Research · High schools - California · October 2026
California high schools where the most graduates finish A-G, 2024-25
As of October 2026: At twenty-three California high schools with a class of 100 or more, 100% of graduates finished the A-G courses that the UC and Cal State systems require. The biggest school near the top is Palisades Charter High School, where 99.7% of 755 graduates met A-G.
The table holds the thirty California high schools with the highest A-G rate, among schools with a class of 100 or more students.
Analysis: Test Prep Gurus (High School Reach, highschoolreach.com), October 2026. Figures and the table may be quoted with attribution to Test Prep Gurus.
The findings, in plain English
College-prep charters fill the list. Of the twenty-three schools at 100%, most are charters with one college-prep path for every student. Three are Summit campuses, three are Alliance campuses, two are KIPP and two are Ednovate. At those schools the A-G course list is the default schedule. It is not a track a student has to pick.
Half the list is in Los Angeles County. Fifteen of the thirty schools sit in Los Angeles County. They run from the California Academy of Mathematics and Science in Long Beach to Compton Early College High. San Diego, Santa Clara, San Mateo, Sacramento and Contra Costa hold most of the rest.
A big school can do it too. Most schools here are small, with classes of 101 to 170 students. Palisades Charter High School is the exception. It had 755 students in its class, 99.7% met A-G, and 95.1% graduated. Oxford Academy in Anaheim is next in size, with 206 students and 99.5%.
The thirty highest A-G completion rates in California
Share of graduates who completed the A-G courses, among schools with a four-year cohort of 100 or more students.
| High school | District | County | Cohort | Met A-G | Graduated |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KIPP King Collegiate High | San Lorenzo Unified | Alameda | 160 | 100.0% | 98.1% |
| Making Waves Academy | Contra Costa County Office of Education | Contra Costa | 143 | 100.0% | 93.7% |
| Summit Public School: Tamalpais | West Contra Costa Unified | Contra Costa | 102 | 100.0% | 89.2% |
| California Academy of Mathematics and Science | Long Beach Unified | Los Angeles | 170 | 100.0% | 98.8% |
| Dr. Richard A. Vladovic Harbor Teacher Preparation Academy | Los Angeles Unified | Los Angeles | 112 | 100.0% | 99.1% |
| Alliance Collins Family College-Ready High | Los Angeles Unified | Los Angeles | 142 | 100.0% | 98.6% |
| Alliance Ouchi-O'Donovan 6-12 Complex | Los Angeles Unified | Los Angeles | 150 | 100.0% | 98.0% |
| Alliance Margaret M. Bloomfield Technology Academy High | Los Angeles Unified | Los Angeles | 112 | 100.0% | 95.5% |
| Ednovate - USC Hybrid High College Prep | Los Angeles Unified | Los Angeles | 120 | 100.0% | 98.3% |
| Valor Academy High | Los Angeles Unified | Los Angeles | 108 | 100.0% | 100.0% |
| Camino Nuevo High #2 | Los Angeles Unified | Los Angeles | 122 | 100.0% | 87.7% |
| Ednovate - Esperanza College Prep | Los Angeles Unified | Los Angeles | 122 | 100.0% | 99.2% |
| Compton Early College High | Compton Unified | Los Angeles | 121 | 100.0% | 100.0% |
| New West Charter | SBE - New West Charter | Los Angeles | 144 | 100.0% | 97.9% |
| Westlake Charter | Natomas Unified | Sacramento | 111 | 100.0% | 100.0% |
| Natomas Pacific Pathways Prep | Natomas Unified | Sacramento | 143 | 100.0% | 98.6% |
| Gompers Preparatory Academy | San Diego Unified | San Diego | 153 | 100.0% | 98.0% |
| The O'Farrell Charter | San Diego Unified | San Diego | 135 | 100.0% | 100.0% |
| City Arts & Leadership Academy | San Francisco Unified | San Francisco | 118 | 100.0% | 95.8% |
| Summit Public School: Shasta | Jefferson Union High | San Mateo | 111 | 100.0% | 99.1% |
| Summit Preparatory Charter High | Sequoia Union High | San Mateo | 101 | 100.0% | 94.1% |
| University Preparatory Academy Charter | Santa Clara County Office of Education | Santa Clara | 115 | 100.0% | 100.0% |
| KIPP San Jose Collegiate | East Side Union High | Santa Clara | 110 | 100.0% | 97.3% |
| Palisades Charter High | Los Angeles Unified | Los Angeles | 755 | 99.7% | 95.1% |
