California High Makes Newsweek’s Top Public High Schools List For 2016

DANVILLE, CA— Congratulations to Cal High School, which made Newsweek’s latest list of the best public high schools in the country. 51 California high schools made the list, which ranked the 500 best high schools in the country.

In the same district, Monte Vista High in Danville holds the 121th spot.

"We congratulate California High School and Monte Vista High School on being named by Newsweek as one of America’s Top High Schools for 2016," a San Ramon Valley Unified School District spokesperson said. "This recognition is one of the many accolades achieved by the students and staff at each of our high schools where we celebrate academic success, as well as the overall well-being of each student."

The top-ranking school in the state was Whitney (Gretchen) High School in Cerritos, which came in seventh nationwide. The school ranked the highest in California for 2015.

Here's a look at all of the California high schools that made Newsweek's list and where they came in on the list: (Click here to view the full list of Newsweek's 500 best.)

(7) Whitney (Gretchen) High School Cerritos
(18) Monta Vista High School Cupertino
(25) Northwood High School Irvine
(29) Lynbrook High School San Jose
(35) Cupertino High School Cupertino
(50) Palos Verdes Peninsula High School Rolling Hills Estates
(51) Oak Park High School Oak Park
(57) University High School Irvine
(69) Woodbridge High School Irvine
(74) Homestead High School Cupertino
(81) Redwood High School Larkspur
(83) Westview High School San Diego
(90) Leland High School San Jose
(100) Corona del Mar High School Newport Beach
(119) Westlake High School Westlake Village
(120) California High School San Ramon
(121) Monte Vista High School Danville
(124) Aragon San Mateo
(128) Diamond Bar High School Diamond Bar
(136) Classical Academy High School Escondido
(155) Dr. TJ Owens Gilroy Early College Academ Gilroy
(161) University High School Fresno
(164) Palisades Charter High School Pacific Palisades
(172) Yorba Linda High School Yorba Linda
(174) Palos Verdes High School Palos Verdes Estates
(200) Mira Loma High School Sacramento
(238) West High School Torrance
(245) Scotts Valley High School Scotts Valley
(252) Aliso Niguel High School Aliso Viejo
(253) Henry M. Gunn High School Palo Alto
(284) Nuview Bridge Early College High School Nuevo
(289) South High School Torrance
(295) Arnold O. Beckman High School Irvine
(303) Shasta High School Redding
(318) River Valley Charter School Lakeside
(321) Harbor Teacher Preparation Academy Wilmington
(323) Tesoro High School Las Flores
(326) Glendora High School Glendora
(331) Palo Alto High School Palo Alto
(333) Rio Americano High School Sacramento
(335) Trabuco Hills High School Mission Viejo
(346) Huntington Beach High School Huntington Beach
(352) Analy High School Sebastopol
(385) International Polytechnic High School Pomona
(393) Foothill Technology High School Ventura
(403) San Clemente High School San Clemente
(455) Walnut High School Walnut
(456) HighTech LA Van Nuys
(465) Maria Carrillo High School Santa Rosa
(475) Marina High School Huntington Beach
(494) William S. Hart High School Newhall

The school rankings are borne of legitimate research. Newsweek, along with the analytics firm Westat, uses legitimate and objective measurements to put together its annual ranking of the country’s best high schools.

Newsweek looked at six measurements and weighted them to come up with a “college readiness index.” The rankings are meant to show how well high schools do at preparing students for college.
Those measurements and their weight are:

• Holding power: 10 percent
• Ratio of counselor/full-time equivalent to student enrollment: 10 percent
• Weighted SAT/ACT: 17.5 percent
• Weighted AP/IB/dual enrollment composite: 17.5 percent
• Graduation rate: 20 percent
• College enrollment rate: 25 percent

In all, 6,477 of the nation’s 15,819 public high schools met the criteria to be considered in Newsweek’s rankings. Newsweek used school performance data from the National Center for Education Statistics to narrow down the list of schools.

Click here to view the full methodology.
You can view last year’s rankings here.

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