The yearly high school rankings of U.S. News and World Report are now available online, and they include a few local names: The Preuss School UCSD came in 8th, beating last year’s ranking of 10th, and La Jolla High ranked 99th. The rankings are calculated by School Evaluation Services, which analyzes schools for Standard and Poor’s, and incorporate state tests and Advanced Placement exams.
Interestingly, the two are both public schools in La Jolla that enjoy more independence than a typical public school: Preuss is a charter school operated in partnership with the University of California, San Diego, and serves low-income students who could become the first in their families to get a college degree. As a charter school, it is publicly funded and authorized by San Diego Unified but run independently by its own board. It weathered scandal last year when an audit found that grades had been changed at the prestigious school. La Jolla High is a San Diego Unified school that enjoys some autonomy from the school district under an agreement first struck under Alan Bersin.
(And a small shout out to my freshman alma mater, Academic Magnet High School in South Carolina, which ranked 9th: Go Raptors!)