Agoura High Listed Among Best High Schools in U.S.

Agoura Hills High School is the 263rd best high school in California and the 1176th best in the nation, according to the U.S. News & World Report.

Though the rankings are down from 2012–198th statewide and 1,022nd nationwide–LVUSD Superintendent Dan Stepenosky says he's "thrilled with the ranking." 

"The Gold and Silver Awards are a validation of our leadership team, staff, students and parents commitment, dedication, passion and focus on academic success," he said. "There are over 1,300 high schools in California, so this places us in the top 8 percent."

Stepenosky said that the reason the district performs so well are the many opportunities offered to local students, including the fine and performing arts, International Baccalaureate, L-STEM, Dual Immersion, Waldorf, Specialized Middle School Gifted Program.

The 2013 Best High Schools rankings were released Tuesday, and on top of the list was once again the School for the Talented and Gifted in the Dallas Independent School District .

U.S. News joined forces with the American Institutes for Research, a D.C.-based organization, to evaluate schools on overall student performance on state-mandated assessments. The rankings also included improvements on dealing with black, Hispanic and economically disadvantaged students. 

In the national rankings, 500 schools earned gold medals, 1,790 were awarded silver and 2,515 took home bronze.

California is the state with the most schools on the list, with close to 28 percent of the nearly 1,800 eligible schools in the state earning gold and silver medals. Maryland followed with roughly 26 percent.