First published in the May 5 print issue of the Outlook Valley Sun.
U.S. News and World Report recently released its annual high school rankings, and La Cañada High School was rated among the top high schools in the state yet again.
LCHS earned a scorecard of 98.73 by the media company, ranking the school No. 11 in Los Angeles, 29th in the state and 227th in the nation.
“It’s important to note that all of the schools which are ranked higher than LCHS in the Los Angeles metro area category have selective admissions processes, and many of those who ranked higher in the state rankings do, as well,” Wendy Sinnette, La Cañada Unified School District superintendent, said in a statement.
“I’d like to express my sincerest thanks to our amazing students, outstanding teachers, support staff and administration and to our families for their incredible support. These rankings are a result of everyone’s stellar efforts, and I am most grateful,” she added.
U.S. News ranked nearly 18,000 high schools in the nation and provided scorecards for each school based on enrollment, graduation rates, student body demographics and results of state assessments as well as AP and international baccalaureate exams.
La Cañada ranked 20th in the state in assessment proficiency, which aggregates scores on math, reading and science assessments required for graduation. The high school, which has a graduation rate of 98%, also had a college readiness index of 75 out of 100 based on student performance on state-required exams.
LCHS students performed well in reading with an 89% proficiency score and in mathematics with an 81% proficiency score. Though LCHS students’ score was lower in science (69%), the figure was still much higher than the 30% average in the state.
La Cañada High School students were also in the 98.8 percentile on the smarter balanced score, which is considered well above expectations and measures overall student performance on state-required tests, and in the 98.4 percentile on college-level exams. LCHS also had an 80% participation rate of students enrolled in AP courses.
