Is Lake Forest High School a good school?

Yes! Lake Forest High School is one of the best high schools in the state. It ranks 12 th of 697 Illinois high schools.

How many students attend Lake Forest High School?

In the 2023-24 school year, 1,375 students attended Lake Forest High School.

What is the racial makeup of Lake Forest High School?

Students at Lake Forest High School are 77% White, 11% Hispanic, 5% Asian, 5% Two or more races, 1% African American.

What schools feed into Lake Forest High School?

Lake Forest High School is fed by the following schools: Elementary : Cherokee Elementary School Elementary : Everett Elementary School Elementary : Lake Bluff Elementary School Elementary : Sheridan Elementary School Middle : Deer Path Middle School East Middle : Deer Path Middle School West Middle : Lake Bluff Middle School

Lake Forest High School

Summary:

Lake Forest High School is a public high school serving grades 9-12 in Lake Forest, Illinois, part of the highly-ranked Lake Forest CHSD 115 district. This exceptional school has consistently been ranked among the top high schools in Illinois, currently placing 12th out of 697 schools for the 2023-2024 school year.

Lake Forest High School stands out for its exceptional academic performance, with 65.6% of 11th-grade students proficient or better in SAT Mathematics, compared to the state average of 26.1%, and 68.3% proficient or better in SAT English Language Arts, compared to the state average of 31.1%. The school's science performance is also exceptional, with 86.1% of students proficient or better in the ISA Science test, far exceeding the state average of 53.2%. Additionally, Lake Forest High School boasts a remarkable 99.4% four-year graduation rate, significantly higher than the state average and nearby schools like Libertyville High School, Vernon Hills High School, and Highland Park High School.

While Lake Forest High School excels academically, it has a relatively low percentage of students from low socioeconomic backgrounds, ranking 118th out of 639 Illinois high schools in this category. This suggests the school may need to focus on supporting and addressing the needs of students from disadvantaged backgrounds to ensure equitable access to educational opportunities. Additionally, the school has seen a recent increase in chronic absenteeism, reaching 10.7% in the 2022-2023 school year, an area the school may need to address to maintain its high levels of academic achievement.

Detail:

Public 9-12

1285 N McKinley Rd
Lake Forest, IL 60045-1371

(847) 234-3600

District: Lake Forest CHSD 115

SchoolDigger Rank:
12^th of 697 Illinois High Schools

Per Pupil Expenditures: $35,119

Feeder schools for Lake Forest High School:

Elementary:	Cherokee Elementary School
	Everett Elementary School
	Lake Bluff Elementary School
	Sheridan Elementary School
Middle:	Deer Path Middle School East
	Deer Path Middle School West
	Lake Bluff Middle School

Student/teacher ratio: 11.0

Number of students: 1,375

Racial breakdown:

White:

76.7%

Hispanic:

11.3%

Asian:

5.4%

Free/discounted lunch recipients: 4.7%

See top rated Illinois high schools

Compare Lake Forest High School to nearby high schools!

Performance Trends

Compare Details Lake Forest High School ranks better than 98.3% of high schools in Illinois. (See more...)

Compare Details In 2024 the calculated Average Standard Score was 99.69. (See more...)

The four-year cohort graduation rate measures the percentage of students at Lake Forest High School who earn a standard high school diploma within four years of starting ninth grade.

The high school dropout rate measures the percentage of students who do not complete their high school education.

Chronic absenteeism in a school refers to a situation where students repeatedly miss school, with the threshold often defined as missing 10% or more of school days for any reason, excused or unexcused.

Student Body

Compare Details Racial makeup is: White (76.7%), Hispanic (11.3%), Asian (5.4%). (See more...)

Compare Details

Teachers

Compare Details The student/teacher ratio at Lake Forest High School is 11. (See more...)

Compare Lake Forest High School employs 124.2 full-time teachers.

Finance

Compare Details The average total spent per student at Lake Forest High School is $35,119.

Schooldigger 2024 Rankings:

Lake Forest High School:

SchoolDigger ranks Lake Forest High School 12^th of 697 Illinois public high schools. (See Lake Forest High School in the ranking list.)

