PHOTO: Students work together in an EPHS science class. Strong core academics have resulted in another EPHS appearance in U.S. News' annual listing of top public high schools. (D401 photo by Dave Porreca.)
Elmwood Park High School has climbed to No. 53 in Illinois in the latest edition of U.S. News & World Report's annual assessment of public high schools.
That's 11 places higher than last year's ranking, when the magazine listed EPHS as the state's 64th-best public high school. For this year's list U.S. News evaluated 670 Illinois public high schools, with EPHS placing in the top 8 percent within the state.
Nationally, EPHS landed solidly in the top 10 percent at No. 2,005. That's up 85 spots from last year's ranking of 2,090th.
In all, the magazine considered 20,548 schools, which is the total number of public high schools in the country with a large enough 12th-grade enrollment or sufficient enrollment in other grades to be eligible for the rankings.
"It is good to see Elmwood Park High School continue to be recognized, but even better to know our ranking has improved in accordance with their metrics," said Superintendent of Schools Dr. Nicolas Wade. "I do feel all the good work that has been done, is being done and will be done will continue to make the high school, and the District and community as a whole, a place for families to continue to come to."
U.S. News released its 2018 results today. The rankings were based on data compiled from the 2015-16 school year.
National Recognition for EPHS College Readiness
EPHS also received a silver medal for its performance on U.S. News' College Readiness Index (CRI), which is based on each school's Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate participation rate and how well its students performed on those tests.
The 500 schools with the highest CRI values earned gold medals.
Silver medals went to the 2,211 remaining schools that had a CRI of at least 21.51, which was the median of all CRI values among high schools with AP or IB test-takers.
As measured by U.S. News, EPHS had a CRI of 29.8, up from last year's index of 27.1. Forty-two percent of EPHS students took AP exams during 2015-16, and 62 percent of those passed.
Only 54 Illinois schools earned silver medals. Thirteen Illinois schools earned gold medals, and 115 received bronze, which went to otherwise high-achieving schools that did not have AP/IB test-takers or had a CRI below the national median.
What the Rankings Mean
To assemble its rankings, the magazine worked with North Carolina-based RTI International, a global nonprofit social science research firm. Together they used a four-step process to analyze each school:
► Step 1 — Did the school's students perform better than expected on the math and reading portions of their state proficiency test?
► Step 2 — Did the school's "historically underserved" students perform better than the state average on the math and reading portions of their state proficiency test?
► Step 3 — Did student graduation rates meet or exceed 80 percent? (EPHS's rate was 85 percent.)
► Step 4 — How well are students prepared for college-level coursework as measured by participation in and performance on AP or IB exams?
To be ranked nationally, a school had to pass the first three steps and satisfy the fourth step by having a CRI of 21.51 or above.
The Illinois Top 60 at a Glance
For comparison's sake, here are the top 60 Illinois public high schools for 2018 as ranked by U.S. News. (The magazine evaluated a total of 670 Illinois public high schools.) Click the name of each school to see the school's performance data:
- Payton College Preparatory High School, Chicago Public Schools
- Northside College Preparatory High School, Chicago Public Schools
- Lane Technical High School, Chicago Public Schools
- Phoenix Military Academy, Chicago Public Schools
- Jones College Prep High School, Chicago Public Schools
- Young Magnet High School, Chicago Public Schools
- Adlai E. Stevenson High School, Stevenson High School District 125
- Proviso Math and Science Academy, Proviso Township High Schools District 209
- Lincoln Park High School, Chicago Public Schools
- Brooks College Prep Academy High School, Chicago Public Schools
- Lindblom Math and Science Academy, Chicago Public Schools
- Libertyville High School, Community High School District 128
- Hinsdale Central High School, Hinsdale Township High School District 86
- John Hersey High School, Township High School District 214
- Vernon Hills High School, Community High School District 128
- Neuqua Valley High School, Indian Prairie School District 204
- York Community High School, Elmhurst Community Unit School District 205
- St. Charles North High School, St. Charles Community Unit School District 303
- Metea Valley High School, Indian Prairie School District 204
- Hinsdale South High School, Hinsdale Township High School District 86
- Wheaton Warrenville South High School, Community Unit School District 200
- Westinghouse High School, Chicago Public Schools
- St. Charles East High School, St. Charles Community Unit School District 303
- Waubonsie Valley High School, Indian Prairie School District 204
- James B. Conant High School, Township High School District 211
- Solorio Academy High School, Chicago Public Schools
- Maine West High School, Maine Township High School District 207
- Naperville Central High School, Naperville Community Unit School District 203
- Naperville North High School, Naperville Community Unit School District 203
- Lemont Twp High School, Lemont Township High School District 210
- Infinity Math Science and Tech High School, Chicago Public Schools
- Mahomet-Seymour High School, Mahomet-Seymour Community Unit School District 3
- Lake Zurich High School, Lake Zurich Community Unit School District 95
- Wheaton North High School, Community Unit School District 200
- Prosser Career Academy High School, Chicago Public Schools
- Wheeling High School, Township High School District 214
- Carterville High School, Carterville Community Unit School District 5
- Von Steuben Metro Science High School, Chicago Public Schools
- King College Prep High School, Chicago Public Schools
- Chicago High School for the Arts, Chicago Public Schools
- Hononegah High School, Hononegah Community High District 207
- Niles North High School, Niles Township High School District 219
- Carl Sandburg High School, Consolidated High School District 230
- Geneva Community High School, Geneva Community Unit School District 304
- Hoffman Estates High School, Township High School District 211
- Maine East High School, Maine Township High School District 207
- Richmond-Burton High School, Richmond-Burton Community High School District 157
- Hancock College Preparatory High School, Chicago Public Schools
- Lisle High School, Lisle Community Unit School District 202
- Richwoods High School, Peoria Public Schools
- Willowbrook High School, DuPage High School District 88
- West Leyden High School, Leyden High School District 212
- ELMWOOD PARK HIGH SCHOOL, Elmwood Park Community Unit School District 401
- Alan B. Shepard High School, Community High School District 218
- Tremont High School, Tremont Community Unit School District 702
- Carver Military Academy High School, Chicago Public Schools
- Morton High School, Morton Community Unit School District 709
- Victor J. Andrew High School, Consolidated High School District 230
- Kenwood Academy High School, Chicago Public Schools
- Amos Alonzo Stagg High School, Consolidated High School District 230