Naperville-area school districts are among the top 75 in the country, and among the top 15 in the state, according to a recent ranking by Niche.
The online site placed Indian Prairie School District 204 at No. 36 in its “Best School Districts in America” list, with Naperville School District 203 landing at No. 51. That’s out of 10,394 districts across the country.
When considering “Best School Districts in Illinois,” IPSD 204 came in at No. 9, with Naperville 203 not far behind at No. 11. Those rankings looked at 407 districts throughout the state.
How are best district rankings determined?
To create the rankings, Niche takes a look at data from the U.S. Department of Education, considering factors such as college readiness, state test scores, teacher quality, and graduation rates.
It also weighs in ratings “collected from millions of Niche users,” according to the site.
Both Naperville 203 and IPSD 204 received an overall grade of A+ from Niche. IPSD 204 scored between an A- to A+ for all categories considered, with its highest marks for academics, teachers, clubs & activities, college prep, and administration.
D203’s marks ranged between a B+ to an A+, with its highest scores for academics, teachers, clubs & activities, sports, and college prep.
Naperville-area high schools get high marks
Area high schools scored high marks on Niche’s list for best public high schools in the state, with all of D203’s and IPSD 204’s falling within the top 25.
Rankings for those were as follows:
No. 11 – Neuqua Valley High School (IPSD 204)
No. 14 – Metea Valley High School (IPSD 204)
No. 18 – Naperville North High School (D203)
No. 22 – Waubonsie Valley High School (IPSD 204)
No. 25 – Naperville Central High School (D203)
When ranking the best public high schools in America, Neuqua Valley came closest of the local schools to cracking the top 100, landing at No. 101.
Following them were Metea Valley at No. 129, Naperville North at No. 174, Waubonsie Valley at No. 218, and Naperville Central at No. 272.
D203 and IPSD 204 elementary and middle schools dominate list of top 30 in state
When looking at schools for younger students, both D203 and IPSD 204 had strong showings as well, with many of the slots within the top 30 taken by schools within the two districts.
Those rankings were as follows:
For Best Public Middle Schools in Illinois
No. 1 – Kennedy Jr. High (D203)
No. 6 – Scullen (IPSD 204)
No. 8 – Gordon Gregory (IPSD 204)
No. 10 – Clifford Crone (IPSD 204)
No. 17 – Francis Granger (IPSD 204)
No. 19 – Washington Jr. High (D203)
No. 20 – Thayer J. Hill (IPSD 204)
No. 22 – Madison Jr. High (D203)
No. 26 – Lincoln Jr. High (D203)
No. 30 – Still (IPSD 204)
Falling just outside the top 30 was Naperville 203’s Jefferson Jr. High, which came in at No. 31.
For Best Public Elementary Schools in Illinois
No. 3 – Graham (IPSD 204)
No. 5 – Spring Brook (IPSD 204)
No. 6 – Ellsworth (D203)
No. 10 – Oliver Julian Kendall (IPSD 204)
No. 11 – Robert Clow (IPSD 204)
No. 16 – Danielle-Joy Peterson (IPSD 204)
No. 19 – Fry (IPSD 204)
No. 20 – Meadow Glens (D203)
No. 21 – May Watts (IPSD 204)
No. 22 – Mill Street (D203)
No. 24 – Patterson (IPSD 204)
No. 25 – River Woods (D203)
No. 26 – Highlands (D203)
No. 27 – Ranch View (D203)
No. 29 – Reba O. Steck (IPSD 204)
And just outside the top 30 in this category were three additional IPSD 204 schools: White Eagle at No. 31, Gwendolyn Brooks at No. 32, and Arlene Welch at No. 33.
The high school, elementary, and middle school rankings, just as the district ratings, were created using statistics and data from the U.S. Department of Education, along with student and parent reviews.
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