Six comprehensive high schools in the William S. Hart Union High School District (Canyon, Golden Valley, Hart, Saugus, Valencia and West Ranch) plus Academy of the Canyons have been ranked in the top 12 percent of public high schools in the country by U.S. News & World Report.

The publication’s 2020 Best High Schools rankings compared the Hart District’s high schools against more than 24,000 public high schools in all 50 states and the District of Columbia using six factors: college readiness; math and reading proficiency; math and reading performance; underserved student performance; college curriculum breadth; graduation rate.

“I commend all of our school sites for their outstanding work to provide exceptional opportunities for the students of the Hart District,” said Mike Kuhlman, superintendent of the Hart School District. “It’s an honor to have so many recognized in US News and World Report for their commendable reputation across our state and our nation.”

West Ranch High School ranked highest in the District at #835 nationally (#118 in California). It was followed by Saugus (1651 nationally, 231 in California), Canyon (1729/241), Valencia (1870/260), Hart (1884/262), Academy of the Canyons (1885/263) and Golden Valley (2670/396). The rankings noted AP participation rate, graduation rate and college readiness.

By virtue of being a middle college high school, Academy of the Canyons does not offer AP classes (which goes against them on the magazine’s ranking system). Instead, their students take college classes concurrently with their high school coursework.

Every student in the Hart School District has the opportunity to take concurrent classes at College of the Canyons.