Lyons Township High School Makes Chicago Magazine's 2016 Best Schools List

WESTERN SPRINGS, IL -- Lyons Township High School made Chicago Magazine’s annual list of best suburban high schools in the Chicago area. The rankings were calculated by the research nonprofit RTI International, using data and methodology provided by Chicago.

LTHS landed in the 20th spot among the Top 20 suburban public high schools in Cook County. Proviso Mathematics and Science Academy in Forest Park notched the No. 1 spot for public high schools in suburban Cook County.

High Schools were ranked according to data from the Illinois State Board of Education, which included spending per pupil; the percentage of first-year students meeting or exceeding state benchmarks for the ninth grade, as well as the percentage of students meeting or exceeding state standards on the PARCC exam.

Also taken into consideration were NWEA/MAP math and reading growth; ACT attainment of students who scored 21 or higher on the ACT test and ACT growth; a 5 essentials survey of teachers and students; and attendance and graduation rates.

Figures were adjusted in some categories for suburban school’s percentage of low-income students, Chicago said.

According to the magazine’s data, LTHS has a student enrollment of 4,032. About $10,119 is spent per each pupil. LTHS also scored in the 94th percentile of freshmen on track, 74 in ACT attainment and is recorded as having a 92 percent graduation rate.

The No. 1 schools in Chicago’s collar counties (out of five) included:

• Lisle High School (DuPage)
• Geneva Community High School (Kane)
• Libertyville High School (Lake)
• Woodstock High School (McHenry)
• Lincoln Way East High School (Will)

The No. 1 public high school in Chicago was Walter Payton College Preparatory High School (out of 15) on the Chicago’s Near North Side. The top Chicago charter high school is Noble–Butler College Preparatory High School (out of 5) in the Pullman neighborhood.

The results of all the high school rankings, as well as public elementary schools in Chicago and the suburbs, can be found in Chicago Magazine’s September issue. To see what schools made the list, visit Chicago Magazine’s 2016 Best High Schools.