Santa Monica High School Among 2022’s Best: U.S. News

Nicole Charky
·4 min read

SANTA MONICA, CA — Santa Monica High School is a top school in California, according to a new national ranking by U.S. News and World Report. This year’s list of best high schools evaluated more than 17,800 schools nationwide, including 1,603 in the Golden State.

Santa Monica High School is ranked at 108 in California and 829 nationally. The school has a 95 percent graduation rate, according to U.S. News. Total enrollment (grades 9-12) is 2,863.

The 2022 ranking of best high schools is intended to show how well the nation’s public schools serve all students, regardless of achievement level, by teaching them basic skills and preparing them for college-level work, according to a news release from U.S. News.

Families can also use the rankings to see how schools compare at the national, state and local levels on factors such as graduation rates and college readiness.

While thousands of schools were evaluated, see where nearby SoCal schools were ranked:

  • Whitney High School, Carson. Ranked 14.

  • California Academy of Mathematics and Science, Long Beach. Ranked 15.

  • Oxford Academy, Anaheim. Ranked 16.

  • Harbor Teacher Preparation Academy, Wilmington. Ranked 62.

  • Preuss School UCSD, La Jolla. Ranked 71.

  • Riverside Stem Academy, Riverside. Ranked 100.

  • Eunice Sato Academy of Math & Science, Long Beach. Ranked 105.

  • Hawthorne Math and Science Academy, Hawthorne. Ranked 121.

  • Lennox Mathematics, Science and Technology Academy, Lennox. Ranked 175.

  • Downtown Business High School, Los Angeles. Ranked 194.

  • Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies, Los Angeles. Ranked 225.

  • La Canada High School, La Canada. Ranked 227.

  • Anderson W. Clark Magnet High School, La Crescenta. Ranked 269.

  • Compton Early College High School, Compton. Ranked 280.

  • Alliance Gertz-Ressler Richard Merkin 6-12 Complex, Los Angeles. Ranked 300.

  • Orange County School of the Arts (OCSA), Santa Ana. Ranked 303.

  • Palos Verdes Peninsula High School, Rolling Hills Estates. Ranked 324.

  • Alliance Marc and Eva Stern Math and Science, Los Angeles. Ranked 369.

  • University High School (Irvine), Irvine. Ranked 378.

  • Francisco Bravo Medical Magnet High School, Los Angeles. Ranked 389.

  • Ernest S. Mcbride Sr. High School, Long Beach. Ranked 420.

  • Northwood High School, Irvine. Ranked 423.

  • La Quinta High School, Westminster. Ranked 439.

  • Alliance Ted K. Tajima High School, Los Angeles. Ranked 444.

  • Animo Leadership High School, Inglewood. Ranked 451.

  • San Marino High School, San Marino. Ranked 452.

  • Mira Costa High School, Manhattan Beach. Ranked 470.

  • Cerritos High School, Cerritos. Ranked 471.

  • El Segundo High School, El Segundo. Ranked 596.

  • Santa Monica High School, Santa Monica. Ranked 829.

  • West High School, Torrance. Ranked 975.

  • Redondo Union High School, Redondo Beach. Ranked 1,207.

  • Culver City High School, Culver City. Ranked 1,657.

  • Venice Senior High School, Los Angeles. Ranked 2,533.

This year, the top 15 schools nationally are in 14 different states.

Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Alexandria, Virginia, was ranked No. 1 in the nation, as well as among magnet schools.

Here are the top 10 schools in this year’s national Best High Schools ranking:

  1. Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology - Alexandria, Virginia

  2. Academic Magnet High School - North Charleston, South Carolina

  3. Signature School - Evansville, Indiana

  4. School for Advanced Studies - Miami, Florida

  5. Payton College Preparatory High School - Chicago, Illinois

  6. The Davidson Academy of Nevada - Reno, Nevada

  7. Central Magnet School - Murfreesboro, Tennessee

  8. The School for the Talented and Gifted - Dallas, Texas

  9. Gwinnett School of Mathematics, Science and Technology - Lawrenceville, Georgia

  10. Julia R. Masterman Secondary School - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

This year’s schools were ranked on six measures: college readiness, college curriculum breadth, state assessment performance, state assessment proficiency, reading and math proficiency, reading and math performance, underserved student performance and graduation rates.

The data used in this year’s ranking is from the 2019-20 academic school year. U.S. News adjusted its calculation of these measures to account for the impact COVID-19 had on schools in the 2019-20 school year.

Since most states closed schools for in-person instruction starting in March 2020 — typically just before most states conduct assessments — the U.S. Department of Education granted waivers allowing all states to forgo state testing for the 2019-20 school year.

To account for this, U.S. News relied on past assessment data from the
three prior ranking years. Researchers also incorporated state science assessment data from the 2018-19 school year.

Read more about the Best High Schools methodology.

In addition to the national rankings, U.S. News also published rankings at the state, metro area and school district levels. Only metro areas and school districts with three or more high schools were included in these subrankings.

Signature School in Indiana is at the top of the list for charter schools, and Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Virginia is the No. 1 magnet school. The Davidson Academy of Nevada is the top STEM school.

This article originally appeared on the Santa Monica Patch