Best private high schools in California
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Best private high schools in California
Private schools, in some form, existed long before the concept of free public education in America. Students were often educated through church-sponsored programs, private tutoring, and boarding schools. Public schools on a large scale were proposed by Horace Mann in the 1830s. The concept gained momentum, and by 1870, nearly 80% of kids aged 5 to 14 were enrolled in public schools. Today, according to the most recent enrollment data, about 4.7 million students—or 10% of students enrolled in kindergarten through grade 12—are enrolled in private schools.
Private schools are widely marketed as a better option when compared to public schools, and private school proponents will often point to standardized test scores to substantiate this claim. While private school students have consistently outperformed public school students on standardized tests, recent studies have shown private schools themselves are not the primary driver of success, nor are standardized tests the most accurate measure of student well-being.
Researchers have found that student success is more directly related to family attributes, like having parents who graduated from college, and higher incomes—more common amongst private school students than public school students—than simply whether the students attended a public or private school.
Still, private schools provide unique advantages and opportunities like smaller class sizes, more individualized instruction, and greater curricular flexibility. To better understand how private school offerings vary across the country, Stacker compiled a list of the best private high schools in California using 2023 rankings from Niche. Niche uses eight weighted factors for its rankings. A majority of the score is based on academics and grades, but other factors include culture and diversity, health and safety, clubs and activities, resources, and surveys of parents, teachers and students.
Editor’s note: The original article had inaccuracies when multiple schools in California had the same name. In most of these instances, the wrong data was displayed in the ranking. Stacker sincerely apologizes for the errors.
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#30. Oakwood School
– District: North Hollywood
– Enrollment: 824 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
– Niche grade: A+
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#29. The Athenian School
– District: Danville
– Enrollment: 536 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
– Niche grade: A+
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#28. BASIS Independent Silicon Valley
– City: San Jose
– Enrollment: 1,190 (11:1 student to teacher ratio)
– Niche grade: A+
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#27. Urban School of San Francisco
– City: San Francisco
– Enrollment: 420 (9:1 student to teacher ratio)
– Niche grade: A+
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#26. Marin Academy
– District: San Rafael
– Enrollment: 440 (7:1 student to teacher ratio)
– Niche grade: A+
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#25. Francis Parker School
– City: San Diego
– Enrollment: 1,320 (11:1 student to teacher ratio)
– Niche grade: A+
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#24. Chadwick School
– District: Palos Verdes Peninsula
– Enrollment: 867 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
– Niche grade: A+
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#23. The Webb Schools
– District: Claremont
– Enrollment: 404 (7:1 student to teacher ratio)
– Niche grade: A+
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#22. Menlo School
– District: Atherton
– Enrollment: 795 (7:1 student to teacher ratio)
– Niche grade: A+
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#21. The Branson School
– District: Ross
– Enrollment: 345 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
– Niche grade: A+
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#20. Lick-Wilmerding High School
– City: San Francisco
– Enrollment: 490 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
– Niche grade: A+
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#19. San Francisco University High School
– City: San Francisco
– Enrollment: 410 (6:1 student to teacher ratio)
– Niche grade: A+
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#18. Westridge School
– District: Pasadena
– Enrollment: 550 (5:1 student to teacher ratio)
– Niche grade: A+
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#17. Marlborough School
– City: Los Angeles
– Enrollment: 533 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
– Niche grade: A+
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#16. Windward School
– City: Los Angeles
– Enrollment: 625 (6:1 student to teacher ratio)
– Niche grade: A+
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#15. Sage Hill School
– District: Newport Coast
– Enrollment: 550 (6:1 student to teacher ratio)
– Niche grade: A+
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#14. The Thacher School
– District: Ojai
– Enrollment: 259 (4:1 student to teacher ratio)
– Niche grade: A+
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#13. The Quarry Lane School
– District: Dublin
– Enrollment: 850 (7:1 student to teacher ratio)
– Niche grade: A+
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#12. Cate School
– District: Carpinteria
– Enrollment: 298 (5:1 student to teacher ratio)
– Niche grade: A+
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#11. Head-Royce School
– City: Oakland
– Enrollment: 900 (6:1 student to teacher ratio)
– Niche grade: A+
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#10. Polytechnic School
– District: Pasadena
– Enrollment: 872 (7:1 student to teacher ratio)
– Niche grade: A+
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#9. The Harker School
– City: San Jose
– Enrollment: 1,972 (6:1 student to teacher ratio)
– Niche grade: A+
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#8. The Bishop’s School
– City: San Diego
– Enrollment: 800 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
– Niche grade: A+
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#7. Flintridge Preparatory School
– District: La Canada Flintridge
– Enrollment: 530 (7:1 student to teacher ratio)
– Niche grade: A+
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#6. Castilleja School
– District: Palo Alto
– Enrollment: 416 (7:1 student to teacher ratio)
– Niche grade: A+
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#5. Crystal Springs Uplands School
– District: Hillsborough
– Enrollment: 569 (9:1 student to teacher ratio)
– Niche grade: A+
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#4. Stanford Online High School
– District: Redwood City
– Enrollment: 923 (12:1 student to teacher ratio)
– Niche grade: A+
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#3. The Nueva School
– District: Hillsborough
– Enrollment: 853 (6:1 student to teacher ratio)
– Niche grade: A+
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#2. The College Preparatory School
– City: Oakland
– Enrollment: 370 (7:1 student to teacher ratio)
– Niche grade: A+
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#1. Harvard-Westlake School
– City: Los Angeles
– Enrollment: 1,620 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
– Niche grade: A+
