California high schools range, like most across the nation, from those high in standards to those severely lacking?in quality, in tools and materials, and in morale.

But as a community college instructor who taught at-risk students from the ?feeder? California high schools in the summer, I would like to focus on the quality institutions?using the same information you can find on a number of websites.

HIGHEST RANKED CALIFORNIA HIGH SCHOOLS

The ?no child left behind? policy/program came along long after most of these schools were already reaching high. Such schools are ranked by the California Department of Education, given how they sit on the scale: the 1-10 indicating whether the school is in the top one percent through the top ten percent?of all schools in the state. (Such demographics as follows are included in the ranking process: grade level, level of parents? education, and number of students getting free or reduced-price lunch [according to greatschools.net].)

Here are some of the highest ranking schools, for example, in the San Mateo and San Francisco County districts:

At 9 are Aragon High School, Burlingame High School, and Carlmont High School.

At 8 is Hillsdale High School, which is in a more upscale neighborhood, by the way.

At 7, in primarily working-class surroundings, are El Camino High School, Capuchino High School, and Half Moon Bay High School.

And at 2, in the heart of San Francisco on Mission Street, is Jefferson High School.

MOST MANAGABLE CLASSROOM SIZED CALIFORNIA HIGH SCHOOLS

Another important criterion in the evaluation of high schools is how small the classrooms remain?the teachers clearly able to provide more quality instruction to the more controlled sizes.

Keep in mind that while average size protocol hasn?t changed all that much in many years, population changes have impacted the attempts to keep the average number of students per classroom down to between 20-30.

The following averages, then, according to the standards set by and the reports made by the Dept of Education and others, do not account for classes with more than 50 students (lecture classes, for example), classes taught by department chairs, or special education classes (according to CADOE, 2005-06):

With an average of 25 students per classroom, Jefferson might use this stat to account for its high success/ranking. Close behind 27 students per class on average is Hillsdale. Capuchino and El Camino follow with an average of 28 students per classroom. And with 30 per class on average are Carlmont, Half Moon Bay, and Burlingame. Aragon has 31.

CALIFORNIA HIGH SCHOOLS WITH SPECIAL SUPPORTIVE PROGRAMS

Might affordable nourishment also account for highly ranking success?
At Burlingame and Aragon high schools, 2 and 5 percent of the students reportedly participate in the federal free and reduced-price lunch program(s). 8 percent do so at Hillsdale High. Respectively, 13, 14, and 17 percent participate in the program(s) at El Camino, Carlmont, and Capuchino. And 24, 25, and 26 percent receive free or reduced cost lunches at High Tech High, Half Moon Bay, and Baden. And again, Jefferson High sees 44% of the students taking the free or reduced-price lunches.

Other factors are important in the assessing of California high schools, but classroom size reduction, the institution of affordable lunches programs, and the relentless devotion on behalf of parents, teachers, and high school administrators clearly contribute to the student?s successful futures.

Original Post: Online Schools

California High Schools