York High School Makes Chicago Magazine's Top Schools List

was named one of the Top 10 high schools in DuPage County, according to Chicago Magazine's "Best Public Schools 2012" list.

Chicago Magazine's list, featured in the September 2012 edition, ranked its top elementary school and top high schools in each Chicagoland county, as well as those within the city of Chicago.

York ranked at No. 7 on the list, behind Wheaton North (6), Downers Grove North (5), and three Naperville High Schools: Naperville North, Neuqua Valley and Naperville Central (No. 4, 3 and 2, respectively). The No. 1 high school on the list is Hinsdale Central.

Wheaton Warrenville South, Lisle High School and Waubonsie Valley in Aurora rounded out the list at 8, 9 and 10.

DuPage's elementary-school list was topped by No. 1 Brooke Forest Elementary School and No. 2 Butler Junior High, both of which are District 53 in Oak Brook.

Seven of the eight remaining schools on the list are District 181 schools in Clarendon Hills and Hinsdale, and District 62's Gower Middle School in Burr Ridge was also made the list.

The magazine says elementary schools' scores were based on percentage of students who met or exceeded state standards on the ISAT test (50 percent of the score), spending per pupil (25 percent) and student-to-teacher ratio (25 percent).

High schools' scores were based on four equal components: average ACT composite score, percentage of students who met or exceeded state standards on the PSAE test, spending per pupil, and graduation rate.

York High School, with enrollment listed by the magazine at 2,646, has an average ACT score of 23.5 and a graduation rate of 90.1, with 72.7 percent of students exceeding state standards on the PSAE. The cost per student is $7,694.

"Using data from state report cards for the 2010-11 academic year (the most recent available), Chicago assigned points to each public school in the metro area based on how well it compares with its peers on those key measures. We then weighted the results to calculate our rankings," Chicago Magazine's explanation of its methodology reads.

Read the full methodology on Chicago Magazine's website here.