Orange, CA – Orange Unified School District is proud to announce that three of its comprehensive high schools—Canyon High School, El Modena High School, and Villa Park High School—have once again been recognized in the U.S. News & World Report 2025–2026 Best High Schools Rankings, marking the sixth consecutive year these schools have achieved this prestigious honor.

Each of the schools ranks within the top 40% of high schools nationwide, earning them the designation of official U.S. News & World Report Best High Schools.

The annual rankings are based on various measures of school performance, including graduation rates and college readiness, which evaluates advanced coursework completion and preparation for postsecondary success.

“This recognition highlights the dedication of our scholars, teachers, staff, and families who work together every day to ensure academic success,” said Superintendent Rachel H. Monárrez, PhD. “For Canyon, El Modena, and Villa Park to sustain this level of excellence year after year is an incredible achievement and a point of pride for our district and community.”

Across California and the nation, Canyon, El Modena, and Villa Park High Schools continue to shine among top-performing high schools:

• All three schools maintained four-year graduation rates above the state average.
• Students across the three campuses are completing rigorous coursework that prepares them for admission to four-year colleges and universities.
• Higher student performance than the state average in reading, math, and science on state-required tests as well as internationally available exams on college-level coursework (AP® and IB exams).

The Best High Schools rankings, available online only, are created by RTI International, a global research organization that gathers data from official third-party sources, not school districts. AP and IB data are provided directly by the College Board and International Baccalaureate for use in the rankings. The state assessment data and graduation rates come from each state's education department, and other data are obtained from the U.S. Department of Education's Common Core of Data.

To see changes and updates to this year’s rankings methodology, follow Behind the Numbers and see the methodology page.

The U.S. News & World Report rankings list nearly 18,000 public high schools across the country. About 7,160 schools, making up the top 40%, received the Best High Schools designation this year.

Full rankings and school profiles are available on the U.S. News & World Report website: Orange Unified School District Rankings.