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)
063560006664	1571	Delta Charter	Public, Charter	9-12	6500 Soquel Dr. Bldg. 1190	Aptos	95003	Santa Cruz County	Santa Cruz City High	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 477-5212	116	9	13.2	34.5%	70 (60.3%)	1 (0.9%)	40 (34.5%)	1 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (1.7%)								24.3	22.9	1624	53
061104001218	1572	Denair High	Public	9-12	3431 Lester Rd.	Denair	95316	Stanislaus County	Denair Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 632-9911	285	17	17.1	50.2%	138 (48.4%)	1 (0.4%)	119 (41.8%)	4 (1.4%)	16 (5.6%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (2.5%)	$8,946							24.3	29	1447	125
062271007751	1573	Belmont Senior High	Public	9-12	1575 West 2nd St.	Los Angeles	90026	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(213) 241-4300	599	36	16.5	97.8%	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	$14,318							24.3	15	1835	262
062805005701	1574	Independent Study Sojourner Truth	Public, Alternative	K-12	8251 Fontaine St.	Oakland	94605	Alameda County	Oakland Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 879-5330	690	53	13.1	88.6%	55 (8.0%)	250 (36.2%)	217 (31.4%)	60 (8.7%)	4 (0.6%)	11 (1.6%)	90 (13.0%)	$12,825							24.2	23.7	1599	25
062706001921	1575	Crossroads High (Alternative)	Public, Alternative	K-12	35753 Cedar Blvd.	Newark	94560	Alameda County	Newark Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 818-3720	57	2	28.5	43.9%	14 (24.6%)	4 (7.0%)	25 (43.9%)	10 (17.5%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.8%)	3 (5.3%)	$9,016							24.2	29.2	1441	134
060179408578	1576	Options for Youth-San Juan	Public, Charter	7-12	5825 Windmill Way	Carmichael	95608	Sacramento County	Options for Youth-San Juan District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(916) 485-5111	796	30	26.1	78.8%	274 (34.4%)	112 (14.1%)	300 (37.7%)	18 (2.3%)	6 (0.8%)	4 (0.5%)	70 (8.8%)								24	25.7	1540	36
062805012506	1577	Gateway to College High at Laney College	Public	9-12	900 Fallon St.	Oakland	94607	Alameda County	Oakland Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 879-2311	76			51.3%	6 (7.9%)	16 (21.1%)	32 (42.1%)	6 (7.9%)	2 (2.6%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (18.4%)								23.9			(n/a)
062271011888	1578	Contreras Learning Center-Los Angeles School of Global Studies	Public	9-12	322 Lucas Ave.	Los Angeles	90017	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(213) 240-3850	327	18	18.2	98.5%	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	$10,505							23.9	15.7	1814	236
060003907540	1579	Delhi High	Public	9-12	16881 West Schendel Ave.	Delhi	95315	Merced County	Delhi Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 656-2050	732	35	20.9	81.0%	23 (3.1%)	1 (0.1%)	674 (92.1%)	23 (3.1%)	3 (0.4%)	1 (0.1%)	7 (1.0%)								23.9	32.1	1355	224
060133201985	1580	Foothill High	Public	9-12	5000 McCloud Dr.	Sacramento	95842	Sacramento County	Twin Rivers Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(916) 566-3445	1,251	55	22.7	91.2%	233 (18.6%)	198 (15.8%)	539 (43.1%)	156 (12.5%)	6 (0.5%)	20 (1.6%)	96 (7.7%)								23.9	24.8	1572	8

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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:

Girl in a wheelchair raising her hand in a classroom setting

Understanding an IEP: The Ultimate Guide for Parents and Educators

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.