Walter Payton College Preparatory High School (WTTW News)
Chicago Public Schools has once again seen five of its high schools placed among the top 100 in the country, based on the newest rankings from U.S. News & World Report.
According to the annual list released Tuesday, Walter Payton College Prep was ranked as the No. 5 high school in the country for 2022, once again placing first in both Chicago and across all of Illinois.
Payton was joined by four other CPS high schools in the top 100: Northside College Preparatory (No. 31), Jones College Prep (No. 51), Whitney Young Magnet High School (No. 67) and Lane Tech (No. 84).
Payton has consistently ranked as the top school in Illinois in recent years, and has repeatedly placed among the top schools in the country.
No other Illinois schools were included in the national top 100. The next highest ranked high schools in Illinois were: Proviso Math and Science Academy in Forest Park, Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire, Vernon Hills High School in Vernon Hills, Hinsdale Central High School in Hinsdale and New Trier High School in Winnetka.
Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Virginia ranked as the top high school in the country for the third consecutive year.
While its methodology has changed following criticisms in recent years, U.S. News said these rankings are based on multiple criteria, including: college readiness, reading and math proficiency and performance, underserved student performance, college curriculum breadth and graduation rates.
This year’s rankings relied on the same basic metrics that had been used over the past three years, U.S. News said it “adjusted its calculation of these measures to account for the impact” of the COVID-19 pandemic, which temporarily shut down in-person learning across the country.
“The goal is to provide a clear, unbiased picture of how well public schools serve all of their students — from the highest to lowest achieving — in preparing them to demonstrate proficiency in basic skills as well as readiness for college-level work,” the organization said in a press statement.
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