Two Local Private Schools Earn Top Spots in National Private School Rankings

Two Pasadena schools have been included in the Top 100 Best Private High Schools in California, as rated by Niche.com. The schools are Polytechnic School at 1030 E. California Blvd., and Westridge School at  324 Madeline Drive.

The top schools are selected by Niche.com by using a variety of factors, including SAT and ACT scores, the quality of colleges that students consider and attend, student-teacher ratio, and student and parent reviews.

Polytechnic ranked No. 8 among the Top 100 in the state, while Westridge ranked No. 18.

Niche.com also considers a school’s student culture and diversity grade, which incorporates statistics and student, alumni and parent surveys, in choosing the top performers.

Specifically, it rates Academics, Administration and Policies, Admissions, Educational Outcomes, Extracurriculars, Food, Health and Safety, Resources and Facilities, Sports and Fitness and Student Culture and Diversity as factors in the overall niche grade.

Polytechnic, with an enrollment of 850 students in grades K-12, acquired an Overall Niche Grade of A+ and A’s, A pluses and A minuses in most of the grading factors.

Westridge School, which has 500 students in grades 4-12, also scored an Overall Niche Grade of A+, although its C score in Sports and Fitness and a B in Resources and Facilities, and a B+ in Health and Safety, could have affected the overall grade.