Scotts Valley High Picked 135 in the State for Academics

Scotts Valley High ranked 135th in the state and 709th in the country, according to a study by U.S. News & World Report.

The numbers were a significant drop from the previous year, in which the school placed 259th in the U.S. out of 21,776 high schools from 49 states and the District of Columbia. It placed 50th in California out of 2,407 schools in 515 districts.

Scotts Valley had 802 students when the current study was done and last year had a student-teacher ratio of 24-1.

The schools are ranked not only on college preparedness, but how they served all students and how they served the least-advantaged students. See more here.

Three broad criteria are used by the magazine to determine its ratings:

• College Readiness Index. Based on the percentages of 12th graders who were tested and passed AP exams. 
• Academic Performance Index. A measure of performance and growth of schools based on a variety of academic indicators. Possible scores are from 200 to 1000.
• Student/Teacher Ratio. California schools average 20/1.

For comparison:

Santa Cruz charter school Pacific Collegiate School with 475 students had a CRI of 100 percent. Its API was 942. And with 27 teachers, its teacher/student ratio is 17:1.

Harbor High School with 1,000 students was ranked #330 on the list in California and #1,434 in the country. Its College Readiness was 25.5; API was 787 and it doesn't list its student-teacher ratio.

Santa Cruz High School  with 1133 students wasn't ranked. It had a CRI of 21.1 and Academic Performance of 785. It didn't list student-teacher ratio.