Schools are rated on personal levels from students to parents and the community.  But Niche.com is a professional website where colleges, places to live, and schools are rated based on many sources. They use the most up-to-date data available from dozens of public data sources including the Department of Education, U.S. Census, and FBI. They also include reviews from people who submit comments.

On Niche, they rated Los Banos High School a C+ overall. As for Pacheco they rated them a B- overall. So are we worse than Pacheco?

Niche says that Los Banos has :

C+ in Academics;  B- in Teachers; C- in Clubs and Activities;

B in Diversity; C+ in College Prep; and C- in Healthy and Safety

As for Pacheco, Niche says they have :

C+ in Academics; A- in Teachers; C in Clubs and Activities;

B- in Diversity; C+in College Prep; and B in Health and Safety

Alexa Chiu, a junior believes that the rating is higher for teachers and health and safety. “I believe the rating should be a C because some teachers are really great, but they are mostly AP teachers. I’m not saying CP teachers are horrible, but some aren’t that great.”

Chiu rated the health and safety of Los Banos High a C. “Not a lot is wrong, but stuff could be better. The problem is that at the same time students are the ones that disrespect the school, like the bathrooms.”

When asked about whether Los Banos High or Pacheco High was better, she responded with, “I can’t answer this because I’ve personally never been to Pacheco, but their campus is a lot nicer and cleaner from what I’ve seen. Education wise, I can’t speak on Pacheco’s behalf, but I do know that many people at Tigers care for their future and want to succeed.”

Estefania Alvarado, a junior rated the college readiness a D. “They do not tell us anything about college until our senior year and what they do tell us is repetitive.”

An anonymous teacher at Los Banos High rated their teachers a C and said, “I give it that because we can all grow as educators. We all have different teaching styles and methods.”

When asked if Los Banos High’s teachers need improvement, this source said, “All teachers need improvement, from AP teachers to CP teachers. We need to keep adapting to the times which means getting better technology in the classroom and growing our techniques. In the 21st century we have a ton of different learners in our classroom and it is our duty to learn how to teach each one.”

When asked about whether Pacheco’s staff was better or the other way around this teacher said, “I can’t talk about Pacheco’s staff. All I know is our test scores fluctuate with theirs. If their scores are higher, I think we should all work together to figure out how to best serve the students. I don’t think it should be a competition because we are all in it for the same reason.”

Mrs. Erin DeGough, an English teacher at Los Banos High rated their clubs and activities an A. “I give the clubs an A because I do think there’s diverse offerings and there’s something for everyone. So many clubs have a lot of fun things going on…like the History Society, the Game On Club, the Anime Club… I think more students should join clubs and find something they’re interested in. It’s a great way to get to go to cool events and cool places and to meet new people. It’s also easy to start clubs so if students find that they’re not into any of the current clubs they should be proactive and brainstorm about some new ones.”

Los Banos High School and Pacheco High School will never know “who’s better,” but at the end of the day, administration, teachers, and students should work together, motivate each other, and help each other make the most of all students high school experience.