High School Test Score Ratings by Student Subgroup:

Multi-racial students:

Special Education students:

Low Socio Economic Status students:

Female students:

Disabled students:

Male students:

Asian students:

Hispanic students:

White students:

Lake Forest CHSD 115:

SchoolDigger ranks Lake Forest CHSD 115 10^th of 813 Illinois school districts. (See district ranking list.)

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Rank History for Lake Forest High School

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Rank History for all students at Lake Forest High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2003	97.95	7^th	586	98.8%
2004	96.32	11^th	592	98.1%
2005	96.26	10^th	590	98.3%
2006	95.99	11^th	596	98.2%
2007	95.32	17^th	612	97.2%
2008	95.44	16^th	624	97.4%
2009	95.67	12^th	632	98.1%
2010	96.77	9^th	643	98.6%
2011	96.13	12^th	655	98.2%
2012	96.40	12^th	665	98.2%
2013	96.17	13^th	670	98.1%
2014	96.89	13^th	670	98.1%
2015	74.07	122^nd	614	80.1%
2016	46.26	327^th	643	49.1%
2017	99.33	5^th	642	99.2%
2018	95.62	25^th	647	96.1%
2019	99.74	4^th	701	99.4%
2021	99.68	10^th	688	98.5%
2022	96.91	19^th	699	97.3%
2023	97.49	12^th	699	98.3%
2024	99.69	12^th	697	98.3%

See the entire list of Illinois High School Rankings!

Rank History for Multi-racial students at Lake Forest High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2019	98.61	4^th	165	97.6%
2021	75.74	37^th	160	76.9%
2022	88.16	19^th	170	88.8%
2023	93.27	8^th	163	95.1%
2024	98.80	6^th	182	96.7%

See the entire list of Best Illinois High Schools for Multi-racial Students!

Rank History for Special Education students at Lake Forest High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	89.57	27^th	374	92.8%
2019	98.64	16^th	473	96.6%
2021	96.41	16^th	453	96.5%
2022	97.63	18^th	493	96.3%
2023	99.57	13^th	476	97.3%
2024	99.90	8^th	482	98.3%

See the entire list of Best Illinois High Schools for Special Education Students!

Rank History for Low Socio Economic Status students at Lake Forest High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	71.04	107^th	585	81.7%
2021	71.27	112^th	611	81.7%
2022	59.95	196^th	626	68.7%
2023	81.75	71^st	644	89.0%
2024	73.51	118^th	639	81.5%

See the entire list of Best Illinois High Schools for Low Socio Economic Status Students!

Rank History for Female students at Lake Forest High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	95.31	23^rd	620	96.3%
2019	99.55	5^th	665	99.2%
2021	99.42	11^th	639	98.3%
2022	95.66	21^st	658	96.8%
2023	97.68	9^th	656	98.6%
2024	98.97	16^th	664	97.6%

See the entire list of Best Illinois High Schools for Female Students!

Rank History for Disabled students at Lake Forest High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile	SchoolDigger Rating
2023	94.11	18^th	428	95.8%
2024	96.59	22^nd	429	94.9%

See the entire list of Best Illinois High Schools for Disabled Students!

Rank History for Male students at Lake Forest High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	94.51	26^th	619	95.8%
2019	99.70	4^th	675	99.4%
2021	99.60	11^th	653	98.3%
2022	97.09	20^th	664	97.0%
2023	96.20	18^th	668	97.3%
2024	99.83	10^th	668	98.5%

See the entire list of Best Illinois High Schools for Male Students!

Rank History for Asian students at Lake Forest High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	83.39	21^st	132	84.1%
2019	73.34	35^th	130	73.1%
2021	90.52	13^th	135	90.4%
2022	75.61	34^th	141	75.9%
2023	89.46	7^th	134	94.8%
2024	89.87	9^th	137	93.4%

See the entire list of Best Illinois High Schools for Asian Students!

Rank History for Hispanic students at Lake Forest High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	78.06	38^th	291	86.9%
2019	98.53	8^th	317	97.5%
2021	77.27	45^th	317	85.8%
2022	96.42	15^th	335	95.5%
2023	95.54	13^th	333	96.1%
2024	95.34	18^th	336	94.6%

See the entire list of Best Illinois High Schools for Hispanic Students!

