SPHS Ranks No. 421 in Country

ranked 79 in California and 421 in the nation, according to U.S. News & World's "Best High Schools" report released Tuesday. 

The rankings are developed in conjunction with the Washington-based American Institutes for Research and are determined using math and English proficiency, college readiness and the ratio of students to teachers.

Nearly 22,000 schools in 49 states were analyzed over the 2009-10 school year.

SPHS's full academic information is as follows:

• National Rank: 421
• State Rank: 79
• College Readiness Index: 48.5
• Academic Performance Index: 879
• Student/Teacher Ratio: 26:1

Here's how other local schools fared: 

San Marino High School

• National Rank: 224
• State Rank: 42
• College Readiness Index: 58
• Academic Performance Index: 929
• Student/Teacher Ratio: 23:1

La Canada High School

• National Rank: 213
• State Rank: 39
• College Readiness Index: 58.9
• Academic Performance Index: 915
• Student/Teacher Ratio: 26:1

A three-step process was used to determine the Best High Schools, U.S. News explained: 

• Step 1: Were each school’s students performing better than statistically expected for the average student in the state?
• Step 2: Were the school's least-advantaged students (black, Hispanic, and low-income) performing better than average for similar students in the state?
• Step 3: Are a school’s students college-ready?

See the full methodology for how rankings were determined here.

Some educators have called into question the statistics used to determine the survey. In fact, one Nevada principal, whose school ranks 13th in the nation, told the Las Vegas Sun some of the information used was inaccurate.

This year's "Best High Schools" report, available exclusively online, is U.S. News & World Report's fourth edition.

Patch Asks: What do you think of South Pasadena's ranking? Do you think U.S. News & World Report evaluated public high schools fairly? Tell us in the comments.