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)
060207211593	881	Alder Grove Charter School 2	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	714 F St.	Eureka	95501	Humboldt County	Alder Grove Charter School 2 District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(707) 268-0854	438	25	17.6	71.0%	287 (65.5%)	3 (0.7%)	68 (15.5%)	1 (0.2%)	22 (5.0%)	0 (0.0%)	57 (13.0%)								49.2	33.8	1311	430
060006908607	882	Valley Center High	Public	9-12	31322 Cole Grade Rd.	Valley Center	92082	San Diego County	Valley Center-Pauma Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 751-5500	1,094	51	21.4	61.7%	245 (22.4%)	7 (0.6%)	675 (61.7%)	13 (1.2%)	81 (7.4%)	0 (0.0%)	73 (6.7%)	$12,522							49.2	45.9	973	91
060208312699	883	University Preparatory Value High	Public, Charter	9-12	1929 West Pico Blvd.	Los Angeles	90006	Los Angeles County	University Preparatory Value High District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(213) 382-1223	484	23	20.6	87.2%	1 (0.2%)	3 (0.6%)	464 (95.9%)	13 (2.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.6%)								49.2	47.1	932	49
061291001465	884	Escondido High	Public	9-12	1535 North Broadway	Escondido	92026	San Diego County	Escondido Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 291-4000	1,771	98	18	82.7%	188 (10.6%)	30 (1.7%)	1,430 (80.7%)	86 (4.9%)	8 (0.5%)	2 (0.1%)	25 (1.4%)	$8,316							49.2	45.5	985	101
060205113076	885	Samueli Academy	Public, Charter	7-12	1901 North Fairview St.	Santa Ana	92706	Orange County	Samueli Academy District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 619-0245	822	39	21.1	75.2%	42 (5.1%)	9 (1.1%)	689 (83.8%)	50 (6.1%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	24 (2.9%)								49.2	56.6	719	166
061524001933	886	Herbert Hoover High	Public	9-12	651 Glenwood Rd.	Glendale	91202	Los Angeles County	Glendale Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(818) 242-6801	1,538	72	21.4	56.2%	1,035 (67.3%)	14 (0.9%)	330 (21.5%)	127 (8.3%)	3 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	26 (1.7%)	$7,864							49.2	55.8	738	148
063432005434	887	Clairemont High	Public	9-12	4150 Ute Dr.	San Diego	92117	San Diego County	San Diego Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 605-2600	813	43	19	54.5%	312 (38.4%)	17 (2.1%)	372 (45.8%)	37 (4.6%)	3 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	70 (8.6%)	$9,585							49.2	52.7	806	81
062271013139	888	STEM Academy at Bernstein High	Public	9-12	1309 North Wilton Pl.	Hollywood	90028	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(323) 817-6461	599	30	19.7	98.0%	20 (3.3%)	10 (1.7%)	529 (88.3%)	31 (5.2%)	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.3%)	6 (1.0%)	$10,838							49.1	44	1012	124
062688007794	889	North Point Academy	Public, Virtual	9-12	11761 Ridge Rd.	Grass Valley	95945	Nevada County	Nevada Joint Union High	No	(n/a)	Yes	(n/a)	(530) 477-1225	130	6	21.5	37.7%	103 (79.2%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (14.6%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (5.4%)	$8,968							49.1	62	617	272
062664004037	890	Vintage High	Public	9-12	1375 Trower Ave.	Napa	94558	Napa County	Napa Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(707) 253-3601	1,712	73	23.4	54.4%	672 (39.3%)	16 (0.9%)	928 (54.2%)	35 (2.0%)	8 (0.5%)	1 (0.1%)	47 (2.7%)	$6,029							49.1	48.8	894	4

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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:

Charter Schools vs Regular Public Schools: Understanding the Key Differences

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.