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)
062927014319	191	Oxnard Middle College High	Public	9-12	4000 South Rose Ave.	Oxnard	93033	Ventura County	Oxnard Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 278-5521	168	6	27.2	73.8%	6 (3.6%)	2 (1.2%)	142 (84.5%)	12 (7.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (3.6%)								88.5	89.7	184	7
060155412539	192	Inspire School of Arts and Sciences	Public, Charter	9-12	335 West Sacramento Ave.	Chico	95926	Butte County	Inspire School of Arts and Sciences District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 891-3090	366	20	18.1	42.9%	237 (64.8%)	5 (1.4%)	55 (15.0%)	5 (1.4%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	29 (7.9%)								88.4	93.4	119	73
063432005496	193	La Jolla High	Public	9-12	750 Nautilus St.	La Jolla	92037	San Diego County	San Diego Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(858) 634-8000	1,227	49	24.8	25.8%	692 (56.4%)	16 (1.3%)	313 (25.5%)	89 (7.3%)	1 (0.1%)	4 (0.3%)	112 (9.1%)	$7,843							88.4	90.5	167	26
060146207308	194	River Valley Charter	Public, Charter	7-12	9707 1/2 Marilla Dr.	Lakeside	92040	San Diego County	River Valley Charter District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 390-2579	228	13	17.8	16.2%	155 (68.0%)	4 (1.8%)	50 (21.9%)	11 (4.8%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.9%)	6 (2.6%)								88.3	95.2	86	108
060753000718	195	Carmel High	Public	9-12	3600 Ocean Ave.	Carmel	93923	Monterey County	Carmel Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 624-1821	858	52	16.4	15.0%	549 (64.0%)	4 (0.5%)	174 (20.3%)	48 (5.6%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	81 (9.4%)	$17,668							88.2	89.8	180	15
060175911467	196	University Preparatory	Public, Charter	6-12	2200 Eureka Way	Redding	96001	Shasta County	University Preparatory District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 245-2790	1,013	47	21.7	32.4%	698 (68.9%)	6 (0.6%)	124 (12.2%)	79 (7.8%)	11 (1.1%)	3 (0.3%)	92 (9.1%)								88.1	92	136	60
060204712236	197	KIPP San Jose Collegiate	Public, Charter	9-12	1790 Educational Park Dr.	San Jose	95133	Santa Clara County	KIPP San Jose Collegiate District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(408) 937-3752	516	33	15.4	73.8%	2 (0.4%)	6 (1.2%)	341 (66.1%)	164 (31.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.6%)								88.1	76.3	396	199
063801012846	198	Pacific Law Academy	Public, Charter	7-12	1621 Brookside Rd.	Stockton	95207	San Joaquin County	Stockton Unified	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 933-7475	184	9	19.5	54.3%	13 (7.1%)	8 (4.3%)	126 (68.5%)	30 (16.3%)	3 (1.6%)	2 (1.1%)	2 (1.1%)	$12,650							88	85.1	236	38
068450007376	199	Woodbridge High	Public	9-12	2 Meadowbrook	Irvine	92604	Orange County	Irvine Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(949) 786-1104	2,218	93	23.7	23.1%	749 (33.8%)	66 (3.0%)	329 (14.8%)	814 (36.7%)	6 (0.3%)	8 (0.4%)	242 (10.9%)	$6,402							87.9	96.4	64	135
061233011067	200	Pleasant Grove High	Public	9-12	9531 Bond Rd.	Elk Grove	95624	Sacramento County	Elk Grove Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(916) 686-0230	2,520	113	22.3	22.3%	830 (32.9%)	114 (4.5%)	457 (18.1%)	837 (33.2%)	21 (0.8%)	27 (1.1%)	234 (9.3%)	$6,810							87.9	92	137	63

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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:

Student-Teacher Ratios and their Impact on Class Sizes & School Selection

State-Administered Standardized Tests: 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.