Best High Schools in California

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Find the best California high schools with SchoolDigger.com! Focused on test scores for accurate rankings, our user-friendly site simplifies your search. Empower your decisions by exploring top-rated schools, only on SchoolDigger.com - the ultimate guide to K-12 schools!

Year after year, SchoolDigger is always the first to publish California test scores and rankings. Other sites use stale test score data that are several years old! Be in the know with the very latest performance metrics.

The list is updated annually upon the release of the CAST and Smarter Balanced Assessments test scores by the California Department of Education. The most recent update was on Thursday, October 10, 2024.

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School															Students/Teachers											Per Pupil Expenditures (2018)							Ranking (2024 vs 2023)
ID	Rank (of 2323)	School	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Disc Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Per Pupil Expenditures: Total	Personnel from Federal Funds	Non-Personnel from Federal Funds	Total from Federal Funds	Personnel from State and Local Funds	Non-Personnel from State and Local Funds	Total from State and Local Funds	Average Standard Score (2024)	Average Standard Score (2023)	Rank (2023)	Rank Change from 2023	SchoolDigger Rating (2024)
063438005578	851	Sunset High (Continuation)	Public	9-12	684 Requeza St.	Encinitas	92024	San Diego County	San Dieguito Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 753-3860	85	8	10.4	31.8%	51 (60.0%)	0 (0.0%)	26 (30.6%)	2 (2.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (7.1%)	$13,377							50.3	43.4	1029	178
060235013288	852	e3 Civic High	Public, Charter	9-12	395 11th Ave. 6th Fl.	San Diego	92101	San Diego County	e3 Civic High District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 546-0000	373	22	17	73.7%	9 (2.4%)	11 (2.9%)	334 (89.5%)	10 (2.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (2.4%)								50.2	33.3	1325	473
060153211665	853	Stella High Charter Academy	Public, Charter	9-12	1600 W. Imperial Hwy.	Los Angeles	90047	Los Angeles County	Stella High Charter Academy District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(424) 789-8337	532	29	18.5	96.1%	1 (0.2%)	78 (14.7%)	446 (83.8%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (0.9%)								50.1	55.4	751	102
060156312209	854	Sherman Thomas Charter High	Public, Charter	9-12	26303 Adell St.	Madera	93638	Madera County	Sherman Thomas Charter High District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 675-6626	71	5	13.6	64.8%	20 (28.2%)	2 (2.8%)	48 (67.6%)	1 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								50.1	41.8	1079	225
060254014489	855	Ednovate - South LA College Prep	Public, Charter	9-12	700 Wilshire Blvd. Ste. 400	Los Angeles	90017	Los Angeles County	Ednovate - South LA College Prep District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(213) 377-9377	372	22	17.1	66.9%	8 (2.2%)	58 (15.6%)	295 (79.3%)	3 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (2.2%)								50.1	50.1	863	8
063583006127	856	Montgomery High	Public	9-12	1250 Hahman Dr.	Santa Rosa	95405	Sonoma County	Santa Rosa High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(707) 890-3830	1,433	78	18.4	43.6%	432 (30.1%)	42 (2.9%)	782 (54.6%)	65 (4.5%)	7 (0.5%)	29 (2.0%)	70 (4.9%)	$9,730							50.1	42.5	1057	201
063684006268	857	Simi Valley High	Public	9-12	5400 Cochran St.	Simi Valley	93063	Ventura County	Simi Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 577-1400	1,921	81	23.5	35.6%	846 (44.0%)	23 (1.2%)	766 (39.9%)	193 (10.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (0.2%)	87 (4.5%)	$7,438							50.1	62.7	605	252
062271011650	858	School of Business and Tourism at Contreras Learning Complex	Public	9-12	322 Lucas Ave.	Los Angeles	90017	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(213) 240-3840	358	20	17.7	98.9%	2 (0.6%)	6 (1.7%)	344 (96.1%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	3 (0.8%)	$14,616							50.1	39.3	1164	306
063694006280	859	Weed High	Public	9-12	909 Hillside Dr.	Weed	96094	Siskiyou County	Siskiyou Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 938-4774	189	13	14	70.9%	87 (46.0%)	12 (6.3%)	36 (19.0%)	7 (3.7%)	5 (2.6%)	0 (0.0%)	42 (22.2%)	$14,966							50.1	71.8	453	406
061077001193	860	Del Norte High	Public	9-12	1301 El Dorado St.	Crescent City	95531	Del Norte County	Del Norte County Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(707) 464-0274	923	48	19.1	59.0%	421 (45.6%)	7 (0.8%)	259 (28.1%)	47 (5.1%)	121 (13.1%)	1 (0.1%)	64 (6.9%)	$13,658							50	36.3	1242	382

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Other SchoolDigger ranking lists for California

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New! SchoolDigger ranking lists for CA student subgroups:

Female Students Male Students Asian Students African American Students Hispanic Students Native American Students Pacific Islander Students White Students Multi-racial Students English Language Learner Students Special Education Students Low Socio Economic Status Students Migrant Students Homeless Students Foster Care Students Military Connected Students

About our rankings:

Schooldigger calculates school rankings based on CAST Science, Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy, Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics test scores released by the California Department of Education.
These rankings were last updated on October 10, 2024, and are based on the most recent test scores available. We update rankings as we receive new test scores from the California Department of Education, usually on a yearly basis.
Our sources of data include the National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education and the California Department of Education.
For more information about our ranking process, please see our Ranking FAQ. Details about our methodology are here.

Educational resources:

Charter Schools vs Regular Public Schools: Understanding the Key Differences

Per-Pupil Spending: Understanding the Breakdown of Federal, State, and Local Funds

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the California Department of Education.