Gunn and Paly Named "Gold Medal High Schools"

On November 30, 2007 a U.S. News & World Report released it's first annual ranking of America's Best High Schools. www.usnews.com/sections/education/high-schools

Gunn High School and Palo Alto High School ranked among the top 100 high schools in America. Out of 18,790 high schools in 40 states, Gunn ranked 66th and Paly ranked 85th. Both were designated "Gold Medal" high schools.

The study is based on the key principles that a great high school must serve all its students well, not just those who are bound for college, and that it must be able to produce measurable academic outcomes that show the school is successfully educating its student body across a range of performance indicators. (U.S. News & World Report)

A three-step process, developed by Standard and Poor's School Evaluation Services, was used to determine rankings: Step 1 - Comparison of student proficiency scores on math and English tests to statewide averages. Step 2 - Comparison of scores of disadvantaged students on state exams to statewide averages. Step 3 - Determination of a score on a "college readiness index" derived from AP scores and the number of students that took AP tests.

Students, staff and the parent community at both Paly and Gunn should be commended for their efforts.