PUSD Stands Out In New Ranking Of CA Schools

PLEASANTON, CA — Pleasanton Unified School District received high marks in a recently released ranking of public schools and school districts.

Niche, a data analysis company, looked at a variety of criteria in determining a grade for both public and private K-12 schools in Bay Area, including academics, teachers and diversity.

PUSD was ranked the 17th best of 438 school districts ranked in California and 2nd best in Alameda County. All Pleasanton schools received at least an A grade, with the exception of a B- grade at Village High School.

Here's how the rest of Tri-Valley stacked up:

• #17: Pleasanton Unified School District
• #26: San Ramon Valley Unified School District
• #33: Dublin Unified School District
• #109: Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District

Niche said its 2022 best schools rankings offer a more “personal” view of schools than its rankings in recent years. Significantly less importance was placed on SAT and ACT scores this year, Niche said. Any factor in its methodology that is related to test scores was reduced by one third.

The company combined ratings from students, alumni and parents with quantitative data from the U.S. Department of Education and other sources to evaluate teachers, resources, facility, extracurricular activity opportunities and other factors. Read more about the methodology here.

Across the country, Niche ranked 94,491 public schools, 2,489 private schools and 11,846 school districts to come up with its lists and rankings.

Top 5 Public High Schools:

1. The Davidson Academy in Reno, Nevada
2. The North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics
3. Massachusetts Academy for Math & Science School
4. Maggie Walker Governor’s School in Virginia
5. Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology in Virginia

Top 5 Private High Schools:

1. Phillips Academy in Massachusetts
2. The Hotchkiss School in Connecticut
3. Choate Rosemary Hall in Connecticut
4. The College Preparatory School in California
5. Groton School in Massachusetts

Top 5 School Districts:

1. Adlai E. Stevenson High School District in Illinois
2. Glenbrook High School District in Illinois
3. Great Neck Public Schools in New York
4. Community High School District 128 in Illinois
5. Jericho Union Free School District in New York

See the full Niche rankings here.