A detailed look at where the best 2nd tier public Bay Area high schools stand in terms of academic performance, clubs, and other categories

We selected six second-tier public Bay Area high schools in the three school districts of Pleasanton, Fremont, and Cupertino. In this article, we will give you in-depth and detailed information on all six of these schools. Let’s see how well these second-tier high schools performed! 

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Our inventory mainly looks at the following dimensions:

• Academic performance
• Advancement data
• Clubs and sports 

Detailed Criteria:

※ Academic performance

1: Mathematics/Reading: Proficient and Advanced scores in the state standard test accounted for.

2: AP (of students who scored 3+): The proportion of students who scored above 3 on the AP exam.

※ Advancement Data:

1: UCB acceptance rate

2: Enrollment of prestigious schools: prestigious schools include (Ivy League + Stanford + MIT)

※ Clubs and Sports:

1. Number and richness of student clubs

2. Number of sports programs and achievements

Brief summary of every school district:

Pleasanton: Less competitive pressure

Fremont: College admission rate is high

Cupertino: Many gifted and hardworking kids, parents strive for greatness

Now, let’s look at the detailed information and analysis of these school districts!

Pleasanton: Less competitive pressure

Pleasanton has always been known as the “Happy Village” among Bay Area natives. The pressure of competition is relatively small, but the rankings of the two high schools are not bad. Parents’ “happy index” is also very high in comparison to other school districts. Next, let’s take a closer look at the data of Pleasanton’s high schools.

Foothill High

The diversity of Foothill is relatively average, Asian and White students both account for about 40% which is about 500 people less than Amador. In addition, the academic pressure is also less at Foothill.  

Foothill High’s progress in entering higher education schools this year is better than that of Amador. According to the data, Foothill had three admissions to Connell, two to MIT, and one to each of Stanford, UPenn, and University of Chicago. Furthermore, 27 students at Foothill were admitted to UC Berkeley as the school had an acceptance rate of 14%.  

The liberal arts program at Foothill High is strong in comparison to other schools. According to our research, Foothill has a Harvard-graduate literature teacher who is quite renowned! 

Finally, the club activities at Foothill High are diverse as they have 65 clubs to choose from. Their DECA club is especially strong as many students enter prestigious schools to study business. There are also 25 different sports at Foothill. 

Amador Valley High

This year, Amador’s overall ranking declined slightly. The 2021 U.S. News ranking had Amador at 62nd which is one lower than Foothill. In addition, the UC Berkeley acceptance rate is also slightly lower than Foothill.

However, the competition results of Amador Valley High are outstanding. For example, Amador has five students in this year’s USAJMO Qualifiers in comparison to Lynbrook’s three, Cupertino’s three, and Homestead’s two. 

Amador Valley High’s sports and clubs are very strong as well. As a whole, Amador has 70 clubs and 24 sports. Impressively, this year there were two students who utilized sports and music to earn money. One is a record holder for 800 meters in track and field and the other is a musician on YouTube. 

Lastly, according to the data, Amador Valley High is placed in a good location and close to the city center.

Cupertino: Many gifted and hardworking kids, parents strive for greatness 

Cupertino School District has many first-tier high schools in the Bay Area such as Lynbrook and Monta Vista. It is also known for the numerous high quality after school and tutoring programs located on De Anza Boulevard. In addition to these two first-tier high schools, Cupertino High and Homestead High are also options for many parents when choosing a school. Let’s take a look at the data! 

Cupertino High

Overall, Cupertino High’s academic performance is very impressive. For instance, Cupertino’s math and reading scores reached 80+ which ranks 39th. These scores place Cupertino in the category of a 1.5-tier high school in the Bay Area.

The location of De Anza Boulevard is also extremely close to Lynbrook, Monta Vista, and Cupertino High. In general, parents strive for greatness and want their children to be better than the competition. Lawson Middle School, which has the vast majority of their students transfer to Cupertino High. Has seen a sharp increase in students over the past few years.  

However, the admission rate to UC Berkeley is far lower than other second-tier high schools. Cupertino High’s 20-year admission to prestigious schools consist of the following: Stanford (3), NYU (7), Brown (2), JHU (1), Boston University (5), CMU (1), NEU (4).

There are 61 clubs and 22 sports options at Cupertino High. The school’s speech & debate club is particularly successful. In addition, Cupertino’s school newspaper has won many awards and the campus sports facilities are relatively complete. 

Homestead High

Homestead High’s academic performance is on par with the competition as it ranked 78th this year. Furthermore, the school’s math and reading results can unfortunately be regarded as below average as the overall level lags behind Cupertino High.

Homestead High’s admission rate to prestigious colleges is also low. For example the acceptance rate to UC Berkeley is only 6%. In 2020, 229 students applied for UC Berkeley, but only 14 of them were admitted.

On the other hand, Homestead High’s school newspaper EPITAPH is rich in content and includes editorials, humanities and arts, sports, and so forth. Overall, the school’s gym, athletic fields, and pool are relatively complete.

Fremont: College admission rate is high

In addition to Mission San Jose High, a top public school in the Bay Area. The Fremont School District also has two second-tier high schools. These two schools include American High and Irvington High. Below is the data of both American and Irvington High!

American High

For starters, American High’s reading scores are outstanding. The school’s reading proficiency reached 89 which means that 89% of children received proficient and advanced scores in the state standard test. These numbers surpass several other second-tier high schools. Despite this, the school’s AP pass rate was only 81% which lags behind other schools.

According to the general admission data, American High’s UC Berkeley acceptance rate was 13%, and only 25 of the 188 applicants were admitted. The progression data is not as good as Irvington High (19%).

American High has an abundance of club activities with 60 total clubs that cover science, society, humanities, arts, and so on. In addition, there are 21 sports options at American High. 

Irvington High

According to the data, the standardized results for Irvington are below average. Furthermore, Irvington High’s ranking in 2021 is not as good as American High. However, it has risen rapidly in recent years and has a good reputation among parents.

The UC Berkeley admission rate is high, reaching 19% which far exceeds first-tier high schools such as Lynbrook (8.8%) and Mission San Jose (14.6%). On top of that, in 2021 two students from Irvington were admitted to Yale, one student was admitted to Stanford, and four students were admitted to NYU.  

The school newspaper is also relatively strong. The Irvington Voice is one of the few school newspapers with a humorous style and students have a high degree of editing freedom. As for clubs, the school was 43 in total with 10 being related to STEM. Regarding athletics, Irvington has 21 sports items. 

Second-tier public high school versus first-tier public high school summary

Although there are numerous benefits of attending a first-tier public high school such as Lynbrook and Mission San Jose. According to the research, not all children must enter a fiercely competitive first-tier high school. First, the UC admission rate of second-tier high schools is comparable to that of first-tier high schools. 

Although the competitive pressure is lower at second-tier high schools, the overall academic performance is not as good as first-tier high schools. In addition, second-tier high schools have a more complicated environment and require high self-control. However, children with average grades are more likely to receive high rankings at second-tier high schools as opposed to first-tier high schools. 

Information on first-tier Bay Area public high schools

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