CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- The U.S. News and World Report released its list of the top 100 high schools in the nation. Five Chicago public high schools made the list, including on in the top 10.
Walter Payton College Prep, was not only named the best high school in Illinois, but was also ranked No. 9 on the national list. It was the only Illinois school to make it in the top 10 list nationally. Payton College Prep jumped from the No. 52 spot in 2018.
Five CPS schools rounded out the list of the top five high schools in Illinois, according to the U.S. News and World Report Best High Schools ranking. All five of those schools were also included among the top 100 nationally. Besides Payton College Prep, the other CPS schools include Northside College Prep (No. 23 nationally, No. 2 in Illinois), Lane Tech (No. 69, No. 3), Whitney Young (No. 71, No. 4), and Jones College Prep (No. 91, No. 5).
“CPS continues to represent the best schools in Illinois and is among the ranks of the greatest schools in the country, which is a testament to our students, families, and dedicated staff. These schools represent just a sampling of the many high quality schools throughout our great city that prepare students to succeed far beyond graduation," said Mayor Rahm Emanuel and CPS CEO Dr. Janice K. Jackson, in a joint statement.
Those five CPS high schools were also named as the top five, most competitive city schools.
U.S. News said the other high schools in Illinois' top 10 include Adlai E. Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire (No. 6), Proviso Math and Science Academy in Forest Park (No. 7), Brooks College Prep Academy High School in Chicago (No. 8), Phoenix Military Academy High School (No. 9), and Libertyville High School (No. 10).
The Academic Magnet High School in North Charleston, South Carolina, was named the Best High School in the 2019 national rankings. The Maine School of Science and Mathematics in Maine finished second and BASIS Scottsdale in Arizona was third.
This year the competition was stiffer than year's past. The U.S. News and World Report looked at more than 17,000 high schools around the country in 2019, versus 2,700 in previous years.
“Since the methodology changed so significantly this year,” the group said in a press release, “a school’s ranking in the 2019 Best High Schools ranking can’t be compared with its rankings in any previous U.S. News ranking.”