Saratoga News

LG-SJUHSD ranks high by academic measures

By Michelle Alaimo

A state report card on high-school performance for the 1996-97 school year indicates that the Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union High School District ranks above the California average in several areas including completion rates and college preparatory courses.

California's Department of Education ranks every comprehensive high school in the state each year, based on the latest data available, in everything from four-year completion rate to vocational education programs to the percentage of students who go on to private and public colleges.

"The report is not designed to be a comprehensive evaluation of the quality of education at a high school. Instead, it is intended to offer a brief summary of the performance of a school's students as reflected by commonly accepted and accessible indicators," CDE's literature states.

In the report released late last month, the LG-SJUHSD was leaps and bounds ahead of the state average in most areas. The district has a 99 percent completion rate of students staying in school compared the statewide average of 87 percent and the county average of 90 percent.

Cynthia Ranii, superintendent of the LG-SJUHSD, said the numbers "reflect the stability of the communities and the high value of education."

Ranii added that many of Los Gatos and Saratoga high school students are college-bound and take the preparatory courses needed to go straight into a four-year college.

The report indicates that district-wide, students at both schools complete approximately double the 35 percent statewide completion rate of college preparatory courses. SHS's completion rate was 78.3 percent, while Los Gatos High School has 64.4 percent of its students take college prep courses.

Students who successfully took the SAT I or Act tests, which are used for admission into the University of California and the California State University system and other colleges, were also measured. The LG-SJUHSD came in with 75.7 percent compared to the statewide average of 20.6 percent. Saratoga High School's 93.7 percent rate was well above the statewide average.

Other figures include 59.5 percent of the district's students attending public colleges after graduation compared to the statewide average of 51.5 percent. However, more of LGHS and SHS students attend private colleges--31.3 percent compared to a statewide average of 8.1 percent.

But, Saratoga and Los Gatos fall below average in vocational educational students. The state ranks those who are enrolled in at least one career-vocational course. The statewide average is 35.9 percent and the LG-SJUHSD average is 31.9 percent. Ranii attributed the difference to her district schools not having many vocational programs.

However, Ranii said the district fared very well in the performance report. "All the academic indicators are very, very positive," Ranii said. "These are two exceptional schools."

A complete copy of the report can be found online at www.cde.ca.gov/ftpbranch/retdiv/epic/hspr96-97.

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