New Report Ranks OC's Best School Districts: San Clemente

SAN CLEMENTE, CA — As the 2018-19 school year gets set to kick off (yes, it's coming whether you want it to or not), parents and students heading to their first day of school can see how their district stacks up against others in the state as Niche.com has released its annual rankings of best schools districts across the nation.

According to Niche, the best school district in Orange County is the Irvine Unified School District. The district was also listed as No. 1 in the national and statewide rankings. With an overall Niche grade of A+, the district received a grade of A+ in academics, teachers, college prep. They received an A in health and safety and an A- in diversity. In the category of clubs and activities, Niche awarded the school district a C+.

Capistrano Unified School District ranked #39, in the top 100 schools in the state. Capistrano Unified's overall Niche grade was A, with an A- in Academics, Diversity and Health and Safety, and a C+ in Clubs and Activities. It received the grade of A+ in Teachers and College Prep.

The district serves Aliso Viejo, Coto De Caza, Dana Point, Dove Canyon, Ladera Ranch, Laguna Beach, Laguna Niguel, Las Flores, Mission Viejo, Rancho Mission Viejo, Rancho Santa Margarita, San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano and Wagon Wheel.

Overall, 10 Orange County school districts made the top 100 in the statewide rankings and nine were among the top 100 schools in the nation. (scroll down for rankings)

You can see the full list of California’s best school districts here.

To arrive at these rankings, Niche looked at data from the U.S. Department of Education as well as test scores, college data and ratings collected from Niche users. (You can read more about the methodology here.)

Here are Orange County’s top 100 school districts, according to Niche:

• No. 12 - Irvine Unified School District
• No. 19 - Los Alamitos Unified School District
• No. 25 - Laguna Beach Unified School District
• No. 36 - Huntington Beach Union High School District
• No. 39 - Capistrano Unified School District
• No. 40 - Placentia - Yorba Linda Unified School District
• No. 44- Fullerton Joint Union High School District
• No. 45 - Tustin Unified School District
• No. 51 - Newport Mesa Unified School District
• No. 52 - Saddleback Valley Unified School District

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