California high school rankings
Whitney (Gretchen) High ranks first by Scope Score among the 1,498 California public and charter high schools we score for 2024–25.
Also ranked: Elementary schoolsMiddle schools
Which 10 high schools rank highest?
Ordered by Scope Score, 2024–25. Each name opens its card below, with its standing and results.
See all 25 with their results ↓- Whitney (Gretchen) HighABC Unified · Grades 7–12 · High ceiling · Broad base
- California Academy of Mathematics and ScienceLong Beach Unified · High ceiling · Broad base
- Renaissance Arts AcademyLos Angeles Unified · Grades K–12 · High ceiling · Broad base · Charter school. Check how it admits students.
- Science Academy STEM MagnetLos Angeles Unified · Grades 6–12 · High ceiling · Broad base · Magnet school. Check how it admits students.
- Dr. TJ Owens Gilroy Early College AcademyGilroy Unified · High ceiling · Broad base · Check how it admits students.
- Canyon Crest AcademySan Dieguito Union High · High ceiling · Broad base
- Oxford AcademyAnaheim Union High · Grades 7–12 · High ceiling · Broad base
- Middle College HighLodi Unified · High ceiling · Broad base · Check how it admits students.
- Dr. Richard A. Vladovic Harbor Teacher PreparationLos Angeles Unified · High ceiling · Broad base · Check how it admits students.
- La Canada HighLa Canada Unified · Grades 7–12 · High ceiling · Broad base
High school Scope Scores use spring 2025 tests. They include graduation and college-readiness records, which the state publishes a year after the tests. This page shows that year’s results and level names.
Compare grade 11 results, graduation, college and career readiness, attendance and suspensions. Use the rankings as a starting point, then check the courses and pathways your teenager can actually access.
Which schools are near the places you’re considering?
Search a city, ZIP code or district to see the schools there.
Check attendance boundaries, applications and the daily journey before making a shortlist.
Results
How did the top 25 high schools do on the state tests?
California’s state tests (CAASPP), 2024–25
Ordered by Scope Score. Each percentile compares a school with California schools at its own level.
What the bars mean
These are unweighted averages across grade 11 in English and math, the grades this level’s score uses, not percentages of unique students. “Met standard” excludes “Exceeded standard.” “Below the standard” combines the state’s two lowest test levels, Nearly met and Not met. Values are rounded to whole percentages; the bar uses the underlying rates. Each card counts the English and math tests its bars average; profiles show subject results, students tested and sources. The Scope Score also uses other measures, so the bars alone do not determine the order.
- List position 1
Whitney (Gretchen) High
Cerritos · ABC Unified · Los Angeles County · Grades 7–12
340 English and math tests
- Exceeded standard
- 93%
- Met standard
- 6%
- Below the standard
- 1%
- List position 2
California Academy of Mathematics and Science
Carson · Long Beach Unified · Los Angeles County · Grades 9–12
314 English and math tests
- Exceeded standard
- 81%
- Met standard
- 16%
- Below the standard
- 3%
- List position 3
Renaissance Arts Academy
Los Angeles · Los Angeles Unified · Los Angeles County · Grades K–12
Charter school. Check how it admits students.
72 English and math tests
- Exceeded standard
- 83%
- Met standard
- 14%
- Below the standard
- 3%
- List position 4
Science Academy STEM Magnet
North Hollywood · Los Angeles Unified · Los Angeles County · Grades 6–12
Magnet school. Check how it admits students.
116 English and math tests
- Exceeded standard
- 80%
- Met standard
- 16%
- Below the standard
- 4%
- List position 5
Dr. TJ Owens Gilroy Early College Academy
Gilroy · Gilroy Unified · Santa Clara County · Grades 9–12
Check how it admits students.
144 English and math tests
- Exceeded standard
- 67%
- Met standard
- 25%
- Below the standard
- 8%
- List position 6
Canyon Crest Academy
San Diego · San Dieguito Union High · San Diego County · Grades 9–12
1,120 English and math tests
- Exceeded standard
- 69%
- Met standard
- 21%
- Below the standard
- 10%
- List position 7
Oxford Academy
Cypress · Anaheim Union High · Orange County · Grades 7–12
370 English and math tests
- Exceeded standard
- 80%
- Met standard
- 17%
- Below the standard
- 3%
- List position 8
Middle College High
Stockton · Lodi Unified · San Joaquin County · Grades 9–12
Check how it admits students.
