Ten San Diego Unified High Schools Make US News 'Best' List

Ten San Diego Unified high schools and one charter are ranked on the list of America's best high schools, released today by US News and World Report Magazine. The schools are all ranked in the top 1,800 of the 22,000 high schools in the nation, according to the magazine.

Charter Preuss School UCSD ranked eighth in California and 44th in the nation, followed by La Jolla High at number 34 in the state, 167 nationally. Others ranking (state/federal) were University City High, 66/371; Patrick Henry, 68/383; Scripps Ranch, 69/390; Mira Mesa, 123/658; the School of International Studies at San Diego High, 127/678; Pt. Loma High, 137/744; Serra High, 146/775; San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts, 264/1284; and the School of Science, Connections and Technology at Kearny High, 365/1765.

Other schools which were recognized nationally included the schools of Digital Media and Design, and International Business at Kearny High, Mt. Everest Academy and San Diego Met.

This is the fourth year the magazine has ranked high schools, partnering with American Institutes for Research to analyze the schools. Rankings were based on several factors, including performance on state tests and their students' college readiness.

"Congratulations to our students, teachers and staff members at these and all of our schools," said Superintendent Bill Kowba. "We thank US News for this recognition. Having a diploma from an award-winning school can only help our students as they work to get to college."

Preuss, La Jolla, University City, Patrick Henry and Scripps Ranch all received Gold rankings from the magazine, which signifies the top 500 schools in the nation. The magazine's study projects that students at these schools have the highest college readiness. Silver honors went to Mira Mesa, San Diego High International Studies, Pt. Loma, Serra, SCPA and Kearny SCT received silver ranking.

For more information on the survey, go to the magazine's website.