There are two special types of advanced classes high school students can take which might qualify for college credit. The first type is the most common, the Advanced Placement class, and it is offered in more than 30 subject areas. The second is the less common International Baccalaureate program. The statistic is calculated by taking the percentage of tests taken by juniors and seniors that meet the scoring standard as qualifying for college credit, and dividing by the number of juniors and seniors.

In brief, the higher this factor, the more you can consider the students to be academically rigorous and college-oriented. This factor is just one of several indicators you can use to gauge a school's rate of success in preparing its students for college. Be sure you remember that not all high schools can equally afford to pay for these licensed courses. In fact, the unequal availability of AP courses across high schools prompted several southern California students to enlist the help of the ACLU in suing their school district.

The statewide average for all high school students is 17 percent. All data is from the 2000–2001 school year, which is the most current available.

Note: Palisades High is in among the rated schools, sitting at #12.

1	Whitney	ABC	201%
2	San Marino	San Marino	90%
3	Palos Verdes Peninsula	Palos Verdes Peninsula	89%
4	Center for Enriched Studies	Los Angeles	88%
5	Beverly Hills	Beverly Hills	80%
5	La Canada	La Canada	80%
7	Arcadia	Arcadia	78%
8	Mira Costa	Manhattan Beach	68%
8	Diamond Bar	Walnut Valley	68%
10	Cerritos	ABC	66%
11	Calabasas	Las Virgenes	64%
12	North Hollywood	Los Angeles	58%
12	Palisades	Los Angeles	58%
12	California Academy	Long Beach	58%
12	Walnut	Walnut Valley	58%
16	Malibu	Santa Monica-Malibu	55%
17	Van Nuys	Los Angeles	51%
18	El Camino Real	Los Angeles	45%
18	Hart	William S. Hart	45%
18	South	Torrance	45%
21	Marshall	Pasadena	43%
21	Crescenta Valley	Glendale	43%
23	Bravo	Los Angeles	42%
23	Granada Hills	Los Angeles	42%
23	Sherman Oaks	Los Angeles	42%
26	Taft	Los Angeles	41%
26	Polytechnic	Long Beach	41%
28	Claremont	Claremont	40%
28	Santa Monica	Santa Monica-Malibu	40%
30	Redondo	Redondo Beach	39%
30	West	Torrance	39%
32	Cleveland	Los Angeles	37%
33	Keppel	Alhambra City High	36%
34	Hamilton	Los Angeles	34%
35	Wilson	Hacienda La Puente	33%
35	Glendora	Glendora	33%
37	Temple City	Temple City	32%
37	Agoura	Las Virgenes	32%
39	South Pasadena	South Pasadena	31%
39	University	Los Angeles	31%
39	Venice	Los Angeles	31%
39	Lincoln	Los Angeles	31%
43	Culver City	Culver City	30%
44	Los Altos	Hacienda La Puente	29%
44	Alhambra	Alhambra City High	29%
44	El Monte	El Monte	29%
44	Chatsworth	Los Angeles	29%
48	Reseda	Los Angeles	28%
48	Elizabeth	Los Angeles	28%
48	Canyon	William S. Hart	28%
51	El Segundo	El Segundo	27%
51	Gabrielino	San Gabriel	27%
51	Burbank	Burbank	27%
51	Valencia	William S. Hart	27%
55	Gahr	ABC	26%
55	San Dimas	Bonita	26%
57	Birmingham	Los Angeles	25%
57	Marshall	Los Angeles	25%
57	School for the Arts	Los Angeles Co. Office Of Education	25%
60	Schurr	Montebello	24%
60	La Serna	Whittier	24%
62	Franklin	Los Angeles	23%
62	South Hills	Covina-Valley	23%
64	Eagle Rock	Los Angeles	22%
64	Mountain View	El Monte	22%
66	Foshay	Los Angeles	21%
66	South Gate	Los Angeles	21%
66	Garfield	Los Angeles	21%
66	Wilson	Long Beach	21%
66	Rowland	Rowland	21%
	County Average		21%
66	Sierra Vista	Baldwin Park	21%
72	Torrance	Torrance	20%
72	Saugus	William S. Hart	20%
74	Grant	Los Angeles	19%
74	Francis Poly	Los Angeles	19%
74	Clark	Glendale	19%
74	Warren	Downey	19%
74	Downey	Downey	19%
74	Canoga Park	Los Angeles	19%
74	Pioneer	Whittier	19%
74	North High	Torrance	19%

Top 75 in Los Angeles: AP Classes