U.S. News Ranks IUSD High Schools Among the Best in the State and Nation

U.S. News Best High Schools Ranking

U.S. News & World Report released its latest ranking of the country's "Best High Schools" this week and four of IUSD’s comprehensive campuses made the list.  With only nine schools in Orange County to make the California top 100 ranking, IUSD was the only OC school district to have four schools in the top 100 ranking.  

  • Northwood High School, #31 in California, #216 in the U.S.
  • University High School, #35 in California, #255 in the U.S.
  • Woodbridge High School, #47 in California, #337 in the U.S.
  • Irvine High School, #61 in California, #423 in the U.S.

* Portola High School, which opened in 2016, was not eligible for consideration at this time.

According to U.S. News and World Report, the “Best High Schools” rankings take a comprehensive approach to evaluating schools.  The highest-ranked schools are considered based on six areas: college readiness, state assessment proficiency, state assessment performance, underserved student performance, college curriculum breadth and graduation rates.  


More than 25,000 public high schools in 50 states and the District of Columbia were ranked. For more information about the overall rankings and criteria, click here.