Pacific Collegiate School - Awards

Awards

In 2006 PCS was named California Charter School of the Year by the Charter School Association. The class of 2006 includes 8 National Merit Finalists, and all of the students in this class were accepted at colleges. In 2006, PCS's AP World History program (directed by teacher Tara Firenzi) won an award for being the best AP World History program in the nation. PCS's music program, currently led by Scott Nordgren, has produced many high ranking musicians, such as the LeBoeuf brothers, and continues to win recognition at the Anaheim music festival. PCS was named the #3 high school overall in the nation (behind Thomas Jefferson High School in Alexandria, VA and Oxford Academy in Cypress, CA) and the #1 charter school in the nation in the December 4, 2009 issue of U.S. News & World Report. Now, P.C.S is currently #8 in the nation and the 2nd Charter School (as of January 2013).

However, the U.S. News & World Report rankings are based solely on Advanced Placement Tests and Advanced Placement Tests bear "little relationship to students' later performance in college". While the College Board, developer and administrator of the Advanced Placement Tests, presents six studies supporting their contention that Advanced Placement Tests predict performance in college, five of the six studies may be biased, and the sixth actually does not support the College Board's claim. Four of the studies were funded by either the College Board or the Educational Testing Service and therefore may have biased methodology, results and interpretation. A fifth study, Dougherty, et al. 2006, presented mixed results and poor or non-existent statistical analyses. The sixth paper, Geiser & Santelices, 2004, wrote in the abstract that this study "finds that the number of AP and honors courses taken in high school bears little relationship to students' later performance in college". The U.S. News & World Report award, based on AP test performance, may not have any relationship to the ability of PCS, or any school, to prepare their students for success in college.