158 English and math tests
- Exceeded standard
- 65%
- Met standard
- 22%
- Below the standard
- 13%
- List position 9
Dr. Richard A. Vladovic Harbor Teacher Preparation
Wilmington · Los Angeles Unified · Los Angeles County · Grades 9–12
Check how it admits students.
216 English and math tests
- Exceeded standard
- 61%
- Met standard
- 27%
- Below the standard
- 12%
- List position 10
La Canada High
La Canada · La Canada Unified · Los Angeles County · Grades 7–12
654 English and math tests
- Exceeded standard
- 64%
- Met standard
- 23%
- Below the standard
- 13%
Show schools 11 to 25 Complete the top 25, with their results
- List position 11
Eunice Sato Academy of Math & Science
Long Beach · Long Beach Unified · Los Angeles County · Grades 9–12
224 English and math tests
- Exceeded standard
- 64%
- Met standard
- 24%
- Below the standard
- 12%
- List position 12
Lynbrook High
San Jose · Fremont Union High · Santa Clara County · Grades 9–12
823 English and math tests
- Exceeded standard
- 78%
- Met standard
- 14%
- Below the standard
- 8%
- List position 13
University Preparatory
Victorville · Victor Valley Union High · San Bernardino County · Grades 7–12
358 English and math tests
- Exceeded standard
- 57%
- Met standard
- 30%
- Below the standard
- 13%
- List position 14
Piedmont High
Piedmont · Piedmont City Unified · Alameda County · Grades 9–12
332 English and math tests
- Exceeded standard
- 67%
- Met standard
- 21%
- Below the standard
- 12%
- List position 15
Early College High
Costa Mesa · Newport-Mesa Unified · Orange County · Grades 9–12
Check how it admits students.
80 English and math tests
- Exceeded standard
- 60%
- Met standard
- 25%
- Below the standard
- 15%
- List position 16
William & Marian Ghidotti High
Grass Valley · Nevada Joint Union High · Nevada County · Grades 9–12
Check how it admits students.
72 English and math tests
- Exceeded standard
- 79%
- Met standard
- 15%
- Below the standard
- 6%
- List position 17
Saratoga High
Saratoga · Los Gatos-Saratoga Union High · Santa Clara County · Grades 9–12
541 English and math tests
- Exceeded standard
- 63%
- Met standard
- 20%
- Below the standard
- 17%
- List position 18
University High
Fresno · Fresno Unified · Fresno County · Grades 9–12
Charter school. Check how it admits students.
241 English and math tests
- Exceeded standard
- 56%
- Met standard
- 31%
- Below the standard
- 13%
- List position 19
Henry M. Gunn High
Palo Alto · Palo Alto Unified · Santa Clara County · Grades 9–12
759 English and math tests
- Exceeded standard
- 63%
- Met standard
- 19%
- Below the standard
- 18%
- List position 20
Oak Park High
Oak Park · Oak Park Unified · Ventura County · Grades 9–12
713 English and math tests
- Exceeded standard
- 58%
- Met standard
- 25%
- Below the standard
- 17%
- List position 21
Mission San Jose High
Fremont · Fremont Unified · Alameda County · Grades 9–12
840 English and math tests
- Exceeded standard
- 74%
- Met standard
- 17%
- Below the standard
- 9%
- List position 22
Riverside STEM Academy
Riverside · Riverside Unified · Riverside County · Grades 5–12
Check how it admits students.
114 English and math tests
- Exceeded standard
- 81%
- Met standard
- 19%
- Below the standard
- 0%
- List position 23
The High School at Moorpark College
Moorpark · Moorpark Unified · Ventura County · Grades 9–12
42 English and math tests
- Exceeded standard
- 64%
- Met standard
- 26%
- Below the standard
- 10%
- List position 24
Pacific Collegiate Charter
Santa Cruz · Santa Cruz County Office of Education · Santa Cruz County · Grades 7–12
Charter school. Check how it admits students.
126 English and math tests
- Exceeded standard
- 53%
- Met standard
- 34%
- Below the standard
- 13%
- List position 25
Miramonte High
Orinda · Acalanes Union High · Contra Costa County · Grades 9–12
591 English and math tests
- Exceeded standard
- 62%
- Met standard
- 22%
- Below the standard
- 16%
All of these are in the top 2% of the 1,498 California high schools we score.
Each percentile uses only the state records behind the Scope Score. Class sizes, teacher turnover and student support aren’t in it, so ask about them on a visit. Methodology and sources →
How do I turn a ranking into a shortlist?
