The Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District congratulates Esperanza, Valencia and Yorba Linda high schools for earning the distinction of “America’s Top High Schools.”
The annual ranking was released on August 27 by the Daily Beast, a news reporting website that previously merged with Newsweek Magazine. Yorba Linda High was 116th; Esperanza High was 367th; and Valencia High was 369th in the ranking.
According to the Daily Beast, the ranking originated with 2012/2013 data from the United States Department of Education that showed high schools with at least an 85 percent graduation rate. Those high schools were contacted to complete a survey to determine further information about the school. Of the 1,200 schools that responded, 735 were included in the “America’s Top High Schools” ranking.
Factors used to determine the rankings were:
• Graduating rates (30 percent of the ranking) – The percentage of students who graduate in four years or less;
• College bound (30 percent of the ranking) – A rate determined by the number of students attending a two-year or four-year university or college after graduation;
• Rigor/College Preparedness (30 percent of the ranking) – A calculation that includes the number of students enrolled in advanced placement, International Baccalaureate or Advanced International Certificate of Education (AICE) courses. Free and reduced lunch eligibility was also used to determine access to opportunity for all students; and
• College Entrance exams (10 percent) – Average ACT/SAT scores for the school.
Other news agencies, including U.S. News and World Report and the Washington Post, also release their own “Top High Schools” ranking. While El Dorado High School did not participate in this ranking, the school did earn a silver medal in the U.S. News and World Report 2014 ranking. That ranking analyzed over 31,000 high schools across America.
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