New Trier Township High School students walk into the Winnetka campus Wednesday morning ranked No. 13 in Illinois and No. 324 nationally in U.S. News & World Report's 2026-27 Best High Schools rankings, released Tuesday, Aug. 18.
The ranking places New Trier ahead of Glenbrook North (No. 15 in Illinois, No. 378 nationally) and Deerfield (No. 17, No. 387) but behind Adlai E. Stevenson in Lincolnshire (No. 8, No. 208) and Lake Forest (No. 11, No. 277). Four of Illinois' top five schools are Chicago selective-enrollment campuses; the fifth is the Illinois Mathematics and Science Academy in Aurora.
What the six measures show
U.S. News and research firm RTI International evaluated about 27,000 public high schools and ranked nearly 18,000 on six factors using 2023-24 school year data. Here's where New Trier lands:
State assessments (40% of score): New Trier's overall student performance on the SAT and Illinois Science Assessment sits at the 99.1st national percentile, rated "Well Above Expectations."
College readiness (30%): Fifty-eight percent of New Trier's 12th-graders took at least one AP exam, and the AP exam pass rate is 89%. Fifty-two percent of the entire senior class earned a passing AP score. The school's College Readiness Index is 53.8 out of 100, placing it at the 90.1st national percentile.
Curriculum breadth (10%): Measures how broadly students participate across AP and IB subjects.
Graduation rate (10%): Ninety-seven percent, which U.S. News classifies as "well above" the state median.
Underserved student performance (10%): Among Black, Hispanic and low-income students at New Trier, 54.7% scored proficient on state exams, compared to 78.2% of non-underserved students. That 23.5-percentage-point gap persists even as New Trier's underserved students outperform the statewide average for underserved students by nearly 35 points.
Context for families
The 2023-24 data reflects a school that has slipped modestly from its 2022 peak of No. 10 in Illinois and No. 285 nationally but improved from No. 371 nationally in the prior edition. AP participation dropped from 62% in 2022 to 58%, and the graduation rate ticked down from 98% to 97%.
New Trier's resources help explain its performance. "We were 91% funded by local property taxes," administrator Chris Johnson told Shaw Local in July, discussing Illinois school finance. The district's per-pupil instructional spending tops $21,000, ranking third in the state among high school districts.
The school is also broadening how it defines post-graduation success. New Trier's first-ever Career Day, scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 24, will feature certifications, military service and entrepreneurship alongside traditional four-year degree paths.
What the ranking misses for special education families
The U.S. News methodology does not separately score special education program quality. Its "underserved student performance" measure covers Black, Hispanic and low-income students on state exams but does not break out students with IEPs or 504 plans. GreatSchools data from the 2024-25 school year shows New Trier's IEP/504 students attend regularly at a 78% rate, above the 69% state average but below the district's 82% overall. Families seeking program-specific information should contact New Trier's special education department through the district website.
New Trier District 203 had not issued a public statement about the ranking as of Tuesday afternoon.
North Shore Schools Week Ahead: Aug. 18-26
- Tuesday, Aug. 18: Winnetka District 36 Board of Education meeting, 7:15 p.m., Carleton Washburne Resource Center, 515 Hibbard Rd., Winnetka. First regular meeting of the 2026-27 school year.
- Wednesday, Aug. 19: First day of school, New Trier District 203 and Sunset Ridge District 29.
- Thursday, Aug. 20: First day of school, Wilmette District 39 (Central, Harper, McKenzie, Romona elementary schools; Highcrest Middle School).
- Monday, Aug. 24: First day of school, Kenilworth District 38 (Joseph Sears School). Also: Wilmette District 39 Board of Education meeting, 7 p.m., Mikaelian Education Center, 615 Locust Rd., Wilmette.
- Tuesday, Aug. 25: First day of school, Glencoe District 35.
- Wednesday, Aug. 26: First day of school, Winnetka District 36 (Crow Island, Greeley, Hubbard Woods elementary; Washburne Middle School).
