CARMEL VALLEY — In a district that has been setting the academic standard for the rest of San Diego County, Torrey Pines High School is a notch above the rest.

The school received an Advanced Placement Index, or API, score of 852, which is the highest among both the San Dieguito Union High School District and all comprehensive high schools in the county.

The score represents a substantial improvement over the school’s score last year of 838. According to Brett Killeen, principal at Torrey Pines High School, the exams — officially called STAR testing — are the state’s method of evaluating how students are performing in math, science and social studies.

Only students in grades nine through 11 were required to take the test in April and May, which added up to 1,800 students at Torrey Pines out of the 2,650 total student population. Students were scored on a scale of 1 to 5, with 3 being “basic,” 4 as “proficient” and 5 being “advanced.”

Although two other schools in the county scored higher than Torrey Pines — The Preuss School at UCSD and River Valley Charter School in Lakeside — they are both charter schools with a much smaller student population and a different academic structure.

Killeen said that the state of California established a goal to have all students at proficient, and any schools that scored more than 800 were considered high level.

“All of the high schools and middle schools in our district scored at least an 800,” Killeen said. “We were lucky enough to have our kids really perform.”

Torrey Pines High School learned of its score Aug. 30.

“It gives us good data upon which to make informed educational decisions,” Killeen said. “We find out who did well and who struggled, and then try to zero in on the kids who struggled. It’s also nice for the kids to get recognized for their efforts. We’re very proud of them.”

He attributed the improvement over last year’s score to an increase in effort among students.

“Our ASB students marketed it so that kids participated and tried their best,” Killeen said. “We visited classrooms and gave each student data about how they did before and encouraged them to try harder.”

He added that the goal of STAR testing is to serve as an academic indicator measuring if students are proficient in state standards. “If our teachers are doing a good job and kids are learning, they should perform well,” Killeen said.

According to Matt Chess, social sciences department chair at Torrey Pines High School, his goal was simply to get his students to take the STAR testing seriously and let the results speak for themselves.

“I spoke to the kids about test taking strategies, but it was more of a global idea,” Chess said. “It’s more about being prepared for a test no matter what’s on it.”