Rank History for White students at Lake Forest High School

Year	Avg Standard Score	Statewide Rank	Total # Ranked High Schools	IL State Percentile
2018	91.94	36^th	548	93.4%
2019	99.31	7^th	552	98.7%
2021	99.30	9^th	553	98.4%
2022	94.80	24^th	560	95.7%
2023	95.81	15^th	557	97.3%
2024	98.63	15^th	554	97.3%

See the entire list of Best Illinois High Schools for White Students!

Data source: test scores: Illinois State Board of Education, rankings: SchoolDigger.com

As you review the school rankings data, please be aware that some of the information from certain demographics is missing. The reason for this omission is that the data has been redacted from the source data itself due to low population samples in these specific demographic groups.

Redacting data from low population samples is a necessary step to ensure the reliability and accuracy of the results, as small sample sizes may not be representative of the broader population. Additionally, this measure helps protect the privacy of individuals belonging to these demographic groups.

Data source: Illinois State Board of Education

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Enrollment information for Lake Forest High School

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Year	White	African American	Asian	Hispanic	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Not Specified	Total
1988	1176	13	16	7	n/a	n/a	n/a	0	1212
1989	1072	14	24	6	n/a	n/a	n/a	0	1116
1990	1023	10	33	9	n/a	n/a	n/a	0	1075
1991	1031	9	35	11	0	n/a	n/a	0	1086
1992	1005	13	42	10	0	n/a	n/a	0	1070
1993	1018	13	49	13	0	n/a	n/a	0	1093
1994	1032	13	50	17	0	n/a	n/a	0	1112
1995	1106	20	68	22	0	n/a	n/a	0	1216
1996	1106	20	68	22	0	n/a	n/a	0	1216
1997	1164	18	69	20	0	n/a	n/a	0	1271
1998	1282	20	74	23	0	n/a	n/a	0	1399
1999	1346	21	79	20	0	n/a	n/a	0	1466
2000	1457	20	79	24	0	n/a	n/a	0	1580
2001	1519	12	77	20	0	n/a	n/a	0	1628
2002	1636	9	69	15	0	n/a	n/a	0	1729
2003	1636	9	69	15	0	n/a	n/a	0	1729
2004	1636	11	67	21	0	n/a	n/a	0	1735
2005	1650	9	69	20	1	n/a	n/a	0	1749
2006	1622	14	60	24	0	n/a	n/a	18	1738
2007	1630	18	61	37	0	n/a	n/a	21	1767
2008	1608	21	68	39	1	n/a	n/a	25	1762
2009	1596	22	77	44	1	n/a	n/a	27	1767
2010	1584	17	81	47	1	n/a	n/a	24	1754
2011	1561	19	71	46	1	0	31	0	1729
2012	1530	19	77	44	2	1	26	0	1699
2013	1489	17	76	48	0	1	25	0	1656
2014	1515	19	65	46	0	1	21	0	1667
2015	1519	19	56	53	2	1	24	0	1674
2016	1537	18	54	54	3	1	29	0	1696
2017	1488	19	57	73	2	0	38	0	1677
2018	1395	9	59	99	1	1	47	0	1611
2019	1344	18	66	103	1	2	51	0	1585
2020	1266	18	62	114	1	1	75	0	1537
2021	1196	21	63	145	3	1	72	0	1501
2022	1158	25	66	140	2	2	74	0	1467
2023	1102	22	67	168	4	0	75	0	1438
2024	1054	18	74	155	3	2	69	0	1375

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Enrollment/Ethnicity

For more information about how the Department of Education defines ethnicity, see Defining Race and Ethnicity Data, National Center for Education Statistics

