These Are The Best Public High Schools In IL For 2026-27: U.S. News – Patch

These Are The Best Public High Schools In IL For 2026-27: U.S. News  Patch

Illinois's top five public high schools are also ranked among the 100 best in the country by the new report. Twenty-five public high schools in Illinois earned the highest spots in the state in U.S. News & World Report’s 2026-2027 Best High Schools. U.S. News evaluated about 27,000 eligible public high schools nationwide and ranked nearly 18,000 of them, including 675 schools in Illinois. Here are the top 25 high schools in Illinois, along with their national rankings: The rankings are based on six performance measures, including student achievement on state-required assessments, graduation rates and college readiness. U.S. News also considers how well schools serve underserved students, participation and performance on Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate exams, curriculum breadth and overall student outcomes.

The rankings use data from the 2023-2024 school year and were produced with research firm RTI International. Massachusetts had the largest share of high schools ranked in the top 25 percent nationally, at 47 percent, followed by New Jersey at 44 percent and Maryland at 43 percent. Among metropolitan areas with a significant number of ranked schools, San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, California, had the largest share in the national top quarter, at 60 percent. McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas, followed at 59 percent, and Milwaukee-Waukesha, Wisconsin, at 56 percent. Central Magnet School in Tennessee topped the national ranking, followed by Signature