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 9, 2025.

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School														Students/Teachers											Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)							Ranking (2025 vs 2024)					ID
Rank (of 2162)	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 (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Rank (2024)	Rank Change from 2024	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	ID
541	Arroyo High	Public	9-12	4921 North Cedar Ave.	El Monte	91732	Los Angeles County	El Monte Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(626) 444-9201	1,638	78	21.1	84.1%	28 (1.7%)	5 (0.3%)	1,185 (72.3%)	407 (24.8%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.1%)	9 (0.5%)	$26,007			$6,136			$19,871	72.8	75.6	476	65		061212001363
542	Gorman Learning Center San Bernardino/Santa Clarita	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	1826 Orange Tree Ln.	Redlands	92374	San Bernardino County	Gorman Learning Center San Bernardino/Santa Clarita District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(909) 307-6312	1,559	68	23	31.3%	693 (44.5%)	51 (3.3%)	599 (38.4%)	95 (6.1%)	7 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	111 (7.1%)	$12,093			$996			$11,097	72.8	62.6	704	162		060182314328
543	Westlake Charter	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	2680 Mabry Dr.	Sacramento	95835	Sacramento County	Natomas Unified	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(916) 567-5760	1,493	69	21.6	31.9%	233 (15.6%)	200 (13.4%)	437 (29.3%)	443 (29.7%)	6 (0.4%)	14 (0.9%)	160 (10.7%)	$19,150			$1,547			$17,603	72.7	83.6	349	194		060003611087
544	CIS Academy	Public, Virtual, Alternative	K-12	300 Madre St.	Pasadena	91107	Los Angeles County	Pasadena Unified	No	(n/a)	Yes	(n/a)	(626) 396-5800	234	13	17.6	70.9%	41 (17.5%)	28 (12.0%)	153 (65.4%)	4 (1.7%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.3%)	$28,613			$6,944			$21,669	72.7	52.4	937	393		062994012340
545	Learning Choice Academy	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	4635 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.	San Diego	92117	San Diego County	Learning Choice Academy District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(858) 536-8388	177	11	16.2	50.3%	53 (29.9%)	19 (10.7%)	60 (33.9%)	16 (9.0%)	2 (1.1%)	5 (2.8%)	22 (12.4%)	$15,076			$2,824			$12,252	72.7			(n/a)		060232311139
546	Dozier-Libbey Medical High	Public	9-12	4900 Sand Creek Rd.	Antioch	94531	Contra Costa County	Antioch Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(925) 779-7540	681	28	24.6	80.6%	92 (13.5%)	119 (17.5%)	326 (47.9%)	112 (16.4%)	1 (0.1%)	9 (1.3%)	21 (3.1%)	$16,538			$2,022			$14,516	72.7	86.3	300	246		060285012278
547	Centennial High	Public	9-12	8601 Hageman Rd.	Bakersfield	93312	Kern County	Kern High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 588-8601	2,212	88	25.1	44.5%	799 (36.1%)	59 (2.7%)	1,008 (45.6%)	120 (5.4%)	19 (0.9%)	15 (0.7%)	190 (8.6%)	$16,244			$1,421			$14,823	72.7	72.6	527	20		061954002041
548	Alliance Gertz-Ressler Richard Merkin 6-12 Complex	Public, Charter	6-12	2023 South Union Ave.	Los Angeles	90007	Los Angeles County	Alliance Gertz-Ressler Richard Merkin 6-12 Complex District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(213) 745-8141	1,031	47	22	94.2%	0 (0.0%)	13 (1.3%)	1,014 (98.4%)	2 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.2%)	$20,491			$2,544			$17,947	72.6	72.4	537	11		060217610851
549	Rio Americano High	Public	9-12	4540 American River Dr.	Sacramento	95864	Sacramento County	San Juan Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(916) 971-7494	1,891	79	23.8	39.9%	1,086 (57.4%)	66 (3.5%)	339 (17.9%)	240 (12.7%)	2 (0.1%)	7 (0.4%)	146 (7.7%)	$15,250			$1,445			$13,805	72.6	74	506	43		063462005812
550	Independence High	Public	9-12	617 North Jackson Ave.	San Jose	95133	Santa Clara County	East Side Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(408) 928-9500	2,289	103	22.1	47.0%	70 (3.1%)	40 (1.7%)	903 (39.4%)	1,187 (51.9%)	5 (0.2%)	21 (0.9%)	62 (2.7%)	$18,397			$1,065			$17,332	72.5	76	470	80		061182001302

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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 Special Education Students Low Socio Economic Status Students Migrant Students Homeless 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 9, 2025, 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

Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA): Transforming Education in America

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the California Department of Education.