California · Public & charter schools · 2024–25 data

California High School Rankings

Compare grade 11 results, graduation, college and career readiness, and school climate. Use the rankings as a starting point, then check the courses and pathways your teenager can actually access.

Whitney (Gretchen) High ranks first by Scope Score among 1,500 scored California public and charter high schools in the comprehensive-school comparison group for 2024–25.

Explore the top 25 schools ↓
1,500 high schools scored·7 scoring dimensions·Data updated 2026-09-27·Source: California Department of Education·Methodology

Top 25 in California

Look beyond the percentile. See who exceeds the standard, then open a school to understand the rest.

Ordered by Scope Score · 2024–25 CAASPP. Schools with the same percentile are closely placed; the order alone does not tell you which fits your child.

What the bars mean

These are unweighted averages across available tested grades and English/math subjects at this school level, not percentages of unique students. “Met” excludes “Exceeded.” Values are rounded to whole percentages; the bar uses the underlying rates. Profiles show subject results, tested counts and sources. The Scope Score also uses other measures, so the bars alone do not determine the order.

Show the remaining 15 schools Complete the top 25 →

All of these are in the top 2% statewide; a few percentiles apart is a tie. Each percentile compares a school with California schools at its own level. Public and charter schools in the regular statewide comparison, 2024–25 CAASPP.

Look beyond the rank

Use this list to find schools worth exploring. A higher rank doesn’t guarantee a better fit for your child. Ask about class sizes, teacher turnover and student support—and visit if you can. Methodology & sources →

Browse all 1,500 high schools on the map

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 results, growth where available, and climate. 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 →

Is there a single "best" high school in California?

By Scope Score, Whitney (Gretchen) High in Los Angeles County ranks highest among 1,500 scored high schools for 2024–25 CAASPP (the 99th percentile). But one number can't tell you which school is best for your kid: 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.

Each profile names the patterns behind its results and the questions to ask alongside the ranking. Read the underlying subject results, cohort comparisons and student-group evidence; neither a badge nor a rank explains what caused the results.

Why we don't publish a "worst schools" list

Scores correlate strongly with poverty and English-learner concentration. A bottom-ranked list built from Scope Score alone would mostly describe neighborhood income, not what a school does for its students — and we'd rather not hand that list to anyone. Lower-scoring high schools are still visible on SchoolScope, shown with their growth trajectory and climate data as context, not as a headline.

How are California high schools scored?

The seven weighted dimensions: graduation rate (25%), exceeded-standard rate (22%), college readiness (20%), met-or-exceeded rate (18%), chronic absenteeism (5%), suspension rate (5%), ELPAC English Learner proficiency (5%). 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.

Graduation rate carries the highest weight — it's the most fundamental outcome measure. College readiness (CDE's AP course-or-exam readiness measure, or A-G completion) captures whether a school prepares students for what comes after.

What we can't show you: current course scheduling, prerequisites, counseling or a complete picture of college admissions. Confirm those details with the school; available course and historical UC records remain on profiles.

Honest limitations

There is no growth metric for high school (only one grade tested). Reporting years can differ across measures; check the source year on each profile. College/career readiness includes several pathways, not just AP. When a scoring dimension is unavailable, its weight is redistributed across the available dimensions.

Why exceeded rate matters even more for high school

At the high school level, "met standard" on the CAASPP roughly corresponds to on-track for community college readiness. "Exceeded standard" is closer to four-year university readiness. The gap between these two levels is the gap between two very different post-secondary paths.

California high school averages

California's scored high schools average a 20.3% exceeded rate on the grade 11 CAASPP (2024–25). A higher exceeded rate describes stronger test results among the students tested; it does not isolate the school’s contribution or predict an individual student’s college outcome. (CDE CAASPP)

Top districts for high school

Districts with the highest average high school Scope Scores (minimum 3 schools).

Fremont Union High5 schools · avg 92nd percentileSan Dieguito Union High4 schools · avg 91st percentileSan Ramon Valley Unified4 schools · avg 92nd percentileRocklin Unified3 schools · avg 90th percentileTorrance Unified4 schools · avg 91st percentile
Charter & Magnet High Schools in LA
Many top-performing high schools are charters. Here's how to get in.

Data source: California Department of Education, CAASPP 2024–25

Common questions

How are California high schools ranked?

SchoolScope ranks high schools with the Scope Score, a 0–100 rating built from 7 weighted measures: graduation rate (25%), exceeded-standard rate (22%), college readiness (20%), met-or-exceeded rate (18%), chronic absenteeism (5%), suspension rate (5%), ELPAC English Learner proficiency (5%). Schools are compared only to others at the same level — never mixed with a different grade band, and never averaged into a single letter grade. See the full methodology.

How many high schools are there in California?

SchoolScope has Scope Scores for 1,500 California high schools using 2024–25 CAASPP results. This is the scored comprehensive-school comparison group, not a complete statewide school inventory. That count includes traditional public and charter schools; private high schools aren't scored, since they don't report the same state testing data.

What is the best high school in California?

By Scope Score, Whitney (Gretchen) High in Los Angeles County ranks highest among 1,500 scored high schools for 2024–25 CAASPP, at the 99th percentile statewide. "Best" still depends on what a family is optimizing for — academics, growth, or campus culture can point to different answers.

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, statewide percentile and band. Explore the interactive map to find schools near you and open their full profiles.

What are the worst high schools in California?

We don't publish a "worst schools" list. Scores correlate strongly with poverty and English-learner concentration, so a bottom-ranked list built from Scope Score alone would mostly describe neighborhood income, not what a school does for its students. Lower-scoring high schools stay visible on SchoolScope, shown with growth trajectory and climate data as context.

Is the Scope Score the same as a GreatSchools or Niche rating?

No two rating sites use the same inputs. SchoolScope uses the CDE data year shown on this page and separates "exceeded standard" from "met standard" — a split we haven't found surfaced prominently elsewhere. Whether other sites weight growth or absenteeism internally, we can't say; their formulas aren't fully public. Compare what's visible to parents.