Chicago Magazine: Gower, Hinsdale Middle Schools Among Top DuPage Schools

Hinsdale Middle School and are the No. 4 and No. 6 ranked elementary schools in DuPage County, respectively, according to Chicago Magazine's "Best Public Schools 2012" list, and Hinsdale Central is No. 1 among high schools.

Chicago Magazine's list, featured in the magazine's September 2012 edition, ranked its top elementary school and top high schools in each Chicagoland county. The magazine also ranked the city of Chicago's top schools.

DuPage's elementary-school list was topped by No. 1 Brooke Forest Elementary School and No. 2 Butler Junior High, both of which are District 53 schools in Oak Brook. 

Seven of the eight remaining schools on the list are District 181 schools. Clarendon Hills Middle School was No. 3, Hinsdale Middle School was No. 4, The Lane School was No. 5, Monroe School was No. 7, Walker School was No. 8, Prospect School was No. 9, and Madison School was No. 10.

Gower is a District 62 school in Burr Ridge.

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Hinsdale Central was No. 1 on the magazine's DuPage County high-school list. Behind it was No. 2 Naperville Central, and No. 3 Neuqua Valley High School.  

The magazine says elementary schools' scores were based on percentage of students who met or exceeded state standards on the ISAT test (50 percent), spending per pupil (25 percent), and pupil-to-teacher ratio (25 percent).

High schools' scores were determined based on four equal components: average ACT composite score, percentage of students who met or exceeded state standards on the PSAE test, spending per pupil, and graduation rate. 

"Using data from state report cards for the 2010-11 academic year (the most recent available), Chicago assigned points to each public school in the metro area based on how well it compares with its peers on those key measures. We then weighted the results to calculate our rankings," Chicago Magazine's explanation of its methodology reads. 

Read the full methodology on Chicago Magazine's website here.

While elementary-school rankings are less common, Hinsdale Central has gotten quite used to being ranked high among Illinois high schools. 

In 2012, , , and the all ranked Hinsdale Central No. 6 in Illinois on their various best-high schools lists.