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)
060792000759	1051	Leuzinger High	Public	9-12	4118 West Rosecrans Ave.	Lawndale	90260	Los Angeles County	Centinela Valley Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 263-2208	1,924	82	23.5	80.6%	29 (1.5%)	293 (15.2%)	1,422 (73.9%)	94 (4.9%)	2 (0.1%)	36 (1.9%)	48 (2.5%)								43	40.7	1115	64
064347011520	1052	River Valley High	Public	9-12	801 El Margarita Rd.	Yuba City	95993	Sutter County	Yuba City Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 822-2500	1,676	88	19.1	61.0%	280 (16.7%)	27 (1.6%)	700 (41.8%)	550 (32.8%)	9 (0.5%)	4 (0.2%)	102 (6.1%)	$7,884							42.9	55	762	290
061722002177	1053	Hilmar High	Public	9-12	7807 North Lander Ave.	Hilmar	95324	Merced County	Hilmar Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 667-5903	698	36	19.1	62.2%	347 (49.7%)	4 (0.6%)	331 (47.4%)	9 (1.3%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (0.6%)	$10,892							42.8	50.7	848	205
060504000486	1054	Biggs High	Public	9-12	3046 Second St.	Biggs	95917	Butte County	Biggs Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 868-5825	177	13	13.6	63.3%	95 (53.7%)	7 (4.0%)	63 (35.6%)	5 (2.8%)	3 (1.7%)	2 (1.1%)	1 (0.6%)	$11,313							42.7	46.5	960	94
069113511047	1055	Citrus Hill High	Public	9-12	18150 Wood Rd.	Perris	92570	Riverside County	Val Verde Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(951) 490-0400	1,677	89	18.9	89.6%	64 (3.8%)	52 (3.1%)	1,525 (90.9%)	12 (0.7%)	7 (0.4%)	1 (0.1%)	15 (0.9%)	$7,978							42.7	39.8	1145	90
062637009946	1056	Horizons School: Independent Study	Public, Alternative	K-12	1 Santa Barbara Rd.	Pleasant Hill	94523	Contra Costa County	Mt. Diablo Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(925) 682-8000	216	19	11.5	39.4%	77 (35.6%)	9 (4.2%)	98 (45.4%)	20 (9.3%)	1 (0.5%)	1 (0.5%)	10 (4.6%)	$15,216							42.6	53.5	791	265
060142301505	1057	Kaweah High	Public	9-12	1107 E Rocky Hill Dr.	Exeter	93221	Tulare County	Exeter Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 592-4420	35	3	11.2	77.1%	12 (34.3%)	0 (0.0%)	22 (62.9%)	1 (2.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	$13,709							42.6	46.8	945	112
060985014184	1058	Academy of Innovation	Public, Virtual, Alternative	K-12	1951 Third St.	Norco	92860	Riverside County	Corona-Norco Unified	No	(n/a)	Yes	(n/a)	(951) 739-6809	588	28	21	69.4%	156 (26.5%)	43 (7.3%)	290 (49.3%)	60 (10.2%)	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.3%)	33 (5.6%)								42.6	40	1137	79
069101208491	1059	Valley Oaks Charter	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	3501 Chester Ave.	Bakersfield	93301	Kern County	Kern County Office of Education	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 852-6700	1,048	50	20.8	42.2%	545 (52.0%)	16 (1.5%)	377 (36.0%)	16 (1.5%)	7 (0.7%)	1 (0.1%)	85 (8.1%)	$5,377							42.6	49.1	884	175
060203514290	1060	Pacific Springs Charter	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	1615 Mater Dei Dr.	Chula Vista	91913	San Diego County	Pacific Springs Charter District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(951) 252-8800	558	18	30.9	49.5%	86 (15.4%)	27 (4.8%)	342 (61.3%)	54 (9.7%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	47 (8.4%)								42.6	33.8	1310	250

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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:

State-Administered Standardized Tests: A Comprehensive Guide

Girl in a wheelchair raising her hand in a classroom setting

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.