These public high schools are the best in San Diego: U.S. News and World Report

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — U.S. News and World Report released the 2024 edition of its "Best High Schools" ranking on Tuesday and a few San Diego-area schools placed among the best in the state.

Canyon Crest Academy, which is in the San Dieguito Union High School District, was the highest ranked San Diego-area school by the magazine, coming in at No. 15 in California and No. 140 nationwide.

Meanwhile, The Preuss School UCSD and Del Norte High School earned the next highest rankings among San Diego-area public schools, placing them at No. 2 and No. 3 in the county.

Here is the full list of the top 10 public high schools in San Diego, according to U.S. News and World Report:

1. Canyon Crest Academy
   • San Dieguito Union High School District
   • No. 15 in California, No. 140 in U.S.
2. Preuss School UCSD
   • Preuss School UCSD District
   • No. 28 in California; No. 231 in U.S.
3. Del Norte High School
   • Poway Unified School District
   • No. 42 in California; No. 329 in U.S.
4. Westview High School
   • Poway Unified School District
   • No. 54 in California; No. 401 in U.S.
5. Mt. Everest Academy
   • San Diego Unified School District
   • No. 65 in California; No. 489 in U.S.
6. Scripps Ranch High School
   • San Diego Unified School District
   • No. 71 in California; No. 524 in U.S.
7. La Jolla High School
   • San Diego Unified School District
   • No. 100 in California; No. 754 in U.S.
8. Sage Creek High School
   • Carlsbad Unified School District
   • No. 102 in California; No. 765 in U.S.
9. River Valley Charter
   • River Valley Charter District
   • No. 117 in California; No. 839 in U.S.
10. Del Lago Academy - Campus of Applied Science
    • Escondido Union High School District
    • No. 118 in California; No. 840 in U.S.

The full San Diego-area public school rankings can be found on the U.S. World and News Report website here.

U.S. News and World Report crafts its annual ranking of nearly 25,000 high schools across the country in partnership with a North Carolina-based nonprofit research firm, RTI International. Private schools were separately examined — their rankings can be found here.

Researchers then give weighted scores to schools based on six factors including: graduation rates, outcomes in statewide standardized testing, and scores on college-level or advanced placement exams. Ranks were then assigned in descending order based on this overall score.

More on the methodology used by U.S. News and World Report can be found here.