University High is No. 8 on Newsweek's list of America's top high schools

Newsweek magazine has published its annual list of the top public high schools in the U.S., and our very own University High School has landed the No. 8 spot.

In all, Newsweek identifies 500 of what it deems “America’s Best High Schools” using a ranking system that was revamped this year. You can read more about the magazine’s methodology here, but we’ll tell you that it factors in a bunch of statistics, including graduation rates, college matriculation rates, the number of advanced placement tests taken per graduate and scores on the SAT/ACT and several other exams. Uni, which is shown in the chart with a 98 percent graduation rate and an average SAT score of 1,920, is the only campus from California to crack the top 10. “It feels great to be recognized at such a high level,” Principal John Pehrson said Monday. “Our teachers continue to pursue excellence in spite of the challenges of tighter economic times, and our students continue to rise to the expectations set by the teachers. It is wonderful to be able to work in a place with such amazing support to help make it all happen.” Other publications, including U.S. News & World Report and The Orange County Register, also regularly produce lists of top-performing high schools using data and their own respective formulas. While no ranking system can tell the full story of what goes on inside a classroom, each at least adds something to the collective dialogue, and IUSD sites have been consistently recognized. We should note that Northwood and Woodbridge high schools were also spotlighted on Newsweek’s list, which can be accessed by clicking here.