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)
060002506328	211	Mira Costa High	Public	9-12	1401 Artesia Blvd.	Manhattan Beach	90266	Los Angeles County	Manhattan Beach Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 318-7337	2,568	108	23.7	6.9%	1,528 (59.5%)	35 (1.4%)	374 (14.6%)	273 (10.6%)	3 (0.1%)	4 (0.2%)	341 (13.3%)	$11,279							87.1	89.7	183	28
063684006815	212	Santa Susana High	Public	9-12	3570 East Cochran St.	Simi Valley	93063	Ventura County	Simi Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 520-6800	1,002	46	21.6	31.9%	382 (38.1%)	11 (1.1%)	319 (31.8%)	218 (21.8%)	2 (0.2%)	2 (0.2%)	58 (5.8%)	$7,554							87.1	90.6	162	50
060723000676	213	Westmont High	Public	9-12	4805 Westmont Ave.	Campbell	95008	Santa Clara County	Campbell Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(408) 626-3406	1,726	75	23	39.6%	527 (30.5%)	33 (1.9%)	631 (36.6%)	376 (21.8%)	7 (0.4%)	4 (0.2%)	142 (8.2%)	$7,656							87.1	89.5	188	25
061488001868	214	Pacifica High	Public	9-12	6851 Lampson Ave.	Garden Grove	92845	Orange County	Garden Grove Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 663-6515	1,640	76	21.6	57.4%	451 (27.5%)	13 (0.8%)	573 (34.9%)	506 (30.9%)	6 (0.4%)	4 (0.2%)	81 (4.9%)	$12,797							87.1	88.9	195	19
063570002173	215	Malibu High	Public	9-12	30215 Morning View Dr.	Malibu	90265	Los Angeles County	Santa Monica-Malibu Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 457-6801	390	29	13.5	16.9%	287 (73.6%)	7 (1.8%)	63 (16.2%)	10 (2.6%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	21 (5.4%)	$8,658							87	76.7	386	171
061062012422	216	Da Vinci Charter Academy	Public, Charter	7-12	1400 East Eighth St.	Davis	95616	Yolo County	Davis Joint Unified	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 757-7154	582	33	17.6	13.7%	332 (57.0%)	15 (2.6%)	120 (20.6%)	41 (7.0%)	5 (0.9%)	1 (0.2%)	55 (9.5%)								87	83.5	260	44
060005102016	217	Gridley High	Public	9-12	300 East Spruce St.	Gridley	95948	Butte County	Gridley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 846-4791	644	35	18.5	69.3%	214 (33.2%)	3 (0.5%)	391 (60.7%)	24 (3.7%)	2 (0.3%)	2 (0.3%)	6 (0.9%)	$7,956							87	82.2	289	72
063474005865	218	San Lorenzo Valley High	Public	9-12	7105 Highway 9	Felton	95018	Santa Cruz County	San Lorenzo Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 335-4425	622	29	21.3	20.6%	491 (78.9%)	5 (0.8%)	74 (11.9%)	5 (0.8%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	44 (7.1%)	$8,113							86.9	75.6	403	185
069102513072	219	Placer County Pathways Charter	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	360 Nevada St.	Auburn	95603	Placer County	Placer County Office of Education	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 745-1440	295	20	15	53.2%	180 (61.0%)	2 (0.7%)	76 (25.8%)	4 (1.4%)	2 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	29 (9.8%)	$14,051							86.9	73.2	433	214
061062010344	220	Davis School for Independent Study	Public, Alternative	K-12	526 B St.	Davis	95616	Yolo County	Davis Joint Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 757-5333	145	11	12.7	16.6%	79 (54.5%)	4 (2.8%)	30 (20.7%)	10 (6.9%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.7%)	18 (12.4%)								86.8	93.2	122	98

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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

Girl in a wheelchair raising her hand in a classroom setting

Understanding an IEP: The Ultimate Guide for Parents and Educators

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