Dist. 218 High Schools Make Top 100 In Illinois: US News

PALOS HEIGHTS, IL -- For the second consecutive year, Dist. 218’s Eisenhower, Richards and Shepard High Schools landed in the Top 100 of Illinois rankings on the U.S. News & World Report'sBest High Schools list. The 2018 best high school rankings were released Wednesday and evaluate more than 20,500 public high schools across the country. U.S. News identified schools that best serve all students and assessed how prepared students are for college-level work. Schools are also recognized with gold, silver and bronze medals with gold indicating the greatest level of college readiness.

Illinois has 1,519 high schools, including 1,188 public schools and 331 private schools. Illinois ranks fifth in student enrollment and fifth in total number of schools among U.S. states. Illinois ranks 12th in student/teacher ratio and 30th for percentage of students on free or reduced lunches, according to HighSchools.com.

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Alan B. Shepard High School in Palos Heights earned the best ranking of the three D218 schools, landing in the 54th spot and 2,062 nationally. Shepard has a student enrollment of 1,768 and 83-percent graduation rate. The school scored 29.1 percent in college readiness, earning Shepard a silver medal. To achieve a gold or silver medal, high schools must have a college readiness index of 20.91 or above. Forty percent of Shepard students participate rate in advanced placement courses, with a 63-percent passing rate. Minority enrollment is 49 percent.

H.L. Richards High School in landed in the 66th spot in Illinois rankings and 2,566th among the nation's high schools. Richards has a student enrollment of 1,614, with an 85-percent graduation rate. The school scored 23.2 percent in college readiness. Thirty-seven percent of participate in advanced placement courses, with a 51-percent passing rate. Minority enrollment is 52 percent. Richards earned a silver medal in the rankings.

With a 82-percent graduation rate, Dwight D. Eisenhower High School in Blue Island earned a ranking of 68 among Illinois high schools. Eisenhower has a student enrollment of 1,799. The school scored 21 percent in college readiness, earning a bronze medal. Thirty-one percent of Eisenhower’s students participate in advanced placement courses, with 57-percent passing rate. Minority enrollment is 91 percent. Eisenhower is nationally recognized.

Nine Chicago high schools earned gold medals, while 10 city schools received silver medals. Bronze medals were given to three Chicago high schools. In Illinois, Payton College Preparatory High School in Chicago earned the title of the best high school in the state. Overall, the school ranked as the 52nd best high school in the country, followed by Northside College Preparatory High School, Chicago in the number 2 spot among Illinois, and 82 nationally.

To determine the rankings, U.S. News teamed up with the social science research firm RTI International. A variety of data sources, including the Common Core of Data, College Board and the International Baccalaureate, were used.

A four-step process was used to rank all eligible schools. The first two steps were to determine whether students were performing better than statistically expected in the state and whether minority were performing at or better than the state average for minority students, which was the second step. The third step required schools to meet or surpass a certain graduation benchmark and the final step was to determine college readiness. (You can read the full methodology here.)

The top 10 high schools in the U.S. overall are:

1. BASIS Scottsdale (Arizona)
2. BASIS Chandler (Arizona)
3. BASIS Oro Valley (Arizona)
4. BASIS Tucson North (Arizona)
5. BASIS Flagstaff (Arizona)
6. Meridian School (Texas)
7. International Academy of Macomb (Michigan)
8. BASIS Peoria (Arizona)
9. Baccalaureate School for Global Education (New York)
10. Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology (Virginia)