America's best high schools, 2012

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The first Irvine school to pop up on the list is University High...


..............at #159.

One spot under Corona Del Mar High, I might add.

Somewhere, 5 feet from a packed motorcourt, Kalbi is cursing U.S News.  :D
 
uni high is 159 nationally and 33 in california.  i dont think anyone suggests that irvine schools are best in the country but most people agree that they are very good schools and academically rigorous.  Oxford Academy in anaheim made strong showing being in top 10 and number 1 in CA

whitney in cerritos surprised me that its ranked so high.  and more importantly, university high in fresno was 10 in CA and 46 nationally...i thought fresno was a farm town with kids working on the farm after junior high...
 
in case that link doesnt work...top 10 OC schools in that list


Oxford Academy
#1 State Ranked
#7 Nationally Ranked


Corona del Mar High School
#32 State Ranked
#158 Nationally Ranked


University High School
#33 State Ranked
#159 Nationally Ranked


Orange County High School of the Arts
#44 State Ranked
#227 Nationally Ranked


Northwood High School
#54 State Ranked
#273 Nationally Ranked


Arnold O. Beckman High School
#63 State Ranked
#341 Nationally Ranked


Troy High School
#67 State Ranked
#375 Nationally Ranked


Sunny Hills High School
#89 State Ranked
#466 Nationally Ranked


Laguna Beach High School
#113 State Ranked
#589 Nationally Ranked


Segerstrom High School
#116 State Ranked
#610 Nationally Ranked
 
Do all the schools ranked higher than University have similar issues of competitiveness?  I recognized a few Northern California schools where that was the case (in the 90s).  They were highly ranked schools then and they are still highly ranked.

The methodology used in the study is always important to understand:http://www.usnews.com/education/high-schools/articles/2012/05/07/best-high-schools-methodologyhttp://www.usnews.com/pubfiles/Identifying_Top_Performing_High_Schools_May2012.pdf

On the California list, Dublin High School is ranked #4 in the State and #12 Nationally.  What stands out to me is that they show Dublin High as having a 7:1 Student/Teacher ratio.  If true, that would be amazing!  On their website, it states the ratio as 28:1.  I don't know enough about the school to know what is correct.  Just want to point out that you need to understand how these lists are created and do your due diligence. 
 
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Where are Woodbridge and Irvine HS? Even Beckman is ranked higher that's why USC is a smart dude.

edit: Woodbridge #126 and Irvine HS #151 state ranking. Both are out of top 100.

rkp said:
in case that link doesnt work...top 10 OC schools in that list


Oxford Academy
#1 State Ranked
#7 Nationally Ranked


Corona del Mar High School
#32 State Ranked
#158 Nationally Ranked


University High School
#33 State Ranked
#159 Nationally Ranked


Orange County High School of the Arts
#44 State Ranked
#227 Nationally Ranked


Northwood High School
#54 State Ranked
#273 Nationally Ranked


Arnold O. Beckman High School
#63 State Ranked
#341 Nationally Ranked


Troy High School
#67 State Ranked
#375 Nationally Ranked


Sunny Hills High School
#89 State Ranked
#466 Nationally Ranked


Laguna Beach High School
#113 State Ranked
#589 Nationally Ranked


Segerstrom High School
#116 State Ranked
#610 Nationally Ranked
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IndieDev said:
The first Irvine school to pop up on the list is University High...


..............at #159.

One spot under Corona Del Mar High, I might add.

Somewhere, 5 feet from a packed motorcourt, Kalbi is cursing U.S News.  :D
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guess the ocean breeze has not changed you much.  still a douchelord. sorry to disappoint, but i don't live in a motocourt, i live in a decent sized SFR with a driveway and a backyard.
 
my link has entire list - i just took time to put the top 10 OC schools

also as zovall says, have to understand the methodology.  a lot of schools with lower API are ranked higher than ones with higher APIs so there is a lot that is specific to their methodology
 
patrick - i really dont get your point?  its not a mad scamble at all and its just trying to understand the data. 

also, lets be clear - you are living in the irvine equivalent of the valley.  remember, i went to HS in van nuys and have tons of friends who live there.  porter ranch is on the outskirts of the valley and is more expensive than other similar parts of the valley.  and almost at every party i attend in porter ranch, the locals talk about the new schools opening up and how wonderful it is to live there. 

i really dont get you - you are against people who want to live in irvine but you choose the irvine equivalent of the valley. 
 
your point on public schools being the same is ridiculous.  when i went to VNHS, we won the science bowl that year and i believe won the academic decathlon year after.  we had super smart kids, had ivy leaguers, had a bunch of perfect SATs, etc but the school was dangerous and ghetto.  like many magnets in LAUSD, it picked high crime low income areas to put the magnet in with the idea of mixing kids from all walks of life.  problem was that it literally was have 2 schools on 1 campus.  we next interacted with locals and shared nothing but PE.

during my tenure there, a kid got stabbed, we had a shooting near the school, a riot broke out on campus, there was a gang turf war, etc.  yes my friends and i succeeded but if given the choice between that and a safer school, why would i pick that? 

and finally, who exactly is paying to live in irvine solely for schools and how much premium are they even paying?  what are you comparing it to?  you keep pointing at something that no one is saying...

for us, irvine happens to be central to most of the places we frequent.  the pricing isnt that much more than south county cities and for us and where we frequent, we would end up paying the difference in toll and gas in any case.  instead of pointing at everyone who wants to live in irvine as idiots who are blinded by the "good schools", why not ask and learn?  trust me, there are many valley folks who think porter ranch is a joke.
 
