Oak Park and River Forest High School earned the state's highest school rating for the first time in four years on the 2026 Illinois Report Card.

Five District 97 elementary schools also received the top Exemplary designation. Significant gaps in proficiency between white and Black students persist at both districts.

The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) overhauled its rating system this year. It replaced a curve-based model that capped Exemplary at 10% of schools with fixed benchmarks any school can meet. Under the new system, 28.3% of Illinois schools qualified as Exemplary, Patch reported. Under the old system, OPRF last earned Exemplary in 2022.

What the numbers show at OPRF

OPRF posted a 96.75% graduation rate. The school's press release said its growth-rate score of 61.25 ranked fourth among 606 Illinois high schools reporting growth data, placing OPRF in the 99th percentile, according to the Wednesday Journal. The growth measure tracks how much students learn between their freshman year and the ACT in junior year.

Overall, 72.8% of OPRF students met state proficiency standards. Results varied by subject: 79.16% met the standard in English language arts (ELA), 75.06% in science and 65.86% in math.

District 200 Superintendent Greg Johnson said in the press release that math results stood out. He said the school saw overall math improvements in proficiency and growth, with gains among Black, Hispanic, multiracial and low-income students.

Racial gaps narrow but persist

The gap between white and Black students on the ACT shrank in math, dropping to 49.5 percentage points in 2026 from 57.5 points in 2025, according to the Wednesday Journal. In ELA, the gap narrowed to 41.7 points from 43.7.

The numbers are stark. In math, 78% of white students met the proficiency standard compared to 28.5% of Black students. In ELA, 89.9% of white students met the standard versus 48.2% of Black students. The Wednesday Journal reported the gap at OPRF was significantly greater than the state average, though no state-average figure was cited.

"OPRF should be leading the state in all areas for all students," Johnson said in the press release. "We have high expectations for ourselves, and we know we have more work to do."

District 97 results

Five District 97 schools earned Exemplary ratings: Brooks, Beye, Holmes, Lincoln and Mann. Four received the second-tier Approaching Exemplary designation: Julian, Irving, Longfellow and Whittier. Hatch School was rated Commendable.

District 97 spokeswoman Amanda Siegfried wrote in an email to families that district and school leaders will use the data to guide continuous improvement.

District-wide, 75.4% of D97 students met the ELA proficiency standard, up from 71.9% in 2025. Math proficiency rose to 61.3% from 60.2%. The share of eighth graders passing algebra edged up to 37.1% from 36%.

Racial gaps mirrored those at OPRF. In math, 73.8% of white D97 students met the benchmark compared to 26.3% of Black students. In ELA, 81.6% of white students met the standard versus 43.6% of Black students.