Students eligible for free or discounted lunch at Lake Forest High School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	1212	88.6	13.6	n/a
1989	1116	86.4	12.9	n/a
1990	1075	83.6	12.8	n/a
1991	1086	83.3	13.0	n/a
1992	1070	84.3	12.6	n/a
1993	1093	86.4	12.7	n/a
1994	1112	83.8	13.3	n/a
1995	1216	94.6	12.9	n/a
1996	1216	94.6	12.9	n/a
1997	1271	99.1	12.8	n/a
1998	1399	105.5	13.3	n/a
1999	1466	105.2	13.9	n/a
2000	1580	116.5	13.6	n/a
2001	1628	114.8	14.2	n/a
2002	1729	117.9	14.7	0
2003	1729	117.9	14.7	0
2004	1735	121.3	14.3	0
2005	1749	123.8	14.1	0
2006	1738	125.1	13.9	0
2007	1767	124.0	14.3	0
2008	1762	112.0	15.7	0
2009	1767	134.8	13.1	0
2010	1754	130.8	13.4	0
2011	1729	127.5	13.5	0
2012	1699	123.2	13.7	4.6
2013	1656	136.4	12.1	3.8
2014	1667	n/a	n/a	3.4
2015	1674	120.0	13.9	3.5
2016	1696	122.0	13.9	3.4
2017	1677	126.2	13.2	2.9
2018	1611	129.4	12.4	2
2019	1585	130.4	12.1	1.2
2020	1537	127.6	12.0	0.6
2021	1501	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	1467	128.2	11.4	4.7
2023	1438	129.9	11.0	n/a
2024	1375	124.2	11.0	n/a

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Students eligible for discounted/free lunch:

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) provides low-cost or free meals to students in U.S. public and nonprofit private schools based on household income. Those with incomes below 130% of the poverty line receive free lunch, while those between 130% and 185% qualify for reduced-price lunch. The percentage of students receiving free or reduced-price lunch serves as a marker for poverty, as it reflects the socioeconomic status of families in a given school or district. A higher FRPL rate typically indicates a higher concentration of low-income families, suggesting that the school or district may face additional challenges in providing adequate resources and support for student success.

Student/Teacher Ratio Lake Forest High School

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Year	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/Teacher ratio	% Free/Discounted Lunch
1988	1212	88.6	13.6	n/a
1989	1116	86.4	12.9	n/a
1990	1075	83.6	12.8	n/a
1991	1086	83.3	13.0	n/a
1992	1070	84.3	12.6	n/a
1993	1093	86.4	12.7	n/a
1994	1112	83.8	13.3	n/a
1995	1216	94.6	12.9	n/a
1996	1216	94.6	12.9	n/a
1997	1271	99.1	12.8	n/a
1998	1399	105.5	13.3	n/a
1999	1466	105.2	13.9	n/a
2000	1580	116.5	13.6	n/a
2001	1628	114.8	14.2	n/a
2002	1729	117.9	14.7	0
2003	1729	117.9	14.7	0
2004	1735	121.3	14.3	0
2005	1749	123.8	14.1	0
2006	1738	125.1	13.9	0
2007	1767	124.0	14.3	0
2008	1762	112.0	15.7	0
2009	1767	134.8	13.1	0
2010	1754	130.8	13.4	0
2011	1729	127.5	13.5	0
2012	1699	123.2	13.7	4.6
2013	1656	136.4	12.1	3.8
2014	1667	n/a	n/a	3.4
2015	1674	120.0	13.9	3.5
2016	1696	122.0	13.9	3.4
2017	1677	126.2	13.2	2.9
2018	1611	129.4	12.4	2
2019	1585	130.4	12.1	1.2
2020	1537	127.6	12.0	0.6
2021	1501	n/a	n/a	n/a
2022	1467	128.2	11.4	4.7
2023	1438	129.9	11.0	n/a
2024	1375	124.2	11.0	n/a

Data source: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Dept of Education.

About Student-Teacher Ratio

Student/teacher ratio is calculated by dividing the total number of students by the total number of full-time equivalent teachers. Please note that a smaller student/teacher ratio does not necessarily translate to smaller class size. In some instances, schools hire teachers part time, and some teachers are hired for specialized instruction with very small class sizes. These and other factors contribute to the student/teacher ratio. Note: For private schools, Student/teacher ratio may not include Pre-Kindergarten.

Immunization Rates