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
731	Independence High	Public	9-12	1350 7th Ave.	San Francisco	94122	San Francisco County	San Francisco Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(415) 242-2528	235	15	15.6	56.6%	52 (22.1%)	40 (17.0%)	75 (31.9%)	23 (9.8%)	2 (0.9%)	2 (0.9%)	39 (16.6%)	$32,290			$2,755			$29,535	63.3			(n/a)		063441007840
732	Christopher High	Public	9-12	850 Day Rd.	Gilroy	95020	Santa Clara County	Gilroy Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(669) 205-5300	1,630	70	23.2	38.0%	285 (17.5%)	27 (1.7%)	1,057 (64.8%)	138 (8.5%)	4 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	117 (7.2%)	$17,480			$1,396			$16,084	63.3	72.4	535	197		061518012264
733	Ednovate - Brio College Prep	Public, Charter	9-12	350 South Figueroa St. Ste. 10	Los Angeles	90071	Los Angeles County	Ednovate - Brio College Prep District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(323) 446-2570	500	20	24.6	73.2%	6 (1.2%)	19 (3.8%)	461 (92.2%)	7 (1.4%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (1.2%)	$21,482			$1,304			$20,178	63.3	66.9	617	116		060179914104
734	Fred C. Beyer High	Public	9-12	1717 Sylvan Ave.	Modesto	95355	Stanislaus County	Modesto City High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 574-1647	1,609	74	21.8	62.2%	428 (26.6%)	55 (3.4%)	849 (52.8%)	89 (5.5%)	3 (0.2%)	11 (0.7%)	174 (10.8%)	$21,348			$2,746			$18,602	63.2	64.8	654	80		062515003734
735	San Pedro Senior High	Public	9-12	1610 South Leland St.	San Pedro	90731	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 241-5800	2,398	117	20.4	77.1%	342 (14.3%)	198 (8.3%)	1,643 (68.5%)	89 (3.7%)	4 (0.2%)	16 (0.7%)	106 (4.4%)	$18,999			$3,322			$15,677	63.2	59.4	783	48		062271003330
736	Animo Watts College Preparatory Academy	Public, Charter	9-12	12628 Avalon Blvd.	Los Angeles	90061	Los Angeles County	Animo Watts College Preparatory Academy District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(323) 756-3930	546	28	19.4	92.5%	3 (0.5%)	55 (10.1%)	471 (86.3%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	15 (2.7%)	$28,334			$4,248			$24,086	63.2	61.1	741	5		060221911640
737	Millennium High Alternative	Public	9-12	760 Magnolia Ave.	Piedmont	94611	Alameda County	Piedmont City Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 594-2703	61	5	13.4	18.0%	26 (42.6%)	7 (11.5%)	12 (19.7%)	5 (8.2%)	1 (1.6%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (16.4%)	$28,131			$1,398			$26,733	63.2	67.2	610	127		063033007819
738	Gateway High	Public, Charter	9-12	1430 Scott St.	San Francisco	94115	San Francisco County	Gateway High District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(415) 749-3600	464	27	17	52.6%	130 (28.0%)	61 (13.1%)	195 (42.0%)	35 (7.5%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	37 (8.0%)	$19,634			$192			$19,442	63.2	78	436	302		060242607725
739	Lemoore High	Public	9-12	101 East Bush St.	Lemoore	93245	Kings County	Lemoore Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 924-6600	1,798	88	20.3	59.0%	375 (20.9%)	78 (4.3%)	1,126 (62.6%)	69 (3.8%)	30 (1.7%)	14 (0.8%)	99 (5.5%)	$27,725			$6,550			$21,175	63.1	58.7	802	63		062140002561
740	Magnolia Science Academy 5	Public, Charter	6-12	18238 Sherman Way	Reseda	91335	Los Angeles County	Magnolia Science Academy 5 District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(818) 705-5676	218	13	16.3	78.4%	13 (6.0%)	4 (1.8%)	183 (83.9%)	15 (6.9%)	2 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.5%)	$21,457			$2,538			$18,919	63	71.4	546	194		060188512347

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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:

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

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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.