7 St. Charles Schools Among Best For Grades K-8: U.S. News

ST. CHARLES, IL — Elementary and middle schools in St. Charles 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 Wild Rose Elementary School as the best elementary school in the state among schools in St. Charles, according to the new list. Wild Rose came in at No. 19 among the 2,300 Illinois schools included in the rankings.

As for middle schools, U.S. News picked Thompson Middle School as the best among St. Charles schools. Here’s a look at how schools in St. Charles ranked:

Elementary Schools

1. Wild Rose Elementary School: 132
2. Bell-Graham Elementary: 185
3. Norton Creek Elementary: 267
4. Lincoln Elementary: 336
5. Munhall Elementary: 351

Middle Schools

1. Thompson Middle School: 46
2. Wredling Middle School: 50

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.