11 CA High Schools Crack Nation's Top 100: U.S News (2024)

Schools

Oxford Academy topped the list of public schools and ranked No. 9 overall and No. 1 in California, followed by Whitney High School.

Posted Tue, Aug 29, 2023 at 1:40 pm PT|Updated Wed, Aug 30, 2023 at 1:23 pm PT

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):

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.

(You can read more about teachers making a difference in the local community here).

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.

See the full list of high schools surveyed across the nation in the U.S. News report.