In August, Newsweek published its 2015 ranking of the nation's "top public high schools." The rankings were based on data from 16,285 public high schools from the National Center for Education Statistics.

Researchers determined the ranking by selecting schools at perform in the 70th percentile or higher in standardized state testing. From there, the ranking was done using the following criteria:

• 10% of ranking based on "Holding Power" or the proportion of 9th graders that stay enrolled through 12th grade.
• 10% based on the ratio of school counselors to students.
• 17.5% based on SAT/ACT test score performance.
• 17.5% based on AP/IB dual enrollment composite.
• 20% based on graduation rate
• 25% based on college enrollment rate.

Based on the above methodology, four local area schools made the top 500:

Oak Park High School ranked 120th overall and 18th in California

Westlake High School ranked 210th overall and 26th in California

Thousand Oaks High School was 215th overall and 27th in California

Calabasas High School was 339th overall and 43rd in California.

See more at www.newsweek.com/high-schools/americas-top-high-schools-2015.