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
931	El Cerrito High	Public	9-12	540 Ashbury Ave.	El Cerrito	94530	Contra Costa County	West Contra Costa Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 231-1437	1,460	61	24	39.0%	407 (27.9%)	211 (14.5%)	464 (31.8%)	229 (15.7%)	2 (0.1%)	11 (0.8%)	126 (8.6%)	$5,982			$1,545			$4,437	55.3	69.4	572	359		063255005022
932	Connecting Waters Charter School - Central Valley	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	2000 West Briggsmore Ave.	Modesto	95350	Stanislaus County	Connecting Waters Charter School - Central Valley District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 874-1119	776	44	17.7	53.0%	380 (49.0%)	7 (0.9%)	258 (33.2%)	26 (3.4%)	3 (0.4%)	2 (0.3%)	100 (12.9%)	$11,894			$117			$11,777	55.1	48.5	1040	108		060240614327
933	Latitude 37.8 High	Public, Charter	9-12	1045 Derby Ave.	Oakland	94601	Alameda County	Latitude 37.8 High District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 568-7936	389	26	14.9	70.4%	25 (6.4%)	50 (12.9%)	276 (71.0%)	17 (4.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (3.3%)	$10,166			$1,747			$8,419	55.1	48.7	1035	102		060151414257
934	Magnolia Science Academy 3	Public, Charter	6-12	1254 East Helmick St.	Carson	90746	Los Angeles County	Magnolia Science Academy 3 District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 637-3806	411	18	22.6	72.5%	1 (0.2%)	174 (42.3%)	224 (54.5%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	9 (2.2%)	$20,461			$1,102			$19,359	55.1	45.2	1118	184		060219412010
935	River Springs Charter	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	27740 Jefferson Ave.	Temecula	92590	Riverside County	River Springs Charter District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(951) 252-8800	7,703	299	25.7	59.2%	2,465 (32.0%)	396 (5.1%)	4,132 (53.6%)	193 (2.5%)	22 (0.3%)	17 (0.2%)	478 (6.2%)								55.1	62.5	708	227		060208911707
936	Minarets High	Public	9-12	45077 Road 200	O Neals	93645	Madera County	Chawanakee Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 868-8689	265	16	16.3	50.9%	150 (56.6%)	0 (0.0%)	65 (24.5%)	1 (0.4%)	21 (7.9%)	0 (0.0%)	27 (10.2%)	$21,389			$2,222			$19,167	54.7	61.8	722	214		060011612212
937	Animo South Los Angeles Charter	Public, Charter	9-12	11130 Western Ave.	Los Angeles	90047	Los Angeles County	Animo South Los Angeles Charter District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(323) 779-0544	585	30	19.7	96.4%	2 (0.3%)	103 (17.6%)	470 (80.3%)	4 (0.7%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (0.7%)	$28,416			$3,149			$25,267	54.7	43.8	1154	217		060243510836
938	El Camino Fundamental High	Public	9-12	4300 El Camino Ave.	Sacramento	95821	Sacramento County	San Juan Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(916) 971-7430	1,226	55	22.2	54.6%	450 (36.7%)	105 (8.6%)	444 (36.2%)	94 (7.7%)	5 (0.4%)	11 (0.9%)	107 (8.7%)	$16,133			$1,647			$14,486	54.6	61.4	730	208		063462005776
939	Ramon C. Cortines School of Visual and Performing Arts	Public	9-12	450 North Grand Ave.	Los Angeles	90012	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(213) 217-8600	1,102	63	17.3	71.5%	167 (15.2%)	68 (6.2%)	769 (69.8%)	59 (5.4%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	38 (3.4%)	$22,624			$3,716			$18,908	54.4	51.8	961	22		062271012439
940	Options for Youth San Gabriel	Public, Charter	7-12	215 South Mission Dr.	San Gabriel	91776	Los Angeles County	Options for Youth San Gabriel District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(626) 282-0390	244	9	26.6	77.5%	45 (18.4%)	8 (3.3%)	164 (67.2%)	6 (2.5%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	18 (7.4%)								54.4	36.4	1331	391		060239807165

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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

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.