Two Monroe County school districts are ranked among the top 100 in the state of Illinois in a report recently released by backgroundchecks.org, a website that helps users find public records and run background checks.

Waterloo ranks No. 17 and Columbia is 22nd on the list.

According to the report, student performance (math and reading test scores), dropout rates, school funding and area poverty rates contributed to the rankings.

Columbia school superintendent Dr. Gina Segobiano said her district is able to spend significantly less to educate its students — at $4,636 per student — than the state average of $7,853 per student. She also cited the district’s higher than average PARCC scores over the past two years as noteworthy.

“Columbia CUSD 4 attributes success collectively to our great students, faculty, staff, and parents. We are lucky to be able to serve our students in such a great community,” Segobiano said.

Waterloo school superintendent Brian Charron said his district’s ranking showcases the quality of the schools in the district as well as the community it serves.

“We are flattered to again be recognized among the best schools around. I do believe our students, teachers and administrators deserve credit for the reputation our district has earned, but the quality of our district is also a direct reflection of the quality of our community,” he said.

Data was collected from a total of 9,577 school districts. Backgroundchecks.org runs background checks and helps users find public records.

Waterloo has a total of 2,648 students in grades K-12, which is down 56 students from the 2016-17 school year.

Columbia has a total of 1,987 students across all grades, which is up 34 students from the prior school year.