Every year, a new ranking comes along to remind us which school districts are crushing it, and which ones are just... trying their best. The latest list is out, and this time, Illinois has something to brag about.

Illinois Has Some of the Best Schools in the Country

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I'll admit it, when I hear "best school districts in the U.S.," I don't automatically expect to see Illinois show up. I'm usually bracing for a list of well-funded zip codes in New York, California, or places I can't afford to vacation, let alone live. But here we are, surprising many, including probably ourselves, according to a story shared by fox32chicago.com.

How the Rankings Were Calculated

This new ranking comes from Wiingy, an online tutoring site that dug into data from Niche to score districts across 12 factors. We're talking academics, college prep, teacher quality, resources, you name it. They even translated letter grades into a 12-point scale (A+ = 12) and then mashed in test scores and user reviews for a final score out of 10.

MORE: 9 Best High Schools for Athletes in Illinois

The Illinois Heavy Hitters

On to the impressive part. Two Illinois school districts cracked the national top 10. Coming in at No. 3 is Adlai E. Stevenson High School District 125, serving parts of Lincolnshire, Long Grove, and Buffalo Grove. At No. 8 is Glenbrook High School District 225, covering the Glenbrook and Northbrook areas. Hats off to those students and their exhausted parents.

Top 10 U.S. School Districts (According to Wiingy)

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  1. Buford City Schools (GA): 9.31
  2. Scarsdale Union Free (NY): 9.21
  3. Adlai E. Stevenson 125 (IL): 9.17
  4. Eanes ISD (TX): 9.10
  5. Ladue SD (MO): 9.04
    5 (tie). Radnor Township SD (PA): 9.04
  6. Half Hollow Hills CSD (NY): 9.00
    6 (tie). Syosset CSD (NY): 9.00
  7. Novi CSD (MI): 8.96
  8. Glenbrook 225 (IL): 8.86
  9. West Lafayette CSC (IN): 8.79
    9 (tie). Roslyn UFSD (NY): 8.79
  10. East Williston UFSD (NY): 8.78

MORE: Income Family of 4 Needs to Live Comfortably in Illinois

10 Best Illinois Counties to Call Home, says New Study

If you're looking for the best places to live in Illinois, we've got you covered. Using key quality-of-life factors like education, life expectancy, and income, 24/7 Wall St. identified the top counties in the state where you can thrive.

Gallery Credit: Steve Shannon

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