The Peninsula Has 2 of the State's Toughest Schools, Says Washington Post

Palos Verdes Peninsula and Palos Verdes high schools are two of the state’s more challenging high schools. So says the Washington Post.

To come up with the list of the nation’s most challenging high schools, the folks at the Post kept their calculation simple:

Number of college-level tests given at a school in the previous calendar year divided by the number of graduates that year.

Not that this methodology isn’t without controversy, especially because it doesn’t assign rank based on those who pass the exams, only those who take them.

But if you’re ready to take the list at face value, here’s where the schools stand.

Palos Verdes Peninsula in Rolling Hills Estates is No. 29 on the list, Palos Verdes No. 65 of 295 total statewide. By the time students at Peninsula graduate, two-thirds of them have passed a college-level test. That percentage is 58 at PVHS.

In total, there are 1,304 public high schools in the state. There are another 268 charter high schools, according to figures from the California Department of Education. 

The Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies in Los Angeles is the county’s top-ranked school on the list, coming in at No. 5.

• Mira Costa in Manhattan Beach (No. 52)
• Hawthorne Math and Science Academy (No. 118)
• California Academy of Math & Science in Carson (No. 147)
• South in Torrance (No. 197)
• Amino Inglewood Charter (No. 205)
• Narbonne in Harbor City (No. 213)
• West in Torrance (No. 243)
• North in Torrance (No. 244)
• San Pedro (No. 250)
• Torrance (No. 267)
• Redondo Union in Redondo Beach (No. 268)
• Banning in Wilmington (No. 273)
• Carson (No. 292)