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Chicago Public Schools
William Howard Taft High School
6530 W BRYN MAWR AVE · 4,280 students · grades 7-12
By the numbers
Graduate in 4 years
93%
district 86% (+7)
Enroll in college
73%
district 65% (+7)
CPS status
Good Standing
district accountability
CPS publishes no school ranking — it retired its 1+/1/2+ levels — so these sit beside the district average rather than a position in a list.
About TAFT HS
TAFT IS AN INTERNATIONAL BACCALAUREATE WORLD SCHOOL For the second consecutive year Taft High School has been recognized by US News and World Reports as one of the Best High School in the Nation. Taft High School is the largest IB school in Illinois. International Baccalaureate World Schools share a common philosophy—a commitment to improve the teaching and learning of a diverse and inclusive community of students by delivering a challenging and high quality program of international education. Taft is the school that the movie GREASE was based on and one of our famous alumni is Terry Kath, the lead singer and guitarist of the band CHICAGO.
6530 W BRYN MAWR AVE, Chicago, IL 60631 · 7735341000
Programs you can apply to here
You apply to a program, not just to a school — and several of these take no admissions test.
Frequently asked questions
- How do you get into William Howard Taft High School?
- Rank it on your GoCPS application by November 13. William Howard Taft High School offers International Baccalaureate (IB) — each program has its own admission route, and several take no admissions test at all.
- Does William Howard Taft High School have a ranking?
- No — and neither does any CPS school. The district retired its 1+/1/2+ school levels, so any ranking you see comes from a third party, not CPS. What CPS does publish is on this page: the graduation and college-enrollment rates beside the district average.
Closest other high schools
- Hyman G Rickover Naval Academy High School · 2.1 mi
- Jacqueline B Vaughn Occupational High School · 2.1 mi
- Ombudsman Chicago- Northwest · 2.5 mi
- Chicago Academy High School · 2.9 mi
- Charles P Steinmetz College Preparatory HS · 3.3 mi
- CICS - Northtown · 3.4 mi
School facts, graduation and college-enrollment rates come from the City of Chicago open data portal, refreshed 2026-09-12. The official source of truth for admissions is cps.edu/gocps.