Homewood-Flossmoor High School Absent from Newsweek's Top-Ranked American Schools

South suburban high schools have again fallen short of making Newsweek’s ranking of America’s Best High Schools.

Six Southland schools were on the list in 2013, but any familiar names are missing from 2014 and 2015 rankings.

Two years ago, six Southland high schools were among the 84 in Illinois to grab spots in the top 2,000: Homewood-Flossmoor High School (no. 1126), Amos Alonzo Stagg High School in Palos (993), Lincoln-Way East (496) and Lincoln-Way North in Frankfort (1179), and Lincoln-Way Central (1188) and Lincoln-Way West in New Lenox (1182).

Each is missing from this year’s list.

Most notable this year is the absence of Lincoln-Way District 210, which earlier this year was placed on the Illinois State Board of Education Financial Watch List because spending has depleted its cash reserve. The school board last week was forced to announce that LW North, a seven-year-old high school, will be closed to save money.

Illinois Schools in the Top 500

This year, 30 Illinois high schools placed in Newsweek’s top 500 list, with Walter Payton College Prep in Chicago placing 10th in the nation. In 2014, 16 Illinois high schools made the top 500.

Half a dozen North Shore schools made this year’s list, led by New Trier. The Naperville area ranked high, too, with Naperville District 203 and Indian Prairie District 204 placing two schools apiece on the list, with Naperville North, Naperville Central, Waubonsie Valley and Metea Valley cracking the top 500.

Six DuPage County schools made the list. Seven high schools from northwest Cook County were in the top 500.

The rankings were compiled using several metrics, including graduation rate, college enrollment rate, SAT and ACT scores, AP and IB scores and participation, teacher-student ratio and dropout rates.

“Some factors are more important, especially since our rankings focus on college readiness,” Jim Impoco, editor in chief of Newsweek, told Patch via email. “We place emphasis on criteria like college enrollment and graduation rate since we know that those are some of the biggest indicators of whether students are prepared for college.”

This year’s rankings were weighted by:

• Enrollment Rate—25 percent
• Graduation Rate—20 percent
• Weighted AP/IB/Dual Enrollment composite—17.5 percent
• Weighted SAT/ACT composite—17.5 percent
• Change in student enrollment between 9th-12th grades, to control for dropout rates—10 percent
• Counselor-to-Student Ratio—10 percent

NEWSWEEK’S TOP ILLINOIS HIGH SCHOOLS

Listed according to national rank:

• 10. Walter Payton College Preparatory, Chicago
• 12. Northside College Preparatory HS, Chicago
• 14. New Trier Township HS Winnetka, Winnetka
• 34. Lake Forest High School, Lake Forest
• 46. Jones College Prep High School, Chicago
• 58. Naperville North High School, Naperville
• 82. Adlai E. Stevenson High School, Lincolnshire
• 90. Glenbrook South High School, Glenview
• 95. Naperville Central High School, Naperville
• 104. William Fremd High School, Palatine
• 161. Barrington High School, Barrington
• 175. Lake Zurich High School, Lake Zurich
• 250. John Hersey High School, Arlington Heights
• 251. Prairie Ridge High School, Crystal Lake
• 262. Grayslake Centrol High School, Grayslake
• 263. Highland Park High School, Highland Park
• 323. Cary-Grove Community High School, Cary
• 346. Prospect High School, Mt. Prospect
• 349. Minooka Community High School, Minooka
• 364. Morton High School, Morton
• 380. Maine South High School, Park Ridge
• 382. J B Conant High School, Hoffman Estates
• 387. St. Charles North High School, St. Charles
• 388. Wheaton North High School, Wheaton
• 393. Waubonsie Valley High School, Aurora
• 415. Hinsdale South High School, Darien
• 442. Buffalo Grove High School, Buffalo Grove
• 467. Dunlap High School, Dunlap
• 470. Monticello High School, Monticello
• 497. Metea Valley High School, Aurora

see the full list on the Newsweek website