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)
060247312390	91	Western Sierra Collegiate Academy	Public, Charter	7-12	660 Menlo Dr.	Rocklin	95765	Placer County	Western Sierra Collegiate Academy District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(916) 778-4544	773	37	20.6	13.7%	347 (44.9%)	6 (0.8%)	107 (13.8%)	238 (30.8%)	6 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	69 (8.9%)								94.4	95.3	83	8
061389011932	92	Vista del Lago High	Public	9-12	1970 Broadstone Pkwy.	Folsom	95630	Sacramento County	Folsom-Cordova Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(916) 294-2410	1,745	73	23.8	5.2%	925 (53.0%)	22 (1.3%)	185 (10.6%)	514 (29.5%)	4 (0.2%)	5 (0.3%)	90 (5.2%)	$6,406							94.2	93.8	106	14
061524001923	93	Crescenta Valley High	Public	9-12	2900 Community Ave.	La Crescenta	91214	Los Angeles County	Glendale Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(818) 249-5871	2,488	105	23.7	22.2%	1,293 (52.0%)	18 (0.7%)	378 (15.2%)	690 (27.7%)	2 (0.1%)	1 (0.0%)	102 (4.1%)	$6,902							94.2	91.6	146	53
063801012446	94	Stockton Early College Academy	Public, Charter	9-12	349 East Vine St.	Stockton	95202	San Joaquin County	Stockton Unified	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 933-7370	428	15	28.7	59.6%	20 (4.7%)	12 (2.8%)	205 (47.9%)	175 (40.9%)	2 (0.5%)	3 (0.7%)	11 (2.6%)	$10,153							94.1	93.4	117	23
063441001276	95	Asawa (Ruth) SF School of the Arts A Public School	Public	9-12	555 Portola Dr.	San Francisco	94131	San Francisco County	San Francisco Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(415) 695-5700	679	36	19	18.7%	240 (35.3%)	35 (5.2%)	148 (21.8%)	133 (19.6%)	3 (0.4%)	2 (0.3%)	116 (17.1%)	$6,103							94.1	92.9	125	30
063570006102	96	Santa Monica High	Public	9-12	601 Pico Blvd.	Santa Monica	90405	Los Angeles County	Santa Monica-Malibu Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 395-3204	2,678	138	19.4	30.0%	1,079 (40.3%)	189 (7.1%)	948 (35.4%)	171 (6.4%)	1 (0.0%)	3 (0.1%)	280 (10.5%)	$7,059							94	92.6	130	34
068450007067	97	University High	Public	9-12	4771 Campus Dr.	Irvine	92612	Orange County	Irvine Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(949) 936-7600	2,164	82	26.5	21.0%	713 (32.9%)	55 (2.5%)	265 (12.2%)	919 (42.5%)	2 (0.1%)	3 (0.1%)	200 (9.2%)	$6,427							94	95.9	70	27
061455010779	98	Design Science Middle College High	Public	9-12	1101 E University Ave	Fresno	93741	Fresno County	Fresno Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 489-2270	245	10	23.9	64.1%	32 (13.1%)	8 (3.3%)	157 (64.1%)	33 (13.5%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.6%)	10 (4.1%)	$7,348							94	92.4	131	33
063498005919	99	Aragon High	Public	9-12	900 Alameda de Las Pulgas	San Mateo	94402	San Mateo County	San Mateo Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(650) 558-2999	1,740	75	23.1	14.9%	471 (27.1%)	6 (0.3%)	471 (27.1%)	538 (30.9%)	0 (0.0%)	44 (2.5%)	206 (11.8%)	$18,387							93.9	95.8	71	28
064251003264	100	Valencia High	Public	9-12	27801 North Dickason Dr.	Valencia	91355	Los Angeles County	William S. Hart Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 294-1188	2,275	101	22.6	11.9%	1,012 (44.5%)	98 (4.3%)	522 (22.9%)	503 (22.1%)	3 (0.1%)	4 (0.2%)	132 (5.8%)	$10,811							93.9	95.2	85	15

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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:

No Child Left Behind (NCLB): A Comprehensive Analysis of Its Impact on Education

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.