World-Class Education

The academic proficiency of Orange County’s high school students continues to outpace that of the rest of the state.

In 2011-2012, Orange County SAT scores were nearly 100 points above the state average. Compared to other metro areas, Orange County’s average SAT score of 1,597 was the highest in Southern California and second highest in the state.

Between 2014-2018, Orange County’s Advanced Placement (AP) Test pass rate was 68%; consistently outranking the California average by 10%. As of 2018, Orange County’s pass rate ranks 5th among all 50 states.

In addition, 55% of Orange County high school students completed the necessary coursework to be eligible for entry into the UC/CSU university systems in the 2017/2018 school year.

Newsweek Magazine’s 2014 list of America’s top high schools included 14 Orange County public high schools ranked in the top 75 in California:

Woodbridge (Irvine)
Orange County School of the Arts (Santa Ana)
Los Alamitos (Los Alamitos)
University (Irvine)
Canyon (Anaheim)
Foothill (Tustin)
Yorba Linda (Yorba Linda)
Esperanza (Anaheim)
Aliso Niguel (Aliso Viejo)
Troy (Fullerton)
Irvine (Irvine)
Mission Viejo (Mission Viejo)
Valencia (Placentia)
Beckman (Tustin)