Schools in Chicago, IL
Find public schools across the Chicago metro with Illinois state test scores. Compare CPS selective enrollment schools, magnets, and suburban districts.
Showing schools near downtown Chicago. Enter a ZIP code to search your neighborhood.
Choosing a School in Chicago
Chicago's school landscape is a story of extremes. CPS has 425 schools in our database with a district average of 40.4% ELA and 24.7% Math — but its top selective enrollment and magnet schools rank among the best public schools in the entire Midwest. Meanwhile, the suburban collar counties offer consistently high performance, with DuPage County averaging 67.1% ELA and 58.4% Math across 198 schools.
For families looking within the city, the key decision is whether to pursue a selective enrollment or magnet school (which draw from across the city) or a neighborhood school. In the suburbs, district boundaries are the main factor — Hinsdale CCSD 181 leads the metro at 89% combined proficiency, followed by the North Shore districts of Wilmette (83.2%), Winnetka (83.4%), and Lake Forest (83.1%).
CPS Selective Enrollment and Magnet Schools
CPS's selective enrollment and magnet schools are the crown jewels of the district. These schools admit students through a competitive process and consistently produce outstanding results:
- Whitney Young Magnet High School — 97.5% ELA, 99.3% Math (highest in the metro)
- Lane Technical High School — 92.3% ELA, 98.3% Math
- Taft High School — 93% ELA, 81.2% Math
- Skinner North Elementary — 97.4% ELA, 95.6% Math
- Decatur Classical Elementary — 95.7% ELA, 96.5% Math
- Hawthorne Scholastic Academy — 96% ELA, 95.3% Math
- Edison Regional Gifted Center — 96.6% ELA, 93.8% Math
These CPS schools outperform even the wealthiest suburban districts. Young Magnet's 98.4% combined score is higher than any school in Hinsdale, Naperville, or the North Shore. Applications for selective enrollment typically open in October.
The North Shore
The North Shore suburbs along Lake Michigan — Wilmette, Winnetka, Kenilworth, Glencoe, and northward to Lake Forest — are among the strongest public school areas in Illinois. McKenzie Elementary in Wilmette leads at 91.1% combined, with Greeley Elementary in Winnetka (87.4%) and The Joseph Sears School in Kenilworth (86.4%) close behind. These districts are small (5-6 schools each) with very consistent performance across every campus.
Western Suburbs: Naperville, Hinsdale, and DuPage County
DuPage County is the strongest county in the Chicago metro by average scores. Hinsdale CCSD 181 averages an extraordinary 90.4% ELA and 87.6% Math across its 9 schools — Oak Elementary leads at 96.1% ELA and 95% Math. Naperville CUSD 203 is the standout large district, averaging 82.1% ELA across 19 schools. Meadow Glens Elementary (93% ELA, 89.7% Math) and Highlands Elementary are among the county's best.
River Forest (Lincoln Elementary, 93.9% ELA) and Western Springs (Field Park Elementary, 83.6% combined) are smaller western suburbs with excellent schools.
Understanding Illinois Test Scores
Illinois schools are assessed using the Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR), which tests ELA and Mathematics in grades 3-8. The scores shown here represent the percentage of students meeting or exceeding proficiency standards. IAR is based on the Smarter Balanced framework. These scores should only be compared with other Illinois schools.
Math scores trail ELA across the entire metro — the metro-wide average is 52.2% ELA vs 39.9% Math. This gap is consistent across CPS and suburban districts.
More School Finders
Looking for schools elsewhere? Use our US-wide School Finder, or check schools in: