Libertyville High School Ranked Among Toughest in Illinois

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

According to annual rankings created by the Washington Post, LHS is among the most challenging public high schools in the country.

In Illinois, Libertyville High School ranks 13.

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 a press 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: Walter Payton College Prep in Chicago (1), Stevenson High School (4), Buffalo Grove High School (7), Highland Park High School (16), Deerfield High School (18), Vernon Hills High School (21), Grayslake North High School (25) and Lake Forest High School (28).