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
1441	Nova Academy Early College High	Public, Charter	9-12	500 West Santa Ana Blvd.	Santa Ana	92701	Orange County	Nova Academy Early College High District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 569-0948	288	15	19	88.9%	4 (1.4%)	1 (0.3%)	271 (94.1%)	2 (0.7%)	2 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (2.4%)	$24,608			$1,401			$23,207	32.3	49.6	1009	432		060156510989
1442	Whitman Continuation	Public	9-12	7795 Rosewood Ave.	Los Angeles	90036	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(323) 651-0645	45	3	15.2	91.1%	1 (2.2%)	8 (17.8%)	33 (73.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (2.2%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (4.4%)	$44,059			$8,231			$35,828	32.3	41.4	1211	231		062271007768
1443	Learning for Life Charter	Public, Charter	7-12	3180 Imjin Rd. Ste. 110	Marina	93933	Monterey County	Learning for Life Charter District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 582-9820	160	7	22.8	61.3%	31 (19.4%)	5 (3.1%)	100 (62.5%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.6%)	1 (0.6%)	21 (13.1%)	$16,122			$510			$15,612	32.3	25	1585	142		060231810560
1444	Desert Hot Springs High	Public	9-12	65850 Pierson Blvd.	Desert Hot Springs	92240	Riverside County	Palm Springs Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 288-7000	1,687	82	20.5	96.1%	147 (8.7%)	107 (6.3%)	1,358 (80.5%)	17 (1.0%)	6 (0.4%)	1 (0.1%)	49 (2.9%)	$22,098			$2,184			$19,914	32.2	48.4	1045	399		062955008267
1445	High Technical High Media Arts	Public, Charter	9-12	2230 Truxtun Rd.	San Diego	92106	San Diego County	High Technical High Media Arts District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 398-8620	355	21	16.9	43.1%	78 (22.0%)	22 (6.2%)	212 (59.7%)	21 (5.9%)	6 (1.7%)	4 (1.1%)	7 (2.0%)	$15,309			$779			$14,530	32.2	55.1	878	567		060151511386
1446	Heritage High	Public	9-12	26001 Briggs Rd.	Menifee	92585	Riverside County	Perris Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(951) 940-5447	2,330	98	23.8	80.9%	245 (10.5%)	156 (6.7%)	1,679 (72.1%)	84 (3.6%)	7 (0.3%)	14 (0.6%)	145 (6.2%)	$19,447			$1,843			$17,604	32.1	40.8	1226	220		063021011848
1447	Crenshaw Sci Technical Engr Math and Med Magnet	Public	9-12	5010 11th Ave.	Los Angeles	90043	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(323) 290-7800	503	37	13.5	90.7%	9 (1.8%)	295 (58.6%)	174 (34.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	24 (4.8%)	$35,097			$7,176			$27,921	32.1	15.6	1800	353		062271002941
1448	Youth Opportunities Unlimited	Public	9-12	915 West Manchester Ave.	Los Angeles	90044	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(323) 789-4731	51	5	10.4	100.0%	1 (2.0%)	20 (39.2%)	30 (58.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	$50,327			$9,399			$40,928	32	11.6	1970	522		062271002128
1449	San Jacinto High	Public	9-12	500 Idyllwild Dr.	San Jacinto	92583	Riverside County	San Jacinto Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(951) 654-7374	2,388	124	19.2	89.9%	155 (6.5%)	204 (8.5%)	1,888 (79.1%)	33 (1.4%)	32 (1.3%)	16 (0.7%)	60 (2.5%)	$9,306			$163			$9,143	31.9	28.9	1521	72		063444005694
1450	Arroyo Valley High	Public	9-12	1881 West Baseline St.	San Bernardino	92411	San Bernardino County	San Bernardino City Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(909) 381-4295	2,692	112	24	96.2%	32 (1.2%)	94 (3.5%)	2,510 (93.2%)	24 (0.9%)	5 (0.2%)	10 (0.4%)	17 (0.6%)	$22,857			$5,938			$16,919	31.9	31.2	1465	15		063417010365

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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:

No Child Left Behind (NCLB): A Comprehensive Analysis of Its Impact on Education

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.