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Novato High

Q: Is Novato High a good school?

Novato High ranks 530 th of 2137 California high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

Public Grades 9-12

530^th

SchoolDigger Rank ?

of 2,137 California High Schools

Better than 75% of California high schools

Summary

Novato High is a grades 9–12 school in Novato, California, with 1,287 students. Its clearest strength is English language arts (ELA): in 2025–2026, 69% of students were proficient, compared with 49% statewide and 50% in Novato Unified. That result was second-highest among eight nearby schools with reported scores, making ELA the school’s standout academic result.

Novato’s ELA result was 20 percentage points above the state and 18 above the district; only Archie Williams High scored higher nearby. Math and science are less strong against public benchmarks: math proficiency was 37%, 2 points below the state and 4 below the district, while science was 34%, 2 points below the state and 5 below the district. Both subjects ranked fourth locally. Attendance is another concern: chronic absenteeism was 25%, compared with 18% statewide and 12% in the district. Graduation was comparatively high at 97%, versus 88% statewide and 95% districtwide.

Results and rankings have shifted over time. Science rose 15 points from 19% in 2024–2025 to 34% in 2025–2026, but remains 2 points below the state. SchoolDigger rates Novato at the 75th percentile with 4 stars for 2025–2026, up 10 percentile points from the prior year but 17 below its 2015–2016 high; it ranks fourth among the nine local schools, just behind San Marin High. Its 2024–2025 student–teacher ratio was 19.7, and 48% of students were free/reduced lunch eligible that year, compared with a nearby-school average of 54%. SchoolDigger’s statewide ranking for how well the school serves Military Connected Students was at the 29th percentile in 2025–2026, versus 75 overall; its Multi-racial Students ranking rose from the 52nd percentile to the 88th between 2024–2025 and 2025–2026.

1,287

Students ?

19.7

Student/teacher ratio ?

$22,736

Per pupil spending ?

48.3%

Free/reduced lunch eligible (2024-25) ?

All students in California receive free school meals.

625 Arthur St.
Novato, CA 94947-4499

(415) 898-2125

District: Novato Unified

Feeder schools for Novato High:

Elementary:	Hamilton Tk-8
	Loma Verde Elementary
	Lynwood Elementary
	Rancho Elementary
Middle:	San Jose Middle

Racial breakdown:

Hispanic:

49.3%

White:

35.1%

Asian:

5.6%

See top rated California high schools

Compare Novato High to nearby high schools!

At a glance

▼ Ranking trend: Declining — 92nd percentile in 2016 → 75th in 2026

Strengths

✓Ranks in the top 25% of California high schools

✓97% graduate in 4 years — above the California average (88%)

Worth a look

!Ranking has slipped — down 17 percentile points since 2016

!Some student groups rank well below the school's overall statewide standing

Students meeting standards (2025-2026) ?

This school46%

District avg44%

California avg42%

530^th of 2,137

California public high schools ?

Top 25%▼ down 17 pts since 2016

From top 8% (2016) to top 25% (2026)

See the entire ranking list of California High Schools →

★★★★★

SchoolDigger rating ?

2^nd of 4High Schools in the Novato Unified

357^th of 968Novato Unified among California districts

Statewide rank percentile over time (100 = the top-ranked school in the state; click a legend item to add a student group)

Show full rank history (all student groups)

All Students

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	74.7	530 of 2137	75.2%	★★★★☆
2025	62.5	747 of 2162	65.4%	★★★☆☆
2024	66.4	627 of 2159	71.0%	★★★★☆
2023	73.8	516 of 2170	76.2%	★★★★☆
2022	79.7	379 of 2123	82.1%	★★★★☆
2021	63.6	425 of 1290	67.1%	★★★☆☆
2019	79.2	378 of 2133	82.3%	★★★★☆
2018	79.0	424 of 2017	79.0%	★★★★☆
2017	84.5	328 of 2021	83.8%	★★★★☆
2016	91.5	159 of 2039	92.2%	★★★★★
2015	85.6	262 of 1994	86.9%	★★★★☆
2013	65.0	421 of 2426	82.6%	★★★★☆
2012	70.3	296 of 2354	87.4%	★★★★☆
2011	70.2	304 of 2367	87.2%	★★★★☆
2010	74.0	219 of 2281	90.4%	★★★★★
2009	78.7	131 of 2238	94.1%	★★★★★
2008	78.4	146 of 2117	93.1%	★★★★★
2007	83.7	75 of 2063	96.4%	★★★★★
2006	75.9	180 of 1968	90.9%	★★★★★
2005	77.6	120 of 1901	93.7%	★★★★★
2004	74.7	123 of 1653	92.6%	★★★★★

