U.S. News & World Report: Oxford Academy in Cypress named best public high school in California

(The Center Square) – An Orange County public high school ranked first in California and 11th-best nationally, according to a national ranking of nearly 18,000 high schools in all 50 states by U.S. News & World Report.

Oxford Academy in Cypress, part of the Anaheim Union High School District, placed first in California, out of 1,675 California schools surveyed. Of the 17,857 high schools surveyed nationally, U.S. News ranked schools based on state testing scores, graduation rate, college preparedness, and several other factors.

Oxford Academy received a 99.94 grade based on its 100% graduation rate and the fact that 100% of its students have taken at least one AP exam, and 98% have passed at least one AP exam.

Its students were also 93% proficient in math and 99% proficient in reading. Of its total enrollment, 92% are minorities and 36% are economically disadvantaged.

“This achievement recognizes some of the great work at Oxford and throughout our district, such as academic excellence, civic engagement, career readiness, and 21th century skills including collaboration, creativity, critical thinking, communication, and compassion,” Anaheim Union High School District superintendent Michael Matsuda said in a news release.

Oxford Academy ranked first in Los Angeles among California Metro Area High Schools and first out of 12 Anaheim Union High Schools in a district of nearly 21,000 students.

A total of 795 students are enrolled in the school with less than 200 students in each grade. The majority of the students are Asian (70%), followed by 19% Hispanic and 8% Caucasian.

Rounding out the top ten in California are Whitney High School in Cerritos, which ranked second, followed by California Academy of Mathematics and Science in Carson, Riverside Stem Academy, Mission San Jose High in Fremont, Preuss School UCSD in La Jolla, Lowell High School in San Francisco, Harbor Teacher Preparation Academy in Wilmington, University High School in Fresno and Pacific Collegiate Charter in Santa Cruz.

The second- and third-best schools have enrollments of less than 700 students and graduation rates of 99% and 98%, respectively.

Before graduating from a California high school, students must take 13 specific yearlong courses, including three English classes, two math classes and two science courses.

There are 959 school districts in California, comprised of 2,598 high schools, 94,798 teachers and 2.1 million students.

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