Pleasanton High Schools Remain In Top 100 Best Schools In CA

PLEASANTON, CA — This year's list of best high schools evaluated more than 17,800 schools nationwide, including 1,603 in the Golden State.

Pleasanton remained in the top 100.

Foothill High School held its spot at #51 in California and #401 nationally in 2022.

Amador Valley High School also remained in its place of #56 in California and #424 in the U.S.

"Congratulations to our Foothill and Amador Valley High School communities on continuing the legacy of excellence through a pandemic," said David Haglund, Superintendent of Schools. "While these rankings are just one measurement and do not fully represent the resilience and inspiring perseverance exhibited by each member of our school communities, we continue to be proud of Amador and Foothill for their many achievements that represent the way we support the success of every student."

Whitney High School in Cerritos is the top school in California, according to a new national ranking by U.S. News and World Report.

The 2022 ranking of best high schools is intended to show how well the nation’s public schools serve all students, regardless of achievement level, by teaching them basic skills and preparing them for college-level work, according to a news release from U.S. News.

Families can also use the rankings to see how schools compare at the national, state and local levels on factors such as graduation rates and college readiness.

While thousands of schools were evaluated, 10 California schools were ranked among the top 100 nationally, according to U.S. News. When you filter by California only, the following 25 schools were ranked the best in the Golden State:

1. Whitney High School, Cerritos (No. 14 nationally)
2. California Academy of Mathematics and Science, Carson (No. 15 nationally)
3. Oxford Academy, Cypress (No. 16 nationally)
4. Harbor Teacher Preparation Academy, Wilmington (No. 62 nationally)
5. Preuss School UCSD, La Jolla (No. 71 nationally)
6. Lowell High School, San Francisco (No. 82 nationally)
7. University High School, Fresno (No. 92 nationally)
8. Mission San Jose High School, Fremont (No. 94 nationally)
9. Dr. T.J. Owens Gilroy Early College Academy, Gilroy (No. 95 nationally)
10. Riverside Stem Academy, Riverside (No. 100 nationally)
11. Lynbrook High School, San Jose (No. 101 nationally)
12. Eunice Sato Academy of Math & Science, Long Beach (No. 105 nationally)
13. Hawthorne Math and Science Academy, Hawthorne (No. 121 nationally)
14. Monta Vista High School, Cupertino (No. 129 nationally)
15. Western Center Academy, Hemet (No. 137 nationally)
16. Stockton Collegiate International Secondary, Stockton (No. 149 nationally)
17. Canyon Crest Academy, San Diego (No. 156 nationally)
18. Dougherty Valley High School, San Ramon (No. 158 nationally)
19. Lennox Mathematics, Science and Technology Academy, Lennox (No. 175 nationally)
20. Saratoga High School, Saratoga (No. 176 nationally)
21. Technology High School, Rohnert Park (No. 187 nationally)
22. Henry M. Gunn High School, Palo Alto (No. 188 nationally)
23. University Preparatory Academy Charter, San Jose (No. 193 nationally)
24. Downtown Business High School, Los Angeles (No. 194 nationally)
25. West Campus High School, Sacramento (No. 199 nationally)

You can search the full list here.

This year’s schools were ranked on six measures: college readiness, college curriculum breadth, state assessment performance, state assessment proficiency, reading and math proficiency, reading and math performance, underserved student performance and graduation rates.

The data used in this year’s ranking is from the 2019-20 academic school year. U.S. News adjusted its calculation of these measures to account for the impact COVID-19 had on schools in the 2019-20 school year.

Since most states closed schools for in-person instruction starting in March 2020 — typically just before most states conduct assessments — the U.S. Department of Education granted waivers allowing all states to forgo state testing for the 2019-20 school year.

To account for this, U.S. News relied on past assessment data from the
three prior ranking years. Researchers also incorporated state science assessment data from the 2018-19 school year.

Read more about the Best High Schools methodology.

In addition to the national rankings, U.S. News also published rankings at the state, metro area and school district levels. Only metro areas and school districts with three or more high schools were included in these subrankings.

Signature School in Indiana is at the top of the list for charter schools, and Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Virginia is the No. 1 magnet school. The Davidson Academy of Nevada is the top STEM school.