Best Public Schools in Long Beach, CA

Long Beach has 75 schools—45 elementary, 14 middle and 16 high schools—with records spanning several districts and grade configurations, including K–5, 6–8, 9–12 and K–8. The supplied comparisons focus on schools with similar grade spans, since results vary considerably across the area. The clearest takeaway for families is that a citywide label tells little about what a student may experience at an individual school.

Among K–5 schools, Gant Elementary leads in ELA and math, with 79% proficiency in each, while Prisk Elementary leads in science at 74%; Edison Elementary is lowest in all three. At grades 6–8, Rogers Middle leads in ELA and science, while Helen Keller Middle leads in math; Washington Middle is lowest in all three. Among 9–12 schools, Eunice Sato Academy of Math & Science leads in every subject, with 98% ELA proficiency, 79% math and 81% science. Its ELA result is 48 points above the state; in contrast, Reid High has 6% ELA and 5% math, and Renaissance High School for the Arts has 2% science. Some of the lowest high-school results are from small schools and merit extra caution.

Results over time are mixed, and the five large 9–12 schools in Long Beach Unified averaged 48% in ELA, 21% in math and 20% in science in 2025–26. Compared with the state, those averages were 1 point lower in ELA, 18 points lower in math and 16 points lower in science; the gaps widened from the prior year as state results rose faster. Individual schools do not all follow that pattern: Ernest S. McBride Senior High improved in all three subjects and ranked in the 93rd percentile in SchoolDigger’s 2025–26 statewide rankings, while Wilson High fell to the 40th percentile. Context can help comparisons, but it does not explain results: the five-school group’s 2024–25 free/reduced lunch eligible measures ranged from 33% at Millikan High to 74% at Jordan High.