Public school rankings · City of Irvine
In the City of Irvine, 6 public high schools appear in the U.S. News 2026-27 California rankings. Five belong to Irvine Unified School District, and Beckman High School belongs to Tustin Unified School District. This page lists these 6 schools in rank order with their state test proficiency rates, enrollment and admission routes, followed by a comparison table of all 38 ranked public high schools in Orange County.
9-121Located in the City of Irvine but part of Tustin Unified School District, so its math placement and weighting rules differ from those of the five Irvine schools.
Open the EDUBUS Arnold O. Beckman High School guide
9-122Offers the most AP courses in the district, but weighting begins only in grade 11, so the first two years are about choosing a direction.
Open the EDUBUS Portola High School guide
9-123A center of science competitions and National Merit recognition; GPA weighting applies only to AP courses and fourth-year world language.
Open the EDUBUS University High School guide
9-124Offers no AP Calculus, so advanced math continues through Chapman University dual enrollment; the share of graduates entering four-year colleges is the highest in the district.
Open the EDUBUS Northwood High School guide
9-125The only school in the district that opens AP courses to grade 9, so humanities tracks separate a full year earlier.
Open the EDUBUS Woodbridge High School guide
9-126Offers the broadest career technical education and community college dual enrollment options; math can continue through college-level multivariable calculus.
Open the EDUBUS Irvine High School guideOrange County rank axis: 38 ranked public high schools, with Irvine schools in yellow
The ranked high schools in the City of Irvine belong to two districts. University High School, Northwood High School, Portola High School, Woodbridge High School and Irvine High School belong to Irvine Unified School District. Beckman High School is located in Irvine but belongs to Tustin Unified School District, and its math placement and weighting rules differ from those of the five Irvine Unified schools.
Most public high schools enroll students by attendance area, so choosing a school in practice means choosing where to live. A few schools have other admission routes: Oxford Academy admits students only in grade 7 and requires an exam; Orange County School of the Arts is a charter school that holds a lottery after an arts conservatory audition; and the Troy Tech magnet program at Troy High School holds its own admission exam. Enrollment comes from the California Department of Education's DataQuest for the 2025-26 school year.
Schools are listed by Orange County rank, and schools in the City of Irvine are highlighted in light yellow. The proficiency rate is the share of all grade 11 students who met or exceeded the state standard.
| OC | School | District | City | Admission | CA | Gr. 11 English | Gr. 11 math | Students |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oxford Academy | Anaheim Union High | Cypress | Grade 7 entrance exam | 3 | 98.4% | 95.1% | 1,353 |
| 2 | Troy High School | Fullerton Joint Union High | Fullerton | Attendance area, or Troy Tech entrance exam | 28 | 87.1% | 78.0% | 2,422 |
| 3 | Orange County School of the Arts | Orange County Department of Education | Santa Ana | Charter school: audition, then lottery | 32 | 85.1% | 65.5% | 2,439 |
| 4 | Arnold O. Beckman High School | Tustin Unified | Irvine | Attendance area | 58 | 82.6% | 61.3% | 2,711 |
| 5 | Portola High School | Irvine Unified | Irvine | Attendance area | 61 | 75.2% | 62.9% | 2,814 |
| 6 | University High School | Irvine Unified | Irvine | Attendance area | 64 | 62.5% | 62.7% | 2,365 |
| 7 | La Quinta High School | Garden Grove Unified | Westminster | Attendance area | 75 | 79.7% | 72.4% | 1,989 |
| 8 | Laguna Beach High School | Laguna Beach Unified | Laguna Beach | Attendance area | 76 | 79.3% | 59.5% | 820 |
| 9 | Sunny Hills High School | Fullerton Joint Union High | Fullerton | Attendance area | 77 | 80.5% | 63.2% | 2,344 |
| 10 | Northwood High School | Irvine Unified | Irvine | Attendance area | 97 | 79.0% | 72.0% | 2,255 |
| 11 | Tesoro High School | Capistrano Unified | Las Flores | Attendance area | 103 | 89.9% | 64.9% | 2,013 |
| 12 | Magnolia Science Academy Santa Ana | State Board of Education-authorized charter | Santa Ana | Charter school: open to all California students, lottery if oversubscribed | 111 | 68.6% | 43.1% | 586 |
| 13 | Fountain Valley High School | Huntington Beach Union High | Fountain Valley | Attendance area | 113 | 80.6% | 62.2% | 3,059 |
| 14 | Pacifica High School | Garden Grove Unified | Garden Grove | Attendance area | 120 | 77.4% | 54.4% | 1,616 |
| 15 | San Juan Hills High School | Capistrano Unified | San Juan Capistrano | Attendance area | 128 | 79.7% | 55.9% | 2,519 |
| 16 | Woodbridge High School | Irvine Unified | Irvine | Attendance area | 148 | 77.5% | 60.7% | 2,220 |
| 17 | Foothill High School | Tustin Unified | Santa Ana | Attendance area | 153 | 67.6% | 44.1% | 2,050 |
| 18 | Valencia High School | Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified | Placentia | Attendance area | 160 | 68.3% | 45.9% | 2,242 |
| 19 | Irvine High School | Irvine Unified | Irvine | Attendance area | 168 | 74.3% | 61.5% | 1,903 |
| 20 | Garden Grove High School | Garden Grove Unified | Garden Grove | Attendance area | 169 | 72.1% | 46.5% | 2,103 |
| 21 | Los Alamitos High School | Los Alamitos Unified | Los Alamitos | Attendance area | 173 | 73.0% | 45.7% | 2,809 |
| 22 | Canyon High School | Orange Unified | Anaheim | Attendance area | 186 | 77.8% | 46.0% | 2,241 |
