The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) accreditation process is called Focus on Learning. The goal of this process is to evaluate a school’s impact on student learning, as well as the effectiveness of the school’s programs and its operation. The WASC accreditation team visited Rancho Alamitos High School for the full accreditation visit on November 15-17, 2004. The WASC team awarded a six-year accreditation with a mid-term review.

The accreditation team identified five critical areas of follow-up. Rancho Alamitos will:

1. Build on existing programs and initiate additional strategies for improvement in reading.
2. Continue to participate in training in research based instructional strategies and apply those strategies in the classroom.
3. Expand training in data generation, analysis, and action.
4. Implement strategies directed at closing the achievement gap for significant subgroups.

On March 20, 2008 the review committee visited Rancho. They made the following comments:

Rancho Alamitos faculty and students have made significant progress on the critical areas of follow up. API scores have grown steadily. Although the Hispanic subgroup continues to score lower than others on standardized tests as indicated by the API, they also show the greatest growth. The focus on a college-going culture has encouraged many students to strive to achieve at higher levels of academic achievement. The elimination of lower level classes in mathematics and science has not resulted in a higher failure rate as was expected. A variety of intervention classes have been added during the school day so more students are able to take advantage of them. Classroom instruction has improved through the use of Reciprocal Teaching and Direct Instruction. AVID strategies will be employed school-wide in the next two years.

Rancho Alamitos has taken seriously its commitment to ensuring that all students achieve their full potential and are well-prepared for post secondary careers. Our faculty, staff, and students are proud of our school and will continue to strive to reach their goals and achieve continued success.