Best High Schools in California

A teacher and two students give a thumbs-up in a classroom.

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.

Be the first to know when we post new test scores and rankings!

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)
063801011422	1221	Cesar Chavez High	Public	9-12	2929 Windflower Ln.	Stockton	95212	San Joaquin County	Stockton Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 933-7480	2,018	89	22.7	70.6%	71 (3.5%)	188 (9.3%)	1,146 (56.8%)	491 (24.3%)	13 (0.6%)	22 (1.1%)	85 (4.2%)	$8,450							36.7	33.9	1307	86
060699000643	1222	Calipatria High	Public	9-12	601 West Main St.	Calipatria	92233	Imperial County	Calipatria Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 348-2254	334	21	15.7	84.1%	22 (6.6%)	10 (3.0%)	296 (88.6%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (1.5%)	$8,681							36.7	47.8	918	304
060133902078	1223	Hamilton High	Public	9-12	620 Canal St.	Hamilton City	95951	Glenn County	Hamilton Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 826-3261	293	19	15.3	81.6%	40 (13.7%)	0 (0.0%)	206 (70.3%)	3 (1.0%)	2 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	42 (14.3%)	$9,797							36.6	47.1	933	290
063075014310	1224	Maidu Virtual Charter Academy	Public, Virtual, Charter	9-12	332 Finley St.	Auburn	95603	Placer County	Placer Union High	Yes	(n/a)	Yes	(n/a)	(530) 745-5763	115	8	14.5	36.5%	84 (73.0%)	1 (0.9%)	20 (17.4%)	2 (1.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (6.1%)	$12,841							36.6	57	711	513
060188411996	1225	California Virtual Academy at Kings	Public, Virtual, Charter, Alternative	K-12	50 Moreland Rd.	Simi Valley	93065	Ventura County	California Virtual Academy at Kings District	Yes	(n/a)	Yes	(n/a)	(805) 581-0202	575	21	27.7	73.4%	163 (28.3%)	15 (2.6%)	328 (57.0%)	28 (4.9%)	3 (0.5%)	5 (0.9%)	33 (5.7%)								36.6	40.2	1133	92
062334011679	1226	Madera South High	Public	9-12	755 W. Pecan Ave.	Madera	93637	Madera County	Madera Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 675-4450	1,855	86	21.6	95.0%	38 (2.0%)	33 (1.8%)	1,744 (94.0%)	25 (1.3%)	4 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (0.5%)	$1,982							36.6	32.6	1342	116
060236614333	1227	JCS - Pine Valley	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	28876 Old Highway 80	Pine Valley	91962	San Diego County	JCS - Pine Valley District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 473-1300	150	11	14.1	39.3%	103 (68.7%)	0 (0.0%)	34 (22.7%)	2 (1.3%)	1 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (5.3%)								36.5	46.6	953	274
062664011271	1228	Napa Valley Independent Studies	Public, Alternative	K-12	1600 Myrtle Ave.	Napa	94558	Napa County	Napa Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(707) 259-8577	124	6	19.4	66.1%	32 (25.8%)	0 (0.0%)	81 (65.3%)	6 (4.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (4.0%)	$4,194							36.5	34.3	1298	70
060187603939	1229	Altus Schools Charter School of San Diego	Public, Charter	6-12	10170 Huennekens St.	San Diego	92121	San Diego County	Altus Schools Charter School of San Diego District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(858) 678-2020	1,443	43	33.2	73.8%	237 (16.4%)	119 (8.2%)	889 (61.6%)	57 (4.0%)	1 (0.1%)	6 (0.4%)	120 (8.3%)								36.4	43	1048	181
060006206757	1230	Valley Oak Online Learning Academy	Public, Virtual, Alternative	K-12	200 Hinkley Ave.	Oakdale	95361	Stanislaus County	Oakdale Joint Unified	No	(n/a)	Yes	(n/a)	(209) 847-3097	36	1	30.7	44.4%	19 (52.8%)	1 (2.8%)	16 (44.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	$14,775							36.4	26.7	1514	284

Sign up for updates!

Be the first to know when we update our rankings!

Other SchoolDigger ranking lists for California

Elementary Schools Middle Schools High Schools Districts Cities

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

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.