Asian

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	49.0	338 of 575	41.2%	★★☆☆☆
2025	52.4	325 of 585	44.4%	★★☆☆☆
2024	40.8	377 of 573	34.2%	★★☆☆☆
2023	65.0	246 of 591	58.4%	★★★☆☆
2022	59.5	270 of 581	53.5%	★★★☆☆
2019	63.5	236 of 582	59.5%	★★★☆☆
2018	69.2	210 of 581	63.9%	★★★☆☆

Disabled

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2022	53.4	351 of 1161	69.8%	★★★☆☆
2021	49.9	204 of 555	63.2%	★★★☆☆
2019	52.9	370 of 1117	66.9%	★★★☆☆
2018	90.5	82 of 1052	92.2%	★★★★★

English Language Learner

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2024	36.2	676 of 1085	37.7%	★★☆☆☆
2023	27.5	892 of 1064	16.2%	★☆☆☆☆
2022	30.3	815 of 1044	21.9%	★☆☆☆☆
2021	20.3	420 of 467	10.1%	★☆☆☆☆
2019	63.3	160 of 941	83.0%	★★★★☆
2018	33.1	577 of 938	38.5%	★★☆☆☆

Female

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	66.5	597 of 1865	68.0%	★★★☆☆
2025	59.4	720 of 1906	62.2%	★★★☆☆
2024	61.2	650 of 1915	66.1%	★★★☆☆
2023	69.1	522 of 1915	72.7%	★★★★☆
2022	81.4	297 of 1858	84.0%	★★★★☆
2021	63.5	355 of 1054	66.3%	★★★☆☆
2019	78.3	355 of 1833	80.6%	★★★★☆
2018	73.6	466 of 1760	73.5%	★★★★☆

Hispanic

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	51.6	866 of 1880	53.9%	★★★☆☆
2025	35.7	1250 of 1900	34.2%	★★☆☆☆
2024	44.3	1043 of 1902	45.2%	★★☆☆☆
2023	53.4	827 of 1917	56.9%	★★★☆☆
2022	56.6	686 of 1861	63.1%	★★★☆☆
2019	56.8	708 of 1814	61.0%	★★★☆☆
2018	46.7	977 of 1742	43.9%	★★☆☆☆

Low Socio Economic Status

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	63.9	650 of 1999	67.5%	★★★☆☆
2025	48.3	1003 of 2013	50.2%	★★★☆☆
2024	69.9	500 of 2026	75.3%	★★★★☆
2023	49.5	965 of 2030	52.5%	★★★☆☆
2022	50.6	844 of 1943	56.6%	★★★☆☆
2021	34.9	766 of 1126	32.0%	★★☆☆☆
2019	66.5	529 of 1937	72.7%	★★★★☆
2018	54.9	840 of 1862	54.9%	★★★☆☆

Male

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	72.5	491 of 1932	74.6%	★★★★☆
2025	57.2	785 of 1942	59.6%	★★★☆☆
2024	64.6	603 of 1948	69.0%	★★★☆☆
2023	71.8	492 of 1963	74.9%	★★★★☆
2022	73.9	430 of 1916	77.6%	★★★★☆
2021	57.0	436 of 1122	61.1%	★★★☆☆
2019	73.6	431 of 1880	77.1%	★★★★☆
2018	79.6	372 of 1834	79.7%	★★★★☆

Military Connected

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	30.0	110 of 156	29.5%	★★☆☆☆
2025	39.8	105 of 175	40.0%	★★☆☆☆
2024	41.9	100 of 183	45.4%	★★☆☆☆

Multi-racial

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	85.5	69 of 588	88.3%	★★★★☆
2025	53.4	279 of 577	51.6%	★★★☆☆
2024	69.3	175 of 574	69.5%	★★★☆☆
2023	51.8	269 of 541	50.3%	★★★☆☆
2022	81.5	64 of 515	87.6%	★★★★☆
2018	76.7	78 of 366	78.7%	★★★★☆

