2 Palos Verdes Peninsula Schools Among Top in Nation — Again

PALOS VERDES, CA— Highly respected Palos Verdes Peninsula High of Rolling Hills Estates has once again gained national attention, landing among the top 100 of the nation’s best high schools and among the top six in the state, according to Newsweek.

Peninsula High was sixth in California, the same spot it held in last year's ranking but moved up 22 spots to No. 50 from 72 in the national rankings. Palos Verdes High in Palos Verdes estate also moved up in the rankings, coming in at 175 and 25th in the state compared to 236 and 32nd, respectively, last year.

The top-ranking school in the state was again Whitney (Gretchen) High School in Cerritos, which came in seventh nationwide. The school also 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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