Santa Monica High School Among 50 Best LA-Area Schools: Ranking

SANTA MONICA, CA — Santa Monica High School ranks among the best public high schools in the country, according to a new ranking released Tuesday from U.S. News & World Report.

In the 2024 Best High Schools list, Santa Monica High School ranks 48th among all Los Angeles and Orange County high schools, 120th in California and 850th nationally.

U.S. News determines rankings based on student performance on math, reading and science assessments; graduation rates; and AP exam participation.

Malibu High School was particularly strong in U.S. News' College Readiness Index, which considers the proportion of 12th graders who took and passed at least one AP or IB exam. Santa Monica was 135th in California in that ranking and No. 1,002 nationally.

Among the 1,652 schools ranked in California, 121 landed in the top 5 percent nationally, and 579 were in the top 25 percent.

State-by-state performance is based solely on which states have the largest proportion of schools in the top 25 percent. Massachusetts once again leads in the ranking, followed by Connecticut, New Jersey, Maryland and Florida, respectively. California came in 7th.

View the complete breakdown of Santa Monica High School's score at U.S. News & World Report.