May 18, 2018
By Kelli Gile, WVUSD Office of Community Resources
WALNUT, CA--Hats off to teachers at Diamond Bar and Walnut High Schools for grabbing medals in U.S. News & World Report’s Best High School rankings for 2018.
The annual list looks at nearly all public high schools in the country – more than 20,500 in all – to sift out the best with an eye on college readiness.
Diamond Bar High earned a gold medal, ranking 59th in California and 376th in the United States. Additionally, Diamond Bar placed 146th in STEM high schools.
Walnut High earned a silver medal, ranking 111th in California and 639th in the United States.
Both standout schools have been included in the report every year since the publication began its ‘Best High Schools’ search in 2009.
U.S. News looked at overall student performance on state-required tests, high school graduation rates, and evaluated on how they prepare students for college using participation and performance data from AP and IB exams.
Diamond Bar and Walnut offer an extensive roster of IB and AP courses to provide teens with an opportunity to challenge themselves with college-level course work during high school.
This year, 85 California schools received gold medals, 439 received silver medals and 82 received bronze medals.
“I’m so proud that our premier high schools continue to be recognized on a state and national level for preparing students for college and beyond,” said Superintendent Dr. Robert Taylor.
Shown: Diamond Bar and Walnut High Schools have been named among America’s best for 2018 by U.S. News & World Report. Angela Jensvold’s AP Physics 2 students at Diamond Bar High find resonant frequency by ringing a tuning fork that creates periodic and repetitive vibrations in glass tubes on May 18.
Shown: Nick Blackford’s AP Computer Science students at Walnut High learn how to create apps for androids on May 17.