Naperville-area high schools are among the 50 top across the state, according to recently a released analysis from U.S. News & World Report.
The publication put out its 2024 Best High School lists last week, ranking nearly 18,000 public high schools nationwide, including 673 in Illinois. Naperville fared well.
Between the five high schools serving students in and around the city — two in Naperville School District 203 and three in Indian Prairie School District 204 — all five cracked the top 50 for the state.
Neuqua Valley High School ranked the highest, coming in at No. 15 in the state. Though slipping slightly from 2023 ranks, which put the school at No. 13 statewide, Neuqua kept its track record of landing in the top 20, a distinction the school has held for the past five years.
Neuqua also snagged a place on U.S News & World Report’s list of high schools that performed best in science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, for 2024. The STEM list totaled 500 schools. Neuqua slipped in at 410th.
As for national rankings, Neuqua came in at No. 386 among the thousands of U.S. high schools evaluated.
Naperville North High School, Naperville Central and Metea Valley were all neck and neck in valuations this year, ranking No. 25, No. 27 and No. 28 statewide, respectively. The schools likewise remained relatively close nationally, with the 638th spot going to Naperville North, followed by Naperville Central at 662nd and Metea at 702nd.
Naperville North and Naperville Central were also, like Neuqua, STEM-ranked schools. To be considered for U.S. News’ STEM list, schools must — overall — place in the top 2,000 nationally. From there, the publication filters down by schools’ participation and performance in college-level STEM classes offered at the high school level, known as Advanced Placement, or AP, courses.
Rankings generally are based on a handful of factors. U.S. News takes into account students’ college readiness and performance in state assessments as well as graduation rate and performance of underserved students.
“The 2024 Best High Schools rankings offer a starting point for parents to understand a school’s academic performance, whether it’s a prospective school or one that their child is already attending,” LaMont Jones, managing editor of education at U.S. News, said in a news release. “Accessible data on our high schools can empower families across the country as they navigate today’s educational environment and plan for the future.”
Rounding out the local rankings, Waubonsie Valley High School came in at no. 37 in the state and no. 874 in the country.
In addition to rankings, U.S. News Best High Schools report includes information on enrollment, student diversity and participation in free and reduced-price lunch programs. Full 2024 data can be found at www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools.
