Stevenson High School is one of nine Illinois institutions listed in the annual Challenge Index ranking of the top high schools in America. This year’s index only ranks the top 300 schools, and Stevenson is listed at No. 195. Last year, SHS came in at No. 197. Here are the Illinois high schools listed in the Challenge Index rankings for 2020:
- Whitney Young - Chicago (149)
- Westmont - Westmont (150)
- Lane Tech - Chicago (151)
- Stevenson (195)
- Lincoln Park - Chicago (209)
- Vernon Hills (218)
- Jones - Chicago (260)
- Brooks - Chicago (268)
- Glenbard West - Glen Ellyn (286)
The index ranks high schools by this ratio: the number of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate or Cambridge tests given at a school each year, divided by the number of seniors who graduated that year. Based on the ratio, 76% of Stevenson’s Class of 2019 (which was used for this ranking) passed at least one AP exam during their time at SHS.
The Challenge Index is the oldest high school ranking system in the country, beginning in 1998 in both Newsweek and The Washington Post. The index was started and continues to be run by Jay Mathews