Education
Pair of Chicago Elementary Schools Named Top in Illinois in New U.S. News Rankings
Edison Elementary Regional Gifted Center, 4929 N. Sawyer Ave., was named the top school in the state. (Credit: Edison Regional Gifted Center)
A pair of Chicago public schools on the city’s North Side have been named as the top elementaries in the state, according to a new ranking.
U.S. News and World Report on Tuesday unveiled its individual state rankings, which listed Edison Elementary Regional Gifted Center in Albany Park and Skinner North Elementary School on the Near North Side as the top elementary schools in Illinois.
Both schools maintained their 1-2 ranking from the previous year.
CPS had five of the state’s top 10 schools in the new rankings, with Keller Elementary Gifted Magnet School (No. 5), Hawthorne Elementary Scholastic Academy (No. 8) and Decatur Classical Elementary School (No. 9) joining Edison and Skinner North.
Skinner North Elementary School on the Near North Side of Chicago. (Credit: Skinner North)
Thurgood Marshall Elementary in Rockford is the third-ranked school in the state, according to the rankings, while Meadow Glens Elementary School in Naperville was ranked No. 4.
CPS also had many of the state and nation’s top-ranked high schools in those U.S. News rankings, published in August. Northside College Prep, located in Chicago’s North Park neighborhood, was named the top high school in Illinois and the 30th best high school in the country.
Other CPS schools included among the nation’s Top 100 were: Walter Payton College Prep (No. 54), Lane Tech (No. 80) and Jones College Prep (No. 99). Whitney Young Magnet High School finished just outside the Top 100 at No. 104.
U.S. News, which dubs itself as the “global authority in education rankings,” said this year’s elementary school rankings were compiled by evaluating student performance in math and reading/language arts along with student demographic context to measure both overall achievement and school effectiveness.
“By incorporating direct state data across all proficiency levels, the 2027 rankings offer a richer, more complete picture of how elementary and middle schools are driving student growth,” Eric Brooks, director of education data analysis for U.S. News, said in a statement. “This refined approach gives families, educators and community leaders an even clearer view of academic achievement, helping them identify standard-setting schools and support continued success for all students.”
