U.S. News: Downers Grove High Schools Rank Among Best in State

Both schools in Downers Grove's Community High School District 99 are among the best in state, according to annual rankings published Tuesday by U.S. News and World Report.

Downers Grove North ranked 36th out of 667 public high schools in Illinois, up one spot from 2012. Downers Grove South ranked 52nd, up five spots from last year.

The 2013 U.S. News and World Report Best High Schools rankings are based on data collected from more than 21,000 public U.S. high schools from 49 states and the District of Columbia. The rankings are designed to capture how well high schools educate all of their students and prepare them for college-level work, a press release from U.S. News said.

Schools are evaluated based on overall student performance on state assessments, Advanced Placement tests and International Baccalaureate exams. The ranking also takes into account how well schools educate black, Hispanic and economically disadvantaged students, according to U.S. News. 

Once the college readiness factor was computed, U.S. News designated the 4,805 highest-scoring schools as gold, silver or bronze; the top 500 schools received gold medals and the next 1,790 received silver. 

Based on their scores, both Downers Grove North and South received silver medals.

Four Chicago public schools made the top four high schools in Illinois, followed by Deerfield High School at No. 5. Nearby, Hinsdale Central was ranked No. 8, Neuqua Valley in Naperville was No. 23, York High School in Elmhurst was No. 29, Wheaton Warrenville South was No. 32, Naperville North was No. 33, Glenbard South in Glen Ellyn was No. 34 and Naperville Central was No. 35.

• See the full 2013 U.S. News Best High Schools rankings
• Learn how U.S. News calculated the Best High Schools rankings

Downers Grove North

State Rank: 36

National Rank: 995

Medal Awarded: Silver

Proficient in Reading: 75 percent (above Illinois average)

Proficient in Math: 79 percent (above Illinois average)

College Readiness Index (based on AP/IB participation, max value is 100): 33.4 (38 percent took AP exams and 85 percent of participants passed—above Illinois average

Student-Teacher Ratio: 17:1 (near Illinois average)

• Read the full report on North High School

Downers Grove South

State Rank: 52

National Rank: 1,580

Medal Awarded: Silver

Proficient in Reading: 68 percent (above Illinois average)

Proficient in Math: 75 percent (above Illinois average)

College Readiness Index (based on AP/IB participation): 23.0 (25 percent took AP exams and 88 percent of participants passed—above Illinois average)

Student-Teacher Ratio: 18:1 (larger than Illinois average)

• Read the full report on South High School

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