Chicago's Edison Elementary Ranked Best School in Illinois
The Albany Park school earned top honors in 2027 rankings by outperforming state and local student proficiency averages.
Updated on Oct. 26, 2026 in Primary Education
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Edison Elementary Regional Gifted Center in Chicago's Albany Park neighborhood earned the top spot in Illinois for elementary schools according to 2027 U.S. News and World Report rankings. The school significantly outperformed district and state averages for student proficiency in reading and math.
Why it matters
These rankings reflect how schools perform in core subjects relative to both raw assessment scores and student socioeconomic demographics. For parents, these metrics offer a look at how specific institutions balance academic rigor with their student populations.
Edison serves 265 students with a 13:1 student-to-teacher ratio, maintaining 97% reading and 93% math proficiency. These figures exceed Illinois state averages of 45% and 36% respectively.
The players
Edison Elementary Regional Gifted Center
An Albany Park school serving approximately 265 kindergarten through eighth-grade students with a 13:1 student-to-teacher ratio.
Chicago Public Schools District 299
The local school district that reported 40% reading proficiency and 32% math proficiency across its student population.
Skinner North Elementary School
A Chicago-based institution that secured the second-place ranking in the 2027 state list.
The details
Rankings are determined by a weighted formula combining raw state assessment results and performance measured against student socioeconomic demographics. Each factor contributes 50% to the total score. This approach aims to account for the impact of student background on academic outcomes.
Timeline
U.S. News and World Report released the 2027 rankings on October 26, 2026.
The Home Front
Public school rankings serve as a key data point for families evaluating the educational landscape in their local neighborhoods. These assessments provide standardized benchmarks that often influence long-term property decisions and family logistics.
Parents should review these rankings as one component of a broader assessment of their child's school and the surrounding community. Consider attending local board meetings or school events to gain a personal sense of the learning environment beyond the performance data.
The takeaway
Chicago schools performed strongly in the 2027 state rankings, with five schools placing in the top ten. Families can track school performance metrics annually to stay informed about the academic benchmarks in their specific area.
Further reading
For more information on the local school landscape, visit our Primary Education section.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Time Out Worldwide.
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