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)
060002711036	1281	Lakeside High	Public	9-12	32593 Riverside Dr.	Lake Elsinore	92530	Riverside County	Lake Elsinore Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(951) 253-7300	1,657	71	23.2	79.5%	191 (11.5%)	56 (3.4%)	1,298 (78.3%)	57 (3.4%)	8 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	45 (2.7%)	$8,517							35	31.9	1364	83
062865012382	1282	OUSD Home School	Public, Alternative	K-12	250 South Yorba St.	Orange	92869	Orange County	Orange Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 628-5479	40	2	19.6	50.0%	11 (27.5%)	1 (2.5%)	21 (52.5%)	3 (7.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (10.0%)	$11,012							35	24.7	1574	292
062985014654	1283	Paramount Virtual Academy	Public, Virtual, Alternative	K-12	15110 California Ave	Paramount	90723	Los Angeles County	Paramount Unified	No	(n/a)	Yes	(n/a)	(562) 602-6035	33	1	58.9	90.9%	0 (0.0%)	3 (9.1%)	28 (84.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (6.1%)	0 (0.0%)								34.9	49	891	392
061743002185	1284	Holtville High	Public	9-12	755 Olive Ave.	Holtville	92250	Imperial County	Holtville Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 356-2926	532	34	15.8	77.4%	65 (12.2%)	2 (0.4%)	460 (86.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.6%)								34.9	53.3	793	491
060002709489	1285	Elsinore High	Public	9-12	21800 Canyon Dr.	Wildomar	92595	Riverside County	Lake Elsinore Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(951) 253-7200	2,065	88	23.4	71.5%	443 (21.5%)	83 (4.0%)	1,344 (65.1%)	65 (3.1%)	5 (0.2%)	11 (0.5%)	113 (5.5%)	$8,389							34.9	52.3	820	465
062271014289	1286	University Pathways Public Service Academy	Public	9-12	1415 Firestone Blvd.	Los Angeles	90001	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(323) 277-1800	173	14	12.4	97.7%	1 (0.6%)	34 (19.7%)	138 (79.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								34.8	25.8	1539	253
060178812386	1287	Gompers Preparatory Academy	Public, Charter	6-12	1005 47th St.	San Diego	92102	San Diego County	Gompers Preparatory Academy District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 263-2171	1,229	40	30.4	82.1%	12 (1.0%)	49 (4.0%)	1,119 (91.0%)	38 (3.1%)	3 (0.2%)	2 (0.2%)	6 (0.5%)								34.8	21	1675	388
060994001081	1288	Rancho Cotate High	Public	9-12	5450 Snyder Ln.	Rohnert Park	94928	Sonoma County	Cotati-Rohnert Park Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(707) 792-4750	1,674	76	22.1	39.2%	555 (33.2%)	36 (2.2%)	837 (50.0%)	53 (3.2%)	14 (0.8%)	16 (1.0%)	158 (9.4%)	$6,974							34.8	43.7	1023	265
060168914347	1289	Pivot Charter School - San Diego II	Public, Virtual, Charter, Alternative	K-12	1030 La Bonita Dr.	San Marcos	92078	San Diego County	Pivot Charter School - San Diego II District	Yes	(n/a)	Yes	(n/a)	(760) 591-0217	82	5	15.7	48.8%	27 (32.9%)	3 (3.7%)	40 (48.8%)	1 (1.2%)	1 (1.2%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (12.2%)								34.8	27.2	1501	212
063762006374	1290	Rosamond High Early College Campus	Public	9-12	2925 Rosamond Blvd.	Rosamond	93560	Kern County	Southern Kern Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 256-5020	902	47	19.3	81.5%	205 (22.7%)	87 (9.6%)	541 (60.0%)	22 (2.4%)	6 (0.7%)	2 (0.2%)	36 (4.0%)	$5,433							34.7	29.3	1436	146

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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

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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.