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)
062241002677	741	Cabrillo High	Public	9-12	4350 Constellation Rd.	Lompoc	93436	Santa Barbara County	Lompoc Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 742-2900	1,074	56	19.1	46.6%	349 (32.5%)	27 (2.5%)	551 (51.3%)	48 (4.5%)	10 (0.9%)	2 (0.2%)	87 (8.1%)	$8,911							55.4	70.7	469	272
061632502053	742	Los Altos High	Public	9-12	15325 East Los Robles Ave.	Hacienda Heights	91745	Los Angeles County	Hacienda la Puente Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(626) 934-5400	1,574	68	23.1	76.1%	39 (2.5%)	6 (0.4%)	1,409 (89.5%)	93 (5.9%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (0.4%)	20 (1.3%)								55.4	51.5	835	93
060678000599	743	Half Moon Bay High	Public	9-12	1 Lewis Foster Dr.	Half Moon Bay	94019	San Mateo County	Cabrillo Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(650) 712-7200	987	51	19.4	36.0%	407 (41.2%)	6 (0.6%)	496 (50.3%)	25 (2.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	52 (5.3%)	$6,964							55.3	46.7	949	206
061005001105	744	South Hills High	Public	9-12	645 South Barranca St.	West Covina	91791	Los Angeles County	Covina-Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(626) 974-6220	1,624	68	23.8	61.0%	103 (6.3%)	41 (2.5%)	1,285 (79.1%)	164 (10.1%)	8 (0.5%)	2 (0.1%)	19 (1.2%)	$8,186							55.3	61.2	630	114
062271003330	745	San Pedro Senior High	Public	9-12	1001 West 15th St.	San Pedro	90731	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 241-5800	2,481	119	20.8	77.2%	366 (14.8%)	226 (9.1%)	1,667 (67.2%)	93 (3.7%)	5 (0.2%)	18 (0.7%)	106 (4.3%)	$10,266							55.3	43.2	1041	296
062271003064	746	Alexander Hamilton Senior High	Public	9-12	2955 Robertson Blvd.	Los Angeles	90034	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 280-1400	2,107	123	17.1	72.8%	275 (13.1%)	517 (24.5%)	1,176 (55.8%)	60 (2.8%)	1 (0.0%)	4 (0.2%)	74 (3.5%)	$10,014							55.2	62.9	600	146
061440001672	747	John F. Kennedy High	Public	9-12	39999 Blacow Rd.	Fremont	94538	Alameda County	Fremont Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 657-4070	1,273	62	20.4	45.7%	157 (12.3%)	45 (3.5%)	501 (39.4%)	487 (38.3%)	6 (0.5%)	11 (0.9%)	66 (5.2%)	$9,540							55	73.9	425	322
063864006484	748	Hilltop Senior High	Public	9-12	555 Claire Ave.	Chula Vista	91910	San Diego County	Sweetwater Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 476-4200	1,841	80	22.9	76.9%	274 (14.9%)	35 (1.9%)	1,417 (77.0%)	54 (2.9%)	11 (0.6%)	3 (0.2%)	47 (2.6%)	$7,004							55	49.3	879	131
060226511312	749	CATCH Prep Charter High Inc.	Public, Charter	9-12	4120 11th Ave.	Los Angeles	90008	Los Angeles County	CATCH Prep Charter High Inc. District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(323) 293-3917	123	8	15.3	95.9%	0 (0.0%)	61 (49.6%)	58 (47.2%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (1.6%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (1.6%)								55	37	1225	476
060801004486	750	Southwest High	Public	9-12	2001 Ocotillo Dr.	El Centro	92243	Imperial County	Central Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 336-4100	1,842	91	20.1	75.1%	52 (2.8%)	4 (0.2%)	1,759 (95.5%)	21 (1.1%)	1 (0.1%)	2 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	$13,789							55	56.9	717	33

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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:

No Child Left Behind (NCLB): A Comprehensive Analysis of Its Impact on Education

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.