High School Report Cards

The Times today is publishing selected “quality indicators” for Orange County high schools, released annually by the California Department of Education. The data come from a variety of sources, including the schools themselves. The information is compiled on every high school to help parents, educators and policymakers spot trends in performance.

The four-year completion rate and the college attendance information is from the 1994-95 school year and is the latest such data available. The SAT information is from the 1995-96 school year.

NOTES TO THE TABLES

Four-year completion rate is an estimate of the percentage of the current ninth-grade class that will stay in school through the 12th grade. It is based on the combined dropout rate for all four high school grades during the 1994-95 school year.

SAT/ACT above average is the percentage of seniors who scored above the national average on the SAT or the ACT, which colleges use when making admissions decisions. For example, if the rate is 50, it would mean that half of the seniors taking one of the tests scored above the national average. The national average for the SAT, which measures verbal and mathematics reasoning, is 1000.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Other available statistics include information about student background and enrollment. This additional information and the information appearing on these pages can be obtained in several ways.

From the state Department of Education at (916) 657-2905.

On the Internet at: https://www.cde.ca.gov/ftpbranch/retdiv/epic/

Information for schools in Los Angeles, Orange and Ventura counties is available from the Los Angeles Times World Wide Web site at: http://preview.nohib.com/test.scores

From your local school or school district office.

Academic Leaders

Orange County ranked among the top counties statewide in Scholastic Assessment Test and advanced placement test results.

AVERAGE SAT SCORES

Orange County outranked all but three counties statewide in the average total SAT scores:

El Dorado: 1081

Mendocino: 1080

Marin: 1076

Orange: 1073

Humboldt: 1068

Santa Clara: 1065

Yolo: 1062

Napa: 1060

Contra Costa: 1058

SUCCESSFUL AP RESULTS

Orange County had the highest percentage of high school students getting scores on advanced placement tests that earn credit at most colleges:

Orange: 21.1

San Francisco: 20.9

Santa Clara: 18.6

San Benito: 16.6

San Diego: 16.1

San Mateo: 15.2

Ventura: 14.8

San Luis Obispo: 14.1

Marin: 14

Los Angeles: 13.9

Contra Costa: 13.1

Source: California Department of Education

* n/a means the rate was not calculated.

* Percentages are rounded off to the nearest tenth.

Sources: California Department of Education, individual school districts