Four CPS Schools Top U.S. News' Illinois High School Rankings

It was a clean sweep for Chicago Public Schools as the most prestigious selective enrollment schools in Chicago were named the four best high schools in the state, according to a ranking of public schools released Tuesday by U.S. News & World Report magazine.

Northside College Prep, Walter Payton College Prep, Jones College Prep and Whitney M. Young Magnet School grabbed the top spots on the list. Three of the schools also made it into the list of the top 100 high schools in the entire country. The rankings rely on a mix of criteria, including teacher-student ratio, test scores and college readiness.

U.S. News said it collected data on more than 21,000 public high schools from 49 states and the District of Columbia, excluding Nebraska, which didn't report enough data. It joined forces with the American Institutes for Research, a D.C.-based organization, to evaluate schools on overall student performance on state-mandated assessments, as well as how effectively schools educated their black, Hispanic and economically-disadvantaged students.

Performance on Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate exams was then used to determine the degree to which schools prepare students for college-level work. School data is for the 2010-2011 school year. 

Whitney Young is located on the near West Side, Northside is in North Park, Walter Payton is located in Old Town and Jones is downtown. 

The top 10 Illinois schools in the national rankings include:

1. Northside College Preparatory High School, Chicago, 33rd
2. Walter Payton College Preparatory High School, Chicago, 45th
3. Jones College Prep, Chicago, 85th
4. Whitney M. Young Magnet High School, Chicago, 126th
5. Deerfield High School, Deerfield, 181st
6. Adlai E. Stevenson High School, Lincolnshire, 185th
7. Highland Park High School, Highland Park, 234th
8. Hinsdale Central High School, Hinsdale, 289th
9. Mount Prospect High School, Mount Prospect, 295th
10. John Hersey High School, Arlington Heights, 298th

In the national rankings, 500 schools earned gold medals, 1,790 were awarded silver and 2,515 took home bronze.

If you'd like to know more about the rankings, check out this FAQ on the U.S. News website.

—Dennis Robaugh contibuting.