- Ashlee Rezin/for Sun-Times Media
- Northside College Prep, at 5500 N. Kedzie, shown in February. In April, U.S. News online ranked Northside the No. 1 public high school in Illinois.
Some of the highest-ranked public high schools in Illinois are Chicago schools. I’ve mentioned this from time to time, as have other local education writers. This year, U.S. News online, which ranks the public schools, deemed Chicago’s Northside College Prep the state’s top-ranked high school. Payton Prep, Jones Prep, and Whitney Young Magnet, all CPS schools, came in second, third, and fourth, and Lane Tech was eighth.
So far, not so bad. But the overall rankings are for all high schools, whether they’re selective enrollment or not. Northside, Payton, Jones, Young, and Lane are all selective enrollment. Students need lofty test scores and sterling elementary school grades to get in. Comparing the selective schools with neighborhood schools is like comparing youth sports teams that pick the best from their tryouts with teams that take all comers.
