compared with expectations.

The state assessment data used in the rankings is from the 2018-19 school year and, therefore, predates any effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on test-taking.

Nationally, California has 5,534 ranked elementary schools — the most of any state — followed by Texas at 4,446; New York at 2,211; Florida at 2,128; and Illinois at 2,038 schools. California also has the most ranked middle schools with 2,319, followed by Texas at 1,942; Illinois at 1,243; New York at 1,219; and Florida at 997.

Meanwhile, the top ranked elementary schools in Illinois are all in Chicago and include Skinner North Elementary School, Lenart Elementary Regional Gifted Center, Decatur Classical Elementary School and Edison Elementary Regional Gifted Center. Meadow Glens Elementary School in Naperville is the top-ranked suburban school.

As for top-ranked middle schools, the top five U.S. News schools in Illinois are in Rockford or Chicago, including: Young Magnet High School in Chicago, Thurgood Marshall School in Rockford, Lane Technical High School in Chicago, Edison Elementary Regional Gifted Center in Chicago and Skinner North Elementary School in Chicago.

See the complete list of 2021’s Best K-8 Schools.