For the fifth year in a row, Santa Clara High School has earned a Silver ranking on the U.S. News and World Report’s Best Schools List – and has a huge banner tacked to the front of the office building to prove it.

The annual rankings were released by the magazine last week. Schools were ranked depending on their students’ graduation rates and participation in Advanced Placement classes, with AP participation considered the best measurement of a student’s college readiness.

Out of the nearly 20,000 public high schools eligible to be ranked across the country, only 31 percent – about 6,000 schools – earned a spot on the list. SCHS is ranked in the top 17 percent of schools in the state, and the top 8 perecent in the nation – earning a silver medal out of the possible bronze, silver or gold medals to be awarded.

“What they measure is the number of AP tests taken, and AP tests passed – and we’ve improved in that every year,” Principal Greg Shelby said.

SCHS’s AP participation rate is 35 percent, and the graduation rate, which is also taken into consideration, is 89 percent.

As for the other high schools in the area, Fremont High also received a silver medal. However, Cupertino High received a Gold medal ranking – standing at 63rd in the state and 392nd in the country.  And Lynbrook High in West San Jose also received a Gold ranking – 17th in the state and 131st in the country.

Lynbrook High’s AP enrollment rate of 81 percent and graduation rate of 98 percent tower over the rates of SCHS, resulting in a much higher ranking.

However, Shelby said that comparing SCHS to other schools in the area can be unfair, given the different characteristics of the student body.

Only five percent of Lynbrook’s students are considered economically disadvantaged, meaning that their parents’ income qualifies them to receive free or reduced-price meals at school. Meanwhile, 45 percent of Santa Clara’s students are economically disadvantaged, according to the U.S. News and World Report website.

“Whenever we’re compared to schools with similar demographics, we always come out on the top,” Shelby said.

Although SCHS is getting positive recognition, some students feel that school awards do not change how they view their environment.

“Students experience what the school is actually about, so an award like this does not really affect their perception,” senior Michelle Tran said.