These are the top 5 public high schools in St. Clair County according to recent rankings
Niche, a school ratings and reviews site, has released its latest rankings of K-12 schools across the country, including the 14 public high schools In St. Clair County.
The site’s methodology for its public high school rankings includes the following seven weighted factors:
- An academics grade, which is worth 60% and based on state assessment proficiency, college enrollment data and survey responses from parent and students
- A culture and diversity grade, which is worth 12.5% and based on racial and economic diversity and survey responses from parent and students
- Parent/student surveys on overall experience, which are self-reported by Niche users and worth 10%
- A teachers grade, which is worth 10% and based on teacher salary and absenteeism, state test results and survey responses from parent and students
- A clubs and activities grade, which is worth 2.5% and based on expenses per student and survey responses from parent and students
- A resources and facilities grade, which is worth 2.5% and based on expenses per student, staffing and survey responses from parent and students
- A sports grade, which is worth 2.5% and based on the number of sports, participation and survey responses from parent and students
Last year, Niche removed all SAT- and ACT-related factors from its rankings to reflect the decreasing emphasis on standardized testing in college admissions, and it did so again for this year’s rankings.
With the schools ranked, Niche then assigns a letter grade based on how each school performs compared to other schools, using a predetermined distribution.
Sixty percent of a high school’s ranking is determined by its academic grade, about a fifth of which is based on proficiency, or how students perform on standardized state testing for reading and math. The grade does not take into account growth, which indicates progress students are making on those state tests. Many argue that growth, or a hybrid of growth and proficiency, is a better metric of a school’s performance than proficiency alone.
To ensure consistency across all schools in the country, Niche uses the most recent school proficiency data available from the U.S. Department of Education, which has a delay due to the way it checks and processes data.
As a result, Niche’s 2025 rankings rely on proficiency data from the 2021-22 school year so long as a school or district was included in the federal data. For those not included, Niche uses the most recent data available.
5. Collinsville High School
Grades: B overall, B- academics, B teachers, A- clubs and activities, B sports, B- resources and facilities, A diversity, B college prep, B- administration, B- food
Collinsville High School has 1,978 students with a student-teacher ratio of 16-to-1. The average teacher salary is $55,293.
Though the city of Collinsville and Community School District 10 straddles the boundary into Madison County, the high school is in St. Clair County.
According to state test scores, 21% of students were at or above proficiency in reading for the 2021-22 school year, and 16% were at or above proficiency in math.
4. Belleville East High School
Grades: B+ overall, B- academics, B+ teachers, A- clubs and activities, B sports, B resources and facilities, A diversity, B college prep, B- administration, B- food
Belleville East High School has 2,568 students with a student-teacher ratio of 17-to-1. The average teacher salary is $68,767.
According to state test scores, 27% of students were at or above proficiency in reading for the 2021-22 school year, and 23% were at or above proficiency in math.
3. Belleville West High School
Grades: B+ overall, B academics, A- teachers, A clubs and activities, A- sports, B+ resources and facilities, A diversity, B college prep, B- administration, B food
Belleville West High School has 2,234 students with a student-teach ratio of 17-to-1. The average teacher salary is $68,767.
According to state test scores, 22% of students were at or above proficiency in reading for the 2021-22 school year, and 19% were at or above proficiency in math.
2. O’Fallon High School
Grades: A- overall, B+ academics, A teachers, A clubs and activities, A- sports, B resources and facilities, A- diversity, B+ college prep, B administration, C+ food
O’Fallon High School has 2,521 students with a student-teacher ratio of 17-to-1. The average teacher salary is not indicated.
According to state test scores, 42% of students were at or above proficiency in reading for the 2021-22 school year, and 32% of students were at or above proficiency in math.
1. Mascoutah High School
Grades: A overall, A- academics, B+ teachers, A clubs and activities, A- sports, A- resources and facilities, B+ diversity, B college prep, A administration, A food
Mascoutah High School has 1,227 students with a student-teacher ratio of 16-to-1. The average teacher salary is $50,867.
According to state test scores, 48% of students were at or above proficiency in reading for the 2021-22 school year, and 39% were at or above proficiency in math.
