CALIFORNIA — More than 1,500 public high schools in California were ranked among the 2023-24 Best High Schools, released Tuesday by U.S. News & World Report. However, only 11 Golden State high schools cracked the top 100 nationwide.
Families can use the annual rankings to compare schools at the national, state and local levels on factors such as academic performance, graduation rates and college readiness, according to a news release. U.S. News reviewed 25,000 schools and ranked 17,680 of them.
Here are the top 100 public high schools in California (the first number represents the state ranking; the second in parentheses is the national ranking):
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1. Oxford Academy, Anaheim Union High School District, Cypress. (#9). 2. Whitney High School, ABC Unified School District, Cerritos. (#17). 3. California Academy of Mathematics and Science, Long Beach Unified School District, Carson. (#28). 4. Dr. T.J. Owens Gilroy Early College Academy, Gilroy Unified School District, Gilroy. (#36). 5. Harbor Teacher Preparation Academy, Los Angeles Unified School District, Wilmington. (#42). 6. Preuss School UCSD, Preuss School UCSD District, San Diego. (#71). 7. University High School, University High District, Fresno. (#79). 8. Mission San Jose High School, Fremont Unified School District, Fremont. (#80). 9. Pacific Collegiate Charter, Pacific Collegiate Charter District, Santa Cruz. (#82). 10. Riverside Stem Academy, Riverside Unified School District, Riverside. (#83). 11. Lowell High School, San Francisco Unified School District, San Francisco. (#85).
In general, the highest-ranked schools had students who performed well on state assessments for math, reading and science, U.S. News said. They also performed strongly in meeting the needs of underserved students, including those who are Black, Hispanic or from low-income households. The schools had many curriculum offerings and high graduation rates, and their students performed well on Advanced Placement and International Baccalaureate exams.
U.S. News said eleven of the top 20 ranked schools were charter or magnet schools.
In national rankings, the top five schools are, respectively: The Early College at Guilford, Greensboro, North Carolina; Signature School at Evansville, Indiana; The School for Advanced Studies in Miami; The Davidson Academy of Nevada at Reno; and Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology at Alexandria, Virginia.
The California Academy of Mathematics and Science (CAMS) and several other Long Beach Unified School District schools are among the top public schools in the nation, according to Niche.com's 2024 Best Schools list.
The average private high school acceptance rate in California is 80% per year (2024-25). The most selective school in California is The Thacher School, with an acceptance rate of 13%. Cambrian Academy Photo - Cambrian Academy students have been accepted by the world's best universities.
Palo Alto Unified School District ranked as the No. 16 best school district in the U.S., in a list compiled by Niche, a school ranking and reviews site. It's also ranked as the No. 1 school district in California.
Archbishop Riordan High School in San Francisco is a stunning campus, built in Spanish Mission style, with a beautiful chapel. It offers a large range of arts programs including theatre, visual arts, and music.
What are the best cities in California for education? San Jose, Sunnyvale and Santa Clara was the highest ranking California metropolitan area on WalletHub's list of top spots for education, earning an overall score of 82.1 out of 100.
For the 2023 fall semester, more than 175,000 in-state students applied to a school in the CSU system, with the vast majority (94%) getting admitted to at least one. In general, the most popular and hardest campuses to get into are Cal State Long Beach, San Diego State and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.
For the second year in a row U.S. News and World Report has ranked Florida as the top state for education, followed by the state of Utah and then Massachusetts.
Algebra I is the single most failed course in American high schools. Thirty-three percent of students in California, for example, took Algebra I at least twice during their high school careers. And students of color or those experiencing poverty are overrepresented in this group.
Massachusetts boasts the most expensive high school in the U.S.! Valley View School has a yearly tuition of $125,000 and offers not only academics, athletics, and the arts but also therapy for the students of this all-boys school.
Title I, Part A federal funds help to meet the educational needs of students in California schools. Funds are used to support effective, evidence-based educational strategies that close the achievement gap and enable the students to meet the state's challenging academic standards.
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