Three checks before you decide where to move or apply.
Check your options
Confirm attendance boundaries, eligibility, applications and transportation with the school or district. A place on this list does not guarantee admission.
Compare the evidence
Open school profiles to compare English (reading and writing) and math results, attendance and suspensions. Look at support for your child’s needs alongside the overall score.
Ask on a visit
Who can enroll in advanced courses and career pathways, and what support helps students complete them?
What the data cannot tell you →Districts
Which districts have the most high schools at the 90th percentile or higher?
Los Angeles Unified has the most: 8 of its 191 ranked high schools (4%)
Ordered by how many of each district’s ranked high schools are at the 90th percentile or higher among California high schools we score. A large district can lead on count alone, so each card also gives that count as a share of its ranked schools. Each district has at least 3 ranked high schools.
How do these rankings work?
Why might two families choose different schools from this list?Because the order weighs seven measures together, and families weigh them differently.
A family chasing AP access and a family prioritizing a calm, low-absenteeism campus could reasonably land on different schools from the rankings above. Source: CDE 2024–25 CAASPP, analyzed by SchoolScope.
Open a profile to read the subject results, the student-group evidence behind its patterns, and the questions to ask on a visit.
How do we score high schools?The Scope Score weighs seven measures and compares high schools only with each other.
College-going rate is shown on school profiles as context but is never scored. Sources: CDE CAASPP, ACGR graduation data, and College/Career Indicator files.
College readiness (CDE’s AP course-or-exam readiness measure, or A-G completion) describes whether students finished the courses or exams that prepare them for what comes after.
High school has no growth measure, since only grade 11 is tested. Reporting years can differ across measures; check the source year on each profile. When a scoring part is unavailable, its weight is shared across the parts that are. Course schedules, prerequisites and counseling are questions for the school; profiles keep the course and UC records we hold.
Why does the exceeded rate matter more in high school?In grade 11, the result can set a student’s first-year course placement at California State University.
The exceeded rate is the share of students’ tests that went past the standard. Through the state’s Early Assessment Program, a grade 11 student who exceeds the standard enrolls in first-year college-level English or math at CSU. A student who meets it does the same only after an approved year-long course in that subject in 12th grade, with a C- or better. Results are used for placement after admission, never for admission itself. (CDE, Early Assessment Program)
At the average California high school we score, 20% of students’ tests in grade 11 exceeded the standard in spring 2025. A higher share describes stronger results among the students tested; it doesn’t show the school’s part in them or predict one student’s college outcome. (CDE CAASPP)
Which guides help with the next step?
Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024–25
Common questions
How are California high schools ranked?
Each school’s percentile says what share of California high schools it scored higher than; schools are compared only with other high schools. The order comes from the Scope Score. The score is built from seven measures:
- Students who exceeded the standard (weighted 22%)
- Students who met or exceeded the standard (weighted 18%)
- Students who graduate (weighted 25%)
- Students ready for college or a career (weighted 20%)
- Students chronically absent, meaning they missed 10% or more of school days (weighted 5%)
- Students suspended (weighted 5%)
- English learners reaching the top level of the state’s English test (weighted 5%)
How many California high schools does SchoolScope score?
SchoolScope has Scope Scores for 1,498 California high schools using 2024–25 CAASPP results. That count is the regular public and charter schools we score, so it is smaller than the number of schools in the state. Private high schools aren’t scored, since they don’t take the state tests.
What is the best high school in California?
By Scope Score, Whitney (Gretchen) High in Los Angeles County ranks highest among the 1,498 California high schools we score for 2024–25 CAASPP, at the 99th percentile. Which school is best for a child still depends on what the family needs: test results, attendance or the feel of the campus can point to different schools.
More questions (3)
What are the top 25 high schools in California?
The top 25 scored high schools by Scope Score are listed on this page with their city, county, percentile among the 1,498 California high schools we score and band. Explore the interactive map to find schools near you and open their full profiles.
What are the worst high schools in California?
Every high school we score is in the city, ZIP code and district lists, which run down to the lowest percentile, and on the map. Open a profile to read attendance and suspensions beside the score. Scores track family income and English-learner shares closely, so read those records before judging a school by its place in a list.
Is the Scope Score the same as a GreatSchools or Niche rating?
No. Rating sites weight different inputs in different ways. SchoolScope uses the CDE data year shown on this page, counts students at the top level (“Exceeded”) separately from the level below it (“Met”), and shows each part of the score with its weight. Compare what each site shows parents.