that you CAN replicate the "Irvine" lifestyle for less $$.  And you don't need to move all the way out here to do it.
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we did the math and compared houses in laguna, ladera, serrano heights and its not that different.  dont get me wrong, its definitely less but not the $200-300K you make it out to be.  if we dont drive to LA, we end up putting about 400 miles a month on our car.  our friends who live in coto put substantially more...both their jobs as well as many others who live in south county are in irvine, costa mesa, or south coast area. 
 
rkp said:
that you CAN replicate the "Irvine" lifestyle for less $$.  And you don't need to move all the way out here to do it.
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we did the math and compared houses in laguna, ladera, serrano heights and its not that different.  dont get me wrong, its definitely less but not the $200-300K you make it out to be.  if we dont drive to LA, we end up putting about 400 miles a month on our car.  our friends who live in coto put substantially more...both their jobs as well as many others who live in south county are in irvine, costa mesa, or south coast area. 
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I have to disagree with you on the price difference....the larger home that you are looking for can be had under $1M in Ladera Ranch, Laguna Niguel, Aliso Viejo, and Serrano Heights.
 
Patrick J. Star said:
Attending any public school is no guarantee of success --- they are all largely the same.  It's what YOU do as a parent --- regardless of school --- that makes the difference. 
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While I understand your generalization... you're not exactly practicing what you preach. I know you are trying to channel Graphrix but there are differences in public schools, you combine that and parenting to get better results.

I doubt you would have bought where you did if the public school in your area was terrible... so you can't say they are "largely the same". There are tiers and everyone who can afford to, would want to put their kids in a "higher" tier school.
So let's say this again....People are paying for something else, and calling it "good schools".
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No one here says they choose Irvine JUST for the schools (in fact, there was a poll on TI that illustrates that).

And I don't feel IUSD is that good (I actually took one of my kids back to private) but on average, it's better than most and as a parent, you do what you can to give your kid more advantages. Sure... maybe that ONE Granada Hills HS will do better than my kid... but I would rather live in Irvine than SVG. And to be fair, Granada is a charter school... so of course they're going to have better academic performance. Same goes for OCHSA, Troy and Oxford (and many other high ranking HS) where enrollment is "selective". If you look purely at "public" schools, any school that is not magnet, charter or has an application process but ranks high does say something.

I realize you're trying to soft-troll... but don't tell me that one of your reasons you chose Irvine to live in (and now where you currently live) didn't have anything to do with "good schools".
 
Patrick J. Star said:
I think you are misreading my point, rkp.  First, I'm not suggesting anyone use Van Nuys or Santa Ana or Compton as their alternative.  Please note, when I tell IHO to look elsewhere for "equivalents", its places like Ladera Ranch, Laguna Niguel, and Aliso Viejo.  Just like Porter Ranch is --- and we only made this leap because our extended family was here and I could transfer my job to downtown LA.  We almost went for Ladera Ranch before deciding on this.  Regardless --- all the substitutes are largely the same.
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Still not sure if it's "largely the same".

I have relatives/friends who live in South County and the public schools are not that great (not just talking API here).

2 home school there kids and 2 others send them to private schools... so yeah... the price difference (or the jobless difference if my wife has to homeschool) doesn't really make up the expense... or the increased commute for me or taking us out of the central location we like (plus, my friends who live down there actually come up to Irvine to play ball).
 
Patrick J. Star said:
irvinehomeowner said:
Still not sure if it's "largely the same".

I have relatives/friends who live in South County and the public schools are not that great (not just talking API here).
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Ok, well --- good luck.

USC --- congrats on the purchase, great choice.  West Irvine is the "Irvine alternative" within the city of Irvine.  We loved our time there.  I think I know which house you went for, and if so you are only few doors away from some acquaintances of ours back in the day.  They are super cool and you may have already met them, as they are pretty social. You will like living around there.
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Thanks PatStar, the neighbors are all really nice and friendly.  Several of them welcomed me when they saw me working on the house.  I couldn't be happier with the home and the neighbors that I have. 
 
irvinehomeowner said:
I have relatives/friends who live in South County and the public schools are not that great (not just talking API here).

2 home school there kids and 2 others send them to private schools... so yeah... the price difference (or the jobless difference if my wife has to homeschool) doesn't really make up the expense... or the increased commute for me or taking us out of the central location we like (plus, my friends who live down there actually come up to Irvine to play ball).
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But you also have an imaginary friend like me whose kids do attend in South County and do like it.  :) So, that must offset the anecdote a little. Why so paranoid? You wouldn't want your offspring associating with my little thugs?  ;) I guess it's families like mine you want to avoid. I can't blame you. We are so scary. BOO!

Having lived all over, I have to agree with P. Star on many of his points. I also feel such a mixture of emotions: happy / sad / confused / incredibly blessed... why Foothill Ranch is never mentioned as an alternative when A.V., L.N. etc. are compare to Irvine. I absolutely love it here! I feel stupid for having waited this long to consider it an alternative! DUH! I've lived in: Tustin, Tustin Ranch, Irvine, Yorba Linda, even the I.E., and now F.R. I love it for many of the reasons P. Star mentioned and then some. It has everything I was looking for and below the price I was prepared to spend. I feel it's a hidden gem! Not to get too off-topic but before I bought, I was anticipating the opening of Alton Parkway which is due any day now. It's a hop, skip, and jump from Portola Springs, where I used to live. Sometimes I feel like I robbed a bank buying the house I did at the price I did (original, equity owners eager to sell after divorce.) Anywhos. I'll have to post about the Alton Parkway thing in the OC Real estate thread. I believe increased access to this community a stone's throw from the brink of Irvine may encourage some to move here.
 
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