VHHS, Stevenson Ranked Among Toughest Schools in Illinois

Does your teenager complain about classes and homework at Stevenson High School or Vernon Hills High School? He or she might be justified in griping.

According to annual rankings created by the Washington Post, both schools are among the most challenging public high schools in the country. In Illinois, Stevenson ranks No. 4, after three high schools in Chicago. Vernon Hills High School was ranked No. 21.

In the Class of 2012, 77.5 percent of Stevenson students passed at least one college-level test, according to the report. At Vernon Hills High School, that number was 48.4 percent.

Washington Post columnist Jay Mathews has rated public high schools around the country for the past 15 years based on something called the “Challenge Index,” according to the release. The index takes the total number of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate and Advanced International Certificate of Education tests given at the school next year and divides it by the number of seniors who graduated in May or June. 

“With a few exceptions, public schools that achieved a ratio of at least 1.000, meaning they had as many tests in 2012 as they had graduates, were put on the national list at washingtonpost.com/highschoolchallenge,” Mathews explains in a Washington Post story. Before posting the list, he also filters out magnet or charter high schools that have few average-performing students.

This year, only 9 percent of the approximately 22,000 U.S. public high schools were included on the list, according to Mathews.

The list also includes Hersey High School (No. 6), Buffalo Grove High School (No. 7), Prospect High School (No. 12), Libertyville High School (No. 13), Deerfield High School (No. 18) and Wheeling High School (No. 39).