Pali High Among Top Schools in Nation

By Keldine Hull

Palisades Charter High is officially among the best high schools in America. According to the 2019 U.S. News Best High Schools ranking, Palisades Charter High placed 161st among California high schools and 1,055th in the nation.

The U.S. & World Report, widely accepted as the standard for education rankings, used six main factors to determine where schools place in the country: college readiness, reading and math proficiency, reading and math performance, underserved student performance, college curriculum breadth and graduation rates. Previous rankings involved a 4- step process, followed by the final step, college readiness, as the sole basis to determine ranking value.

More schools than ever have been included in the 2019 national report; 17,245 in total compared to 14,646 in 2018. According to Anita Narayan, Managing Editor of Education at U.S News, “Our mission with the Best High Schools rankings has always been to educate families about the schools in their district. By evaluating more schools than ever before, the new edition expands that focus so all communities can see which schools in their area are successfully serving their students – including historically underserved populations.”

A more detailed breakdown places Palisades Charter High 149th among magnet schools and 190^th among charter high schools. Within the top five percent of ranked schools, 18 percent are charter schools, public high schools that operate under charters and therefore don’t have the same regulations as traditional public schools. Other highlights of the report include Palisades Charter High’s 46 percent minority enrollment and 97 percent graduation rate.

The top 5 schools ranked in California are Whitney High School in Cerritos, ranked 14^th nationally; Oxford Academy in Cypress, ranked 19^th nationally; Dr. T.J. Owens Gilroy Early College Academy in Gilroy, ranked 42^nd nationally; Pacific Collegiate Charter in Santa Cruz, ranked 44^th nationally; and California Academy of Mathematics and Science, ranked 46^th nationally.

To learn more about the report, visit: https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/