LIST: CA's Best School Districts Ranked In New Report

As the 2017-18 school year kicks off, parents and students can see how their school district stacks up against others in the state as Niche.com has released its annual rankings of best schools and school districts in the country.

The 2018 rankings released this month rank elementary, middle and high schools as well as school districts.

In the Golden State, the Silicon Valley area reigns supreme, taking the first three slots on the list of the best districts. The list is led by Palo Alto Unified School District, followed by Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union High School District and Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District.

According to Niche, the best school district in the country is the Solon City School District in Solon, Ohio. With an overall Niche grade of A+, the district received a grade of A+ in academics, teachers, clubs and activities, college prep and health and safety. In the category of diversity, Niche awarded the school district an A-.

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. The methodology for each category of ranking varied. (Click here for more information on how Niche calculates its rankings.)

Niche assigns a standardized score for each factor, which is then weighted before an overall score is calculated for each school district. The overall scores are again standardized and some districts are disqualified from receiving a final letter grade if there isn’t enough data. School districts are then ranked numerically and assigned grades.

In California, though nearly all of the state's school districts were given a letter grade, only 162 were ranked in numerical order. Here's a look at the top 50 rankings for the Golden State:

1. Palo Alto Unified School District
2. Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union High School District
3. Mountain View-Los Altos Union High School District
4. San Marino Unified School District
5. San Dieguito Union High School District
6. Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District
7. Carmel Unified School District
8. Acalanes Union High School District
9. Pleasanton Unified School District
10. Poway Unified School District
11. Irvine Unified School District
12. Coronado Unified School District
13. La Canada Unified School District
14. Manhattan Beach Unified School District
15. Arcadia Unified School District
16. Albany City Unified School District
17. Tamalpais Union High School District
18. South Pasadena Unified School District
19. Fremont Union High School District
20. San Ramon Valley Unified School District
21. Los Alamitos Unified School District
22. Piedmont City Unified School District
23. Redondo Beach Unified School District
24. Oak Park Unified School District
25. Laguna Beach Unified School District
26. San Mateo Union High School District
27. Conejo Valley Unified School District
28. Walnut Valley Unified School District
29. Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District
30. Fullerton Joint Union High School District
31. Beverly Hills Unified School District
32. Dublin Unified School District
33. Huntington Beach Union High School District
34. Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District
35. Sequoia Union High School District
36. Western Sierra Collegiate Academy
37. Capistrano Unified School District
38. Davis Joint Unified School District
39. Temple City Unified School District
40. Berkeley Unified School District
41. Las Virgenes Unified School District
42. Spencer Valley Elementary School District
43. San Marcos Unified School District
44. Carlsbad Unified School District
45. Roseville Joint Union High School District
46. Tustin Unified School District
47. Rocklin Unified School District
48. William S. Hart Union School District
49. Newport-Mesa Unified School District
50. Santa Barbara Unified School District

You can view evaluations of the above districts, see their letter grades and look up the rest of California's school districts by clicking here.

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With reporting by FEROZE DHANOA (Patch National Staff) / Image via Shutterstock