Niche.com Grades Napa Valley, Saint Helena School Districts

NAPA COUNTY, CA -- As the 2017-18 school year kicks off, parents and students heading to their first day of school can see how the Napa Valley and Saint Helena unified school districts stack up against others in the region and state as Niche.com has released its annual rankings of best schools and school districts in the country.

The 2018 rankings released this month rank elementary, middle and high schools as well as school districts.

According to Niche, the best school district in Napa County is the Saint Helena Unified School District. With an overall Niche grade of A-, the district received a grade of B+ in academics, A+ in teachers, B+ in clubs and activities, A in college prep and an A- in health and safety. In the category of diversity, Niche awarded the school district an A-1. Statewide, Niche ranked Saint Helena Unified No. 53.

With a B as its overall Niche grade, the Napa Valley Unified School District was ranked second-best in the county. The district earned a B- in academics, A- in teachers, B-in clubs and activities, an A+ in diversity, a B+ in college prep and a B+ in health and safety. Niche ranked Napa Valley Unified No. 126 in the state.

To arrive at these rankings, Niche looked at data from the U.S. Department of Education as well as test scores, college data and ratings collected from Niche users. The methodology for each category of ranking varied. (Click here for more information on how Niche calculates its rankings.)

Niche assigns a standardized score for each factor, which is then weighted before an overall score is calculated for each school district. The overall scores are again standardized and some districts are disqualified from receiving a final letter grade if there isn’t enough data. School districts are then ranked numerically and assigned grades.

Niche’s data for its K-12 school district rankings comes from various sources including the U.S. Department of Education, the National Center for Education Statistics and the Civil Rights Data Collection. The rankings also rely on data that is self-reported by Niche users and schools. (Click here to learn more about where Niche’s data comes from.)

• ALSO SEE: Napa Valley School Calendar 2017-18: First Day Of School, Vacations, Conferences

What do you think of the rankings? Let us know in the comments below.

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