OPRF has been listed six times on Newsweek's top 1500 American public schools, as measured by the Challenge Index.

[16] The top left section depicts an acorn cradled in the leaves of an oak tree.

[16] The bottom section consists of horizontal wavy lines, suggesting a flowing river, while the right section depicts a group of three trees which represents a park or forest (thus incorporating the town names "oak park and river forest").

[9] The following Advanced Placement courses are offered (not complete list): The school sponsors several organizations related to studying or performing in the arts.

While more common today, Oak Park was one of the first schools to offer credit toward graduation based on student performance in the orchestra.

[27] The school supports eleven stage productions each year, including four in the "Little Theatre," four in the black box "Studio 200" space, a summer and winter musical, and a one-act festival.

[27] The Studio 200 group supports students interested in gaining experience in all aspects of theatrical production from acting and directing to publicity and the technical arts.

Today the school's high-definition television studio hosts numerous productions, including the award-winning weekly newsmagazine show Newscene Live, airing throughout the metro area on Comcast Cable.

[citation needed] In January 2018, a docuseries entitled America to Me premiered at the Sundance film festival.

Director Steve James and his team followed several OPRF students throughout the 2015–2016 school year to explore the relationship between race and education.

[28] OPRF offers over 60 clubs and activities ranging from athletic and artistic to competitive academic, cultural, and social awareness.

[30] The following non-athletic teams have won their respective IHSA-sponsored state competition or tournament:[31] OPRF competes in the West Suburban Conference.

The school sponsors interscholastic teams for young men and women in: basketball cross country, soccer, swimming and diving, tennis, track and field, volleyball, and water polo.

[30] The following teams have won their respective IHSA-sponsored state championship tournament or meet:[31] In the school's early history, there were semi-annual "field days" in which students competed for various prizes (medals, cups, sporting equipment, cakes) in events such as the hammer throw, three-legged race, sack race, and obstacle course.

[53] In 1907, the Illinois State High School Athletic Association (previous name of the IHSA), banned all girls from participating in inter-school basketball because "roughness is not foreign to the game, and that the exercise in public is immodest and not altogether ladylike.

[56] Media related to Oak Park and River Forest High School at Wikimedia Commons