| 23 | Aliso Niguel High School | Capistrano Unified | Aliso Viejo | Attendance area | 190 | 78.0% | 52.5% | 2,534 |
| 24 | Corona del Mar High School | Newport-Mesa Unified | Newport Beach | Attendance area | 194 | 75.4% | 53.4% | 2,117 |
| 25 | Cypress High School | Anaheim Union High | Cypress | Attendance area | 201 | 68.0% | 49.5% | 2,548 |
| 26 | Yorba Linda High School | Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified | Yorba Linda | Attendance area | 206 | 76.1% | 54.9% | 1,706 |
| 27 | Bolsa Grande High School | Garden Grove Unified | Garden Grove | Attendance area | 217 | 69.1% | 49.8% | 1,606 |
| 28 | El Dorado High School | Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified | Placentia | Attendance area | 224 | 79.8% | 50.5% | 2,054 |
| 29 | John F. Kennedy High School | Anaheim Union High | La Palma | Attendance area | 241 | 73.5% | 39.8% | 1,992 |
| 30 | Esperanza High School | Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified | Anaheim | Attendance area | 242 | 70.7% | 44.8% | 1,334 |
| 31 | Marina High School | Huntington Beach Union High | Huntington Beach | Attendance area | 243 | 67.0% | 52.5% | 1,912 |
| 32 | Capistrano Valley High School | Capistrano Unified | Mission Viejo | Attendance area | 253 | 74.8% | 50.8% | 1,980 |
| 33 | San Clemente High School | Capistrano Unified | San Clemente | Attendance area | 254 | 74.0% | 55.0% | 2,630 |
| 34 | Dana Hills High School | Capistrano Unified | Dana Point | Attendance area | 267 | 71.0% | 39.8% | 1,626 |
| 35 | Segerstrom High School | Santa Ana Unified | Santa Ana | District residents first, remaining seats by districtwide lottery | 285 | 61.7% | 31.5% | 2,209 |
| 36 | Sonora High School | Fullerton Joint Union High | La Habra | Attendance area | 286 | 68.1% | 36.9% | 1,695 |
| 37 | El Toro High School | Saddleback Valley Unified | Lake Forest | Attendance area | 291 | 64.5% | 40.0% | 1,849 |
| 38 | Westminster High School | Huntington Beach Union High | Westminster | Attendance area | 295 | 71.6% | 41.1% | 2,436 |
The list and ranks come from the U.S. News & World Report 2026-27 Best High Schools rankings, compiled by the Orange County Department of Education on September 1, 2026. The Orange County rank is the order of these schools by their California rank. According to the Orange County Department of Education, this edition of the rankings relies mainly on data from the 2023-24 school year.
The grade 11 proficiency rate is the share of all grade 11 students who met or exceeded the state standard (Standard Met or Exceeded) in English and math on the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP), the statewide test. This page uses results from the 2024-25 school year (spring 2025), the most recent year published as of October 5, 2026. The rankings combine many measures, while the proficiency rate reflects a single test, so the two should be read together.
See also: Irvine Public Middle School Rankings · Irvine High School Guides · Orange County Public High School Guides
Public high schools in the City of Irvine enroll students by attendance area. Most Irvine addresses are assigned to one of the five high schools of Irvine Unified School District, while some areas belong to Tustin Unified School District and are assigned to Beckman High School. Before buying or renting, families should look up the exact street address on the district website rather than relying on the city name.
Arnold O. Beckman High School is No. 4 in Orange County (No. 58 in California); Portola High School is No. 5 in Orange County (No. 61 in California); University High School is No. 6 in Orange County (No. 64 in California); Northwood High School is No. 10 in Orange County (No. 97 in California); Woodbridge High School is No. 16 in Orange County (No. 148 in California); Irvine High School is No. 19 in Orange County (No. 168 in California). Ranks come from the U.S. News 2026-27 Best High Schools rankings, compiled by the Orange County Department of Education on September 1, 2026.
Both matter, and neither tells the whole story. The U.S. News ranking combines many measures, while the proficiency rate reflects a single grade 11 test, so the same school can stand in quite different positions on the two. EDUBUS high school guides also compile the University of California's official year-by-year admission data by high school, which is closer to the outcome Irvine families care about most.
For schools that enroll by attendance area, students from outside the district need an inter-district transfer, which requires approval from both districts and is not guaranteed; the district of Laguna Beach High School does not accept transfers at all. Schools that do not enroll by address are different: Oxford Academy reserves some seats for students from outside its district, Orange County School of the Arts accepts applicants from other districts as a charter school, and the Troy Tech program at Troy High School also admits students from outside its district by exam.
Oxford Academy admits students only in grade 7 and does not accept new students in grades 8 or 9, so applications are due in the fall of grade 6. The application includes grade 4 and grade 5 report cards and grade 5 state test scores, followed by an entrance exam. Irvine families who are interested should begin preparing in grade 5.
Ranks come from the U.S. News 2026-27 rankings compiled by the Orange County Department of Education; each school's grade 11 CAASPP results link to the California Department of Education CAASPP results page, and enrollment links to DataQuest.
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