| Oxford Academy | Anaheim Union High | Orange | 206 | 99.5% | 97.6% |
| STEM Academy at Bernstein High | Los Angeles Unified | Los Angeles | 141 | 99.3% | 98.6% |
| California Military Institute | Perris Union High | Riverside | 134 | 99.3% | 100.0% |
| High Tech High Chula Vista | SBC - High Tech High | San Diego | 150 | 99.3% | 99.3% |
| Math and Science College Preparatory | Los Angeles Unified | Los Angeles | 130 | 99.2% | 99.2% |
| Ednovate - Brio College Prep | Los Angeles Unified | Los Angeles | 132 | 99.2% | 95.5% |
The California Department of Education publishes this in its four-year adjusted cohort outcome data for the 2024-25 school year. The A-G column is the share of a school's graduates who completed the course sequence the University of California and the California State University require for admission; the graduation column is the share of the four-year cohort that graduated. Only schools with a cohort of 100 or more students are ranked, so smaller schools at 100% are not here. The list shows the leaders: a school's absence means it is not in the top thirty.
What A-G is, and what it is not
A-G is the course list the UC and Cal State systems require. It covers English, math, history, lab science, a language other than English, an art, and one elective. Each one has a set number of years and a passing grade. A graduate who finishes the list may apply. That is all it means.
It is not an offer, and it is not the same as applying or going. A school can send every graduate out ready to apply, and many of them may still start at a two-year college. The A-G rate shows what the school put in front of students. That is why it is useful: it is the one college-ready number a school controls.
Read it next to the graduation rate
The two columns answer different questions. The A-G rate is about graduates. The graduation rate is about everyone who started. Together they are more honest than either one alone.
Summit Public School: Tamalpais shows 100% of graduates meeting A-G, and 89.2% of its class graduating. Camino Nuevo High #2 shows 100% and 87.7%. Both are real wins. Both also mean that some students did not finish. Valor Academy High, at 100% on both, is a different story.
What a family should do with this
Find your own school's two numbers and read them together. If the A-G rate sits well under the graduation rate, the school is handing out diplomas that do not open the UC and Cal State door. A family then has to track the course list on their own, year by year.
The move is simple. Check the student's schedule against the A-G list each spring, while there is time to fix a missing year of language or lab science. A gap found in eleventh grade is a summer problem. The same gap found in May of senior year is not.
Questions parents ask
Which California high schools have the highest A-G completion?
At twenty-three California high schools with a class of 100 or more, 100% of graduates finished the A-G courses that the UC and Cal State systems require.
What does A-G mean?
A-G is the course list the UC and Cal State systems require. It covers English, math, history, lab science, a language other than English, an art, and one elective.
Does finishing A-G mean a student gets into a UC?
It is not an offer, and it is not the same as applying or going.
Method & sources: The figures are from the California Department of Education's four-year adjusted cohort outcome data for 2024-25. The A-G rate is the share of a school's graduates who met the UC and CSU course requirements; the graduation rate is the share of the four-year cohort that graduated. We ranked schools with a cohort of 100 or more students, so small schools are excluded whatever their rate, and we show the top thirty. These are school-reported course records, not admission or enrollment outcomes.
- California Department of Education downloadable data files
- University of California A-G course requirements
This brief as data: /research/california-a-g-top-schools.json. Free for editorial use with attribution to Test Prep Gurus (High School Reach).
Related: California high school rankings · California high school enrollment explorer · All Reach rankings and leaderboards