Both Grayslake High Schools Make Newsweek’s Top High Schools List

GRAYSLAKE, IL - Both high school have been ranked among the top high schools in America, according to the 2016 rankings by Newsweek released on Thursday morning.

Grayslake North High School received the higher ranking at No. 424 but Grayslake Central was not far behind at No. 449 in Newsweek’s annual rankings.

Grayslake Central came in at No. 262 in 2015 while Grayslake North did not make Newsweek’s 2015 rankings. Neither high schools made Newsweek’s list in 2014.

Northside College Preparatory High School in Chicago landed in the top spot for Illinois schools, with a No. 8 rank nationally.

• Click here to read about how other Illinois schools ranked on Newsweek's list.

The top school in America for 2016, according to Newsweek, is Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Virginia.

Newsweek used six factors to create its top schools list, weighing each measurement to create a “college readiness index.” The rankings show how prepared students are for college by the time they leave high school.

Those measurements and their weight include:

• Holding power: 10 percent
• Ratio of counselor/full-time equivalent to student enrollment: 10 percent
• Weighted SAT/ACT: 17.5 percent
• Weighted AP/IB/dual enrollment composite: 17.5 percent
• Graduation rate: 20 percent
• College enrollment rate: 25 percent

In all, 6,477 of the nation’s 15,819 public high schools met the criteria to be considered in Newsweek’s rankings.