Hinsdale Central Best High School in Chicago Suburbs, Data Says

Hinsdale Central was ranked No. 1 among suburban Chicago high schools by the Chicago Sun-Times based on standardized test data included in the latest Illinois Report Card.

Illinois Report Card data released Thursday shows that Central graduates 98 percent of its students within four years, has an average class-size of 21, and prepares students for college coursework at an 87 percent clip.

Additionally, 89 percent of Central students meet or exceed state standards on the Prairie State Achievement Examination (PSAE).

See all the Illinois Report Card data for Hinsdale Central here.

Central's PSAE data, its average score not its meets/exceeds percentage, led to a No. 4 overall ranking by the Sun-Times, behind three highly regarded city high schools—Payton College Prep, Northside College Prep, and Young Magnet.

"For a more than a decade, the Chicago Sun-Times has based its exclusive rankings of schools on average scores on state achievement tests, not on the percentage who meet state standards—a measure that has come under criticism," the paper explains. 

See the full Sun-Times rankings and an explanation of their process here.

Hinsdale Central was No. 5 in 2012.

New Trier, the top suburban school on the Sun-Times' 2012 list at No. 4 in the state, was No. 6 in 2013. Deerfield was No. 7 and Stevenson was No. 8.

Central's report card also included demographic data, which showed that 77.3 percent of Central students are white and only 5.2 percent come from low-income households. (No homeless students were reported.) Just over 9 percent of students have disabilities and only 1 percent are classified as "English learners." 

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