Special Education

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	75.4	197 of 1235	84.0%	★★★★☆
2025	45.8	546 of 1252	56.4%	★★★☆☆
2024	50.0	462 of 1216	62.0%	★★★☆☆
2023	74.7	186 of 1197	84.5%	★★★★☆

White

Year	Avg score	Statewide rank	California percentile	Rating
2026	66.0	396 of 1132	65.0%	★★★☆☆
2025	62.2	446 of 1155	61.4%	★★★☆☆
2024	67.7	375 of 1173	68.0%	★★★☆☆
2023	68.6	360 of 1193	69.8%	★★★★☆
2022	79.6	210 of 1204	82.6%	★★★★☆
2019	76.3	235 of 1222	80.8%	★★★★☆
2018	80.5	215 of 1173	81.7%	★★★★☆

How student groups rank statewide ? (each group's percentile vs the same group at other schools — higher is better; the +/- beside each compares the group with this school's overall percentile)

Multi-racial (2026)88th percentile+13 vs school

Special Education (2026)84th percentile+9 vs school

Male (2026)75th percentile~ school

Disabled (2022)70th percentile-12 vs school

Female (2026)68th percentile-7 vs school

Low Socio Economic Status (2026)67th percentile-8 vs school

White (2026)65th percentile-10 vs school

Hispanic (2026)54th percentile-21 vs school

Asian (2026)41st percentile-34 vs school

English Language Learner (2024)38th percentile-33 vs school

Military Connected (2026)29th percentile-46 vs school

By subject vs California (2025-2026) ?

English Language Arts/Literacy69%+20 vs state

Mathematics37%~ state avg

Science34%~ state avg

★

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Schools Near Novato High

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Ranking:

E Elementary M Middle H High A Alternative P Private

Choose columns to see: Summary School Students/Teachers Ranking Test Scores Vaccination Finance All

