High Schools in Palm Beach

The Palm Beach school district oversees 48 high schools serving grades 9-12, a diverse mix ranging from large traditional public schools with over 3,000 students to small specialized academies with fewer than 20 students, and the district itself ranks in the middle of the pack statewide.

The top performers are the magnet schools: Alexander W. Dreyfoos Junior School Of The Arts (98th percentile) and Suncoast Community High School (97th percentile) both boast perfect 100% graduation rates and the lowest chronic absenteeism in the county, with test scores often exceeding 90% proficiency. Other strong traditional schools include Spanish River Community High School (91st percentile) and West Boca Raton High School, which achieve high results while spending well below the district average. On the other end, Palm Beach Preparatory Charter Academy sits at the very bottom (1st percentile) with a 48.4% graduation rate and a staggering 96% chronic absenteeism rate, while Worthington High School and Quantum High School also struggle in the bottom 5% with graduation rates around 40%. Some schools are on the rise: Forest Hill Community High School jumped from the 32nd to the 51st percentile, and Boynton Beach Community High moved from the 22nd to the 41st percentile.

A key takeaway is that chronic absenteeism is a powerful predictor of school health—schools with rates below 15% are almost universally high-performing, while those above 30% are struggling. Spending does not guarantee success, as the highest-spending schools are often alternative programs for students with severe needs, while efficient schools like Spanish River and West Boca Raton excel with lower costs. Additionally, some schools show inconsistent subject performance, such as Glades Central High School, which excels in US History (75-88% proficiency) but struggles in Algebra 1 (11-40%), suggesting that teacher quality or school culture can vary significantly by subject.