PUBLIC SCHOOLS in the West Orange County areas got good grades from a ratings firm (Shutterstock).

Public school systems serving the West Orange County area got good grades from a website devoted to evaluating K-12 education.

Niche.com released its grades and rankings today (Thursday), and the six districts in the coverage area of The Orange County Tribune emerged with “grades” ranging from B to A.

The evaluations were made on a combination of statistics and ratings collected from Niche.com users, which include educators, parents and students. The biggest weight – 60 percent – was placed on academic stats including state testing, SAT/ACT scores and survey responses.

Weighted at 10 percent each were:

• culture and diversity
• parent/student surveys on overall experience
• teachers.

Other categories included grades for clubs and activities, health and safety, resources and facilities, and sports (all at 2.5 percent each).

Here is how local school districts did.

• Garden Grove Unified School District (K-12). A-. Received highest scores for teaching, diversity and college prep. Lowest for resources and facilities.
• Huntington Beach Union High School District (9-12). A. Highest scores for academics, teaching and diversity. Lowest for clubs and activities.
• Huntington Beach City School District (K-8). B+. Highest scores for teaching. Lowest for clubs and activities.
• Ocean View School District (K-8). B+. Highest score for diversity. Lowest for clubs and activities.
• Orange Unified School District (K-12). B+. Highest grades for college prep and diversity. Lowest for clubs and activities.
• Westminster School District (K-8). B. Highest grade for diversity. Lowest for clubs and activities.

Five Orange County public high schools ranked among the national top 100, all of them getting a grade of A+. They are Troy (Fullerton), Orange County School of the Arts (Santa Ana), University, Woodbridge and Irvine (all in Irvine).

For more details, go to https://www.niche.com/ .