School													Students/Teachers											Ranking (2026)				Ranking (2025)				CAST Science (2026)				Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy (2026)					Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics (2026)					Vaccination (2024-25)		Per Pupil Expenditures (2025)
Name	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	Enrollment	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/reduced lunch (2024-25)	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Average Standard Score (2026)	Statewide Rank (2026)	State Percentile (2026)	SchoolDigger Rating (2026)	Average Standard Score (2025)	Statewide Rank (2025)	State Percentile (2025)	Rank Change from Previous Year	CAST Science 8th Grade	CAST Science 11th Grade	CAST Science 12th Grade	CAST Science All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy 11th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy All Grades	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 6th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 7th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 8th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics 11th Grade	Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics All Grades	Vaccination: Kindergartners with all required immunizations	Vaccination: Exemption rate	Per Pupil Expenditures Total	Sub-total from Federal Funds	Sub-total from State/Local Funds
Novato High	Public	9-12	625 Arthur St.	Novato	94947	Marin County	Novato Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(415) 898-2125	1,287	65	19.7	48.3%	452 (35.1%)	30 (2.3%)	634 (49.3%)	72 (5.6%)	9 (0.7%)	1 (0.1%)	70 (5.4%)	74.7	530^th of 2137 public high schools	75.2%		62.5	747^th of 2162 public high schools	65.4%	217			34.0	34.0				68.9	68.9				36.5	36.5			$22,736	$21,774	$962
Marin Oaks High	Public	9-12	720 Diablo Ave.	Novato	94947	Marin County	Novato Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(415) 897-7653	69	7	9.2	82.6%	15 (21.7%)	4 (5.8%)	47 (68.1%)	1 (1.4%)	1 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.4%)	13.8	1788^th of 2137 public high schools	16.3%		10.5	1991^st of 2162 public high schools	7.9%	203			5.4	5.4				19.2	19.2				0.0	0.0			$69,827	$68,482	$1,345
Nova Education Center	Public	6-12	720 Diablo Blvd.	Novato	94947	Marin County	Novato Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(415) 897-7653	73	5	14.7	32.9%	33 (45.2%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (26.0%)	7 (9.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (16.4%)	51	1017^th of 2137 public high schools	52.4%		60.8	805^th of 2162 public high schools	62.8%	212			10.5	14.3				66.7	58.8				23.8	29.4			$26,973	$26,248	$725
San Marin High	Public	9-12	15 San Marin Dr.	Novato	94945	Marin County	Novato Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(415) 898-2121	1,250	57	21.9	35.7%	615 (49.2%)	11 (0.9%)	400 (32.0%)	104 (8.3%)	7 (0.6%)	3 (0.2%)	109 (8.7%)	75.9	503^rd of 2137 public high schools	76.5%		83.1	357^th of 2162 public high schools	83.5%	146			47.5	47.5				56.2	56.2				39.5	39.5			$20,684	$19,728	$956
Marin County Juvenile Court	Public	7-12	16 Jeannette Prandi Way	San Rafael	94913	Marin County	Marin County Office of Education	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(415) 491-0581	3	1	3.0	—	0 (0.0%)	1 (33.3%)	2 (66.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								(n/a)
Marin's Community	Public	7-12	1111 Las Gallinas Ave.	San Rafael	94913	Marin County	Marin County Office of Education	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(415) 491-0581	64	3	18.7	68.8%	6 (9.4%)	4 (6.3%)	49 (76.6%)	1 (1.6%)	1 (1.6%)	1 (1.6%)	2 (3.1%)	12	1843^rd of 2137 public high schools	13.8%		7.3	2139^th of 2162 public high schools	1.1%	296								21.4	15.8				0.0	0.0
Marin County Regional Occupational Program	Public	9-12	1111 Las Gallinas Ave.	San Rafael	94913	Marin County	Marin County Regional Occupational Program	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	(n/a)	(415) 499-5892	0			—	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()	0 ()								(n/a)
Terra Linda High	Public	9-12	320 Nova Albion Way	San Rafael	94903	Marin County	San Rafael City High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(415) 492-3100	1,248	60	20.7	49.4%	441 (35.3%)	18 (1.4%)	621 (49.8%)	77 (6.2%)	5 (0.4%)	8 (0.6%)	67 (5.4%)	82.3	355^th of 2137 public high schools	83.4%		84.8	316^th of 2162 public high schools	85.4%	39			52.2	52.2				63.5	63.5				42.5	42.5			$25,657	$24,898	$759
Archie Williams High	Public	9-12	1327 Sir Francis Drake Blvd.	San Anselmo	94960	Marin County	Tamalpais Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(415) 453-8770	1,141	63	18.0	10.3%	844 (74.0%)	16 (1.4%)	169 (14.8%)	19 (1.7%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	88 (7.7%)	93.2	130^th of 2137 public high schools	93.9%		88.1	242^nd of 2162 public high schools	88.8%	112		62.2		62.4				83.0	83.0				56.1	56.1			$38,422	$37,714	$708
Madrone High Continuation	Public	9-12	185 Mission Ave.	San Rafael	94901	Marin County	San Rafael City High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(415) 485-2435	96	10	10.0	77.1%	1 (1.0%)	4 (4.2%)	90 (93.8%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	12.3	1834^th of 2137 public high schools	14.2%		9.8	2026^th of 2162 public high schools	6.3%	192			4.4	4.4				11.5	11.5				3.7	3.7			$32,083	$29,808	$2,275

Frequently Asked Questions about Novato High

What is the racial makeup of Novato High?

Students at Novato High are 49% Hispanic, 35% White, 6% Asian, 5% Two or more races, 2% African American, 1% Not Specified.

What district is Novato High in?

Novato Unified

How many students attend Novato High?

In the 2024-25 school year, 1,287 students attended Novato High.

What schools feed into Novato High?

Novato High is fed by the following schools:

Elementary : Hamilton Tk-8
Elementary : Loma Verde Elementary
Elementary : Lynwood Elementary
Elementary : Rancho Elementary
Middle : San Jose Middle

Is Novato High a good school?

Novato High ranks 530^th of 2137 California high schools. SchoolDigger rates this school 4 stars out of 5.

Rate Novato High!

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Latest California data All new data »

2013–14 through 2024–25 immunization rates (updated)NewOct 19, 2026

2025–26 attendance data, dropout rates & graduation ratesNewOct 15, 2026

2025–26 CAST, CSA Spanish & Smarter Balanced Assessments scoresNewOct 15, 2026

2024–25 school spending dataJul 1, 2026

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

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS: Not all boundaries are included. We make every effort to ensure that boundaries are up-to-date. But it's important to note that these are approximations and are for general informational purposes only. To verify legal descriptions of boundaries or school locations, contact your local tax assessor's office and/or school district.