Report: Murrieta High Schools Rank Among Best in Nation, State

Murrieta's high schools took places among the nation's best schools, according to a study published in the U.S. News & World Report.

earned the rank of 1,050 on the list for its 25-to-1 student-teacher ratio, its students' college readiness score of 30.5 and its overall academic performance index rating of 823, according to the study. It also took 205th place on the list of California's best schools.

On the same list, was ranked no. 1,224 in the nation and 251st in California. It was given a college readiness score of 27.6, has an API of 819, and a student-teacher ratio of 26-to-1.

appeared on the list but was not ranked. Murrieta Mesa, which opened in 2009, will see its first graduating class this month.

Among Temecula high schools, Great Oak earned the rank of 1,049 on the list and 204th place on the list of California's best schools.

Guy Romero, assistant superintendent of educational services for Murrieta Valley Unified School District, studied the published rankings.

"Any time you are ranked in the top 10 percent you should be proud," Romero said. "We are, and we continue to strive to get better. Note that the rank does not factor in extracurricular performance or International Baccalaureate. My bet is with these factored, we would be higher."

U.S. News partnered with American Institutes for Research to analyze 21,776 public high schools.

The organizations decided the schools' college readiness by looking at the students' Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate test data. The overall academic performance rating was assessed by looking at the schools' reading and math proficiency tests, which were then corrected to consider the number of disadvantaged students, which typically score lower.

Click here to read about the study's methodology.

—Peter Surowski contributed to this report