Paly and Gunn placed among the top 50 public schools in California in a national ranking released this week by U.S. News and World Report. The report evaluated 1,603 schools in California, placing Paly at 34th and Gunn at 22nd.

Paly not only placed 34th in overall state rankings, but was also ranked 24th in STEM, slightly better than Gunn which placed 31st. Both PAUSD schools placed highly in past years’ rankings as well. 

Junior Orr Bar-Yossef said she feels the rankings are valid and the school has earned its spot. 

“I definitely think Paly’s rating is pretty accurate,” Bar-Yossef said. “Paly has a really strong academic environment. It’s really competitive, and a lot of the students are really smart.”

The rankings were based on six measures, including college readiness, course variety, state assessments, reading and math proficiency, reading and math performance, graduation rates and underprivileged student performance. 

Junior Jonathan Wang said Paly’s course offering is exceptionally broad compared to other high schools in the area, making Paly the right fit for various types of students.

“I’ve visited other schools, and Paly had way more options when it came to finding what’s right for me,” Wang said. “There are tons of courses in many different fields so anyone can find something that interests them.” 

This story will continue to be updated.