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)
062724008919	1161	Monte Vista Independent Study	Public, Virtual	7-12	1003 Presidio Sq.	Costa Mesa	92626	Orange County	Newport-Mesa Unified	No	(n/a)	Yes	(n/a)	(949) 515-6690	199	21	9.4	67.3%	63 (31.7%)	6 (3.0%)	101 (50.8%)	18 (9.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (5.0%)								38.8	65.3	556	605
062580008906	1162	Canyon Springs High	Public	9-12	23100 Cougar Canyon Dr.	Moreno Valley	92557	Riverside County	Moreno Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(951) 571-4760	2,266	103	22	61.0%	193 (8.5%)	302 (13.3%)	1,589 (70.1%)	54 (2.4%)	6 (0.3%)	14 (0.6%)	105 (4.6%)	$9,948							38.8	44.3	1005	157
060223813531	1163	Hayward Twin Oaks Montessori	Public, Charter, Alternative	1-12	951 Palisade St.	Hayward	94542	Alameda County	Hayward Twin Oaks Montessori District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 370-3334	553	25	22.5	26.0%	86 (15.6%)	28 (5.1%)	264 (47.7%)	91 (16.5%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (1.1%)	78 (14.1%)								38.7	37.8	1212	49
060185110983	1164	California Connections Academy Southern California	Public, Virtual, Charter, Alternative	K-12	33272 Valle Rd.	San Juan Capistrano	92675	Orange County	California Connections Academy Southern California District	Yes	(n/a)	Yes	(n/a)	(949) 461-1667	5,141	171	30.1	51.2%	1,332 (25.9%)	457 (8.9%)	2,266 (44.1%)	257 (5.0%)	15 (0.3%)	13 (0.3%)	770 (15.0%)								38.7	48.9	892	272
060303000239	1165	McKinleyville High	Public	9-12	1300 Murray Rd.	McKinleyville	95519	Humboldt County	Northern Humboldt Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(707) 839-6400	556	31	17.8	50.9%	293 (52.7%)	5 (0.9%)	67 (12.1%)	6 (1.1%)	53 (9.5%)	3 (0.5%)	128 (23.0%)	$13,174							38.7	57.9	692	473
063398004694	1166	Everett Alvarez High	Public	9-12	1900 Independence Blvd.	Salinas	93906	Monterey County	Salinas Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 796-7800	2,146	98	21.9	90.8%	29 (1.4%)	17 (0.8%)	1,998 (93.1%)	73 (3.4%)	2 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	25 (1.2%)	$8,635							38.7	39.7	1150	16
062250002733	1167	Lakewood High	Public	9-12	4400 Briercrest Ave.	Lakewood	90713	Los Angeles County	Long Beach Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(562) 425-1281	2,761	125	22.1	51.5%	249 (9.0%)	509 (18.4%)	1,549 (56.1%)	289 (10.5%)	4 (0.1%)	61 (2.2%)	100 (3.6%)	$9,668							38.7	36.9	1227	60
061380001555	1168	Fillmore Senior High	Public	9-12	555 Central Ave.	Fillmore	93015	Ventura County	Fillmore Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 524-6100	1,067	51	20.8	78.2%	49 (4.6%)	1 (0.1%)	1,002 (93.9%)	6 (0.6%)	4 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (0.5%)	$8,720							38.7	42.1	1071	97
060792000756	1169	Hawthorne High	Public	9-12	4859 West El Segundo Blvd.	Hawthorne	90250	Los Angeles County	Centinela Valley Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 263-4400	1,770	104	17	73.6%	14 (0.8%)	171 (9.7%)	1,513 (85.5%)	33 (1.9%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (0.6%)	27 (1.5%)								38.7	38.3	1191	22
062769004168	1170	John H. Glenn High	Public	9-12	13520 Shoemaker Ave.	Norwalk	90650	Los Angeles County	Norwalk-La Mirada Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(562) 210-3000	1,063	56	19	76.2%	22 (2.1%)	23 (2.2%)	960 (90.3%)	39 (3.7%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (0.7%)	12 (1.1%)	$16,167							38.7	17.7	1757	587

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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:

Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA): Transforming Education in America

Public School Districts and Their Services: A Comprehensive Guide

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