Amador Valley, Foothill Both Get Gold Medals In Ranking of Best High Schools

Both and made the gold standard in an annual list of best high schools in the nation.

U.S. News & World Report ranked Amador Valley 298th in the country and 57th in the state.

Foothill High was ranked 399th overall and 71st in California.

The magazine released its 2012 list of the nation's best public high schools today, which includes information on nearly 22,000 schools from 49 states and the District of Columbia, according to the publication's website.

In addition to ranking the schools, U.S. News & World Report awarded 4,850 bronze, silver, and gold stars to top performing schools. Of those, 500 were gold stars, with 97 golden honors going to California schools, according to the magazine's website.

Amador Valley was listed as having 2,591 students and 109 full-time teachers. That gave the school a student-to-teacher ratio of 24:1. The figures were from the 2009-2010 school year.

It also listed the school's Academic Performance Index at 883, above the state average. It also stated 52 percent of the school's student passed the annual Advanced Placement test.

AVHS Principal Jim Hansen said he was happy to have his school ranked that high on the list.

"I'm ecstatic," Hansen said. "I do feel Amador Valley is an amazing school, but I'm gratified we're recognized nationally like this."

Hanson credited the school's high quality faculty and its motivated students for the ranking. He noted AVHS students, among other things, have formed associations to discuss campus issues such as bullying and class times.

Foothill was close behind on the list.

The magazine posted its student population as 2,281 with 99 full-time teachers. That worked out to a 23:1 student-teacher ratio.

Foothill also was listed as having an API score of 888 and a 48 percent pass rate on the AP exams.

Principal John Dwyer could not be reached for comment.

There are reports some of the data in the magazine's rankings is incorrect.

In fact, Dublin High was listed as having 493 students when it actually has more than 1,500. That faulty figure gave that school an incredible 7:1 student-teacher ratio and boosted its ranking to 12th in the nation and 4th in California.

Hansen noted Amador Valley High's student-teacher ratio is closer to 27:1 instead of the 24:1 listed in the magazine. He also said the school's AP passing rate was 90 percent, not 52 percent.

U.S. News & World Report editors were unavailable for comment. There was no word on whether they were recalculating their figures.

In partnership with the American Institute for Research, U.S. News & World Report analyzed schools on a state level based upon how well each school's students performed on state assessments, according to the website.

High schools that ranked highly on the state level analysis were then eligible to be ranked nationally. National rankings were determined by the degree to which each school had prepared its students for college.

This determination involved assessing the number of advanced placement and international baccalaureate programs taken by students at each school, according to the website.