Magazine Ranks Westmont High No. 1 In DuPage County

WESTMONT, IL – With fewer than 500 students, Westmont High School is considerably smaller than most of the high schools with which it is typically compared.

In fact, the school's enrollment data places Westmont High as one of about 450 schools with fewer than 500 students in Illinois.

Nearly 40 percent of the school is low-income, yet the students continue to achieve at levels that rival, and in some cases surpass, schools serving substantially more affluent communities with significantly greater resources, according to a Westmont High news release.

Recently, Chicago Magazine, published by the Chicago Tribune, released its ranking of the top public high schools in Illinois. The magazine examines factors such as ACT growth, ACT proficiency, graduation rate and chronic absenteeism.

The magazine ranked Westmont High as No. 1 in DuPage County.

U.S. News & World Report, the most comprehensive national ranking system for high schools, recently ranked Westmont No. 26 out of 724 high schools in Illinois, No. 16 among traditional public high schools, and No. 3 in DuPage County. Its methodology considers factors such as college readiness, Advanced Placement participation and performance, ACT proficiency and graduation rate.

Westmont's AP program is the best in the state, the news release said. Westmont High School is the only traditional public high school in Illinois to be recognized by the College Board as an AP School Honor Roll Platinum school two years in a row, the school said. Platinum is the highest distinction awarded by the College Board. Westmont is also the only Platinum high school in DuPage County.

The University of Chicago's 5Essentials Survey, which measures school culture and climate through the voices of students and staff, ranked Westmont No. 8 among more than 650 high schools in Illinois. These results are published annually as a metric on the Illinois State Report Card website.

Finally, the Illinois State Board of Education designates Westmont High School as "Exemplary," the highest designation in the state's accountability system and one reserved for schools performing in the top 10 percent in Illinois.