California finally had one school break through the nation’s top 10 high schools in a new ranking from U.S. News & World Report.
The list, published Tuesday, ranked nearly 18,000 public high schools in the country, and several California schools landed high on the list; however, Science Academy Stem Magnet in North Hollywood was the only school to crack the top 10 (at No. 10). Other highly ranked schools on the list include Whitney High School in Cerritos (No. 11), Oxford Academy in Cypress (No. 17), Dr. Richard A. Vladovic Harbor Teacher Preparation Academy in Los Angeles (No. 24) and Dr. TJ Owens Gilroy Early College Academy in Gilroy (No. 37).
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Last year, there weren’t any California schools in the top 10. Whitney High School was the highest-ranked Golden State school on last year’s national list at No. 16.
All of the top California schools made major jumps nationally in the rankings from last year, with the biggest leap by <a href="https://www.usnews.com/education/best-high-schools/california/districts/gilroy-unified-school-district/dr-t-j-owens-gilroy-early-college-academy-2271″ rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank”>Gilroy Early College Academy, which previously ranked at No. 64. The school has historically posted top test scores, and 100% of the student population took AP tests. Like last year, the school was again the highest-ranked Bay Area campus.
Four of the top Bay Area schools made major gains this year: Mission San Jose High School in Fremont, which rose from No. 107 to No. 98, Cupertino High School, which went from No. 258 to No. 174, Piedmont High School, which went from No. 304 to No. 178, and Henry M. Gunn High School in Palo Alto, which skyrocketed to No. 180 from No. 226 last year
Several other California schools, however, took major hits in the rankings, including California Academy of Mathematics and Science in Carson, which went from No. 38 to No. 69, Riverside Stem Academy, which plunged from No. 43 to No. 105, and Lowell High School in San Francisco, which fell from No. 88 to No. 145. Lowell has often scored near the top of the major rankings lists and has been known for its rigorous admissions criteria.
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On the list of top California schools, Southern California schools dominated the list, but Bay Area schools were able to compete more fiercely than last year. On the 2025 statewide list, only two Bay Area schools landed in the top 10, but this year, there were three: Dr. T.J. Owens Gilroy Early College Academy (No. 5), Lynbrook High School in San Jose (No. 9) and Mission San Jose High School (No. 10).
U.S. News also ranked the country’s metropolitan areas according to the proportion of their schools that landed in the top 25% nationally. Out of all the metro areas, the region of San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara took the lead with 60% of its schools ranking in the top 25%.
The top schools in the national ranking of all schools were outside California: Central Magnet School in Tennessee, Signature School in Indiana, Julia R. Masterman Secondary School in Pennsylvania, Davidson Academy in Nevada, and School Without Walls High School in Washington, D.C.
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LaMont Jones Jr., managing editor for education at U.S. News, who helps curate the list, told SFGATE that the metro rankings are good indicators of how schools are performing regionally.
“That’s an indicator of, for example, out of California, a metro area where the performance is really particularly strong,” he said, pointing to the Bay Area’s recent metro ranking.
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U.S. News’ methodology includes examining schools’ college readiness, range of college curriculum, test scores, graduation rates and how underserved students perform, according to its website.
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Though choosing which school to attend is a “personal decision” for families in the U.S., Jones said he believes the rankings list is a “good starting point.”
“These are public school rankings where they educate all their students regardless of income, regardless of socioeconomic status, and schools that rank high are doing a great job educating all of their students,” he said.
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