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1 / 25#25. Central East High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Central Unified School District, CA
- Enrollment: 2,061 (22:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B
Best high schools in the Fresno metro area
According to the latest data from the National Center for Education Statistics, 15.5 million students attend public high school every year, and more than 3.76 million are expected to graduate in 2025. However, those students have a wide variety of experiences over the course of their high school careers.
To start, issues surrounding equal educational access persist throughout the United States. A January 2025 report published in Frontiers found that disparities across socioeconomic status, race, gender, and geography can lead to negative outcomes and the perpetuation of systemic barriers.
Outside of these issues, students also pursue many different paths within high school. Roughly 8.3 million high schoolers attend educational programs to prepare for careers in fields like transportation, landscaping, and culinary arts. Meanwhile, nearly 2.5 million are in dual enrollment programs that offer high school and college credit for the same course, allowing students to get a jump on higher education degrees.
Dual enrollment programs are particularly useful considering that more than 3 in 5 (61%) high school graduates head to college, per a 2024 Bureau of Labor Statistics report. Unfortunately, high school doesn't always guarantee college success. In 2024, the average SAT score declined for the third straight year, and nearly 2 in 5 (39%) test-takers met or exceeded the test's college readiness benchmarks. ACT scores are also on the decline year over year, down to 19.4 out of 36, and just 3 in 10 students met at least three of the ACT's college readiness benchmarks.
With that said, attending a quality high school will typically help prepare students for their next steps in life, whether that's college, technical school, or going straight into the workforce. Stacker compiled a list of the best high schools in the Fresno metro area using data from Niche, which uses seven weighted factors for its rankings. Most of the score is based on academics, but other factors include culture and diversity; sports; clubs and activities; resources; and surveys of parents, teachers, and students.
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2 / 25#24. Fresno Christian Schools
- School type: Private School
- Location: Fresno, CA
- Enrollment: 735 (19:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B
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3 / 25#23. Yosemite Valley Charter School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Fresno, CA
- Enrollment: 2,551 (30:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B
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4 / 25#22. Central High
- School type: Public School
- Location: Central Unified School District, CA
- Enrollment: 772 (17:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
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5 / 25#21. Liberty High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Golden Valley Unified School District, CA
- Enrollment: 672 (21:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
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6 / 25#20. Fowler High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Fowler Unified School District, CA
- Enrollment: 818 (22:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
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7 / 25#19. Reedley High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Kings Canyon Joint Unified School District, CA
- Enrollment: 1,848 (24:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
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8 / 25#18. Phillip J. Patino School of Entrepreneurship
- School type: Public School
- Location: Fresno Unified School District, CA
- Enrollment: 243 (15:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
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9 / 25#17. Sanger High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Sanger Unified School District, CA
- Enrollment: 2,734 (22:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
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10 / 25#16. Career Technical Education Charter School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Fresno, CA
- Enrollment: 238 (11:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: B+
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11 / 25#15. Kingsburg High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Kingsburg Joint Union High School District, CA
- Enrollment: 1,092 (20:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
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12 / 25#14. Clovis High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Clovis Unified School District, CA
- Enrollment: 2,905 (22:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
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13 / 25#13. Edison High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Fresno Unified School District, CA
- Enrollment: 2,466 (23:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
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14 / 25#12. Clovis East High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Clovis Unified School District, CA
- Enrollment: 2,768 (23:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
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15 / 25#11. Reedley Middle College High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Kings Canyon Joint Unified School District, CA
- Enrollment: 233 (33:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A minus
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16 / 25#10. Hallmark Charter School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Sanger Unified School District, CA
- Enrollment: 12 (12:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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17 / 25#9. Fresno California Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Fresno, CA
- Enrollment: 150 (13:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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18 / 25#8. San Joaquin Memorial High School
- School type: Private School
- Location: Fresno, CA
- Enrollment: 500 (12:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
Mircea Moira // Shutterstock
19 / 25#7. Fresno Adventist Academy
- School type: Private School
- Location: Fresno, CA
- Enrollment: 155 (9:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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20 / 25#6. Clovis West High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Clovis Unified School District, CA
- Enrollment: 2,089 (21:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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21 / 25#5. University High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Fresno, CA
- Enrollment: 491 (24:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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22 / 25#4. Buchanan High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Clovis Unified School District, CA
- Enrollment: 2,601 (23:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A
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23 / 25#3. Clovis North High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Clovis Unified School District, CA
- Enrollment: 2,389 (22:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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24 / 25#2. Enterprise Alternative School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Clovis Unified School District, CA
- Enrollment: 45 (8:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
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25 / 25#1. Design Science Middle College High School
- School type: Public School
- Location: Fresno Unified School District, CA
- Enrollment: 245 (25:1 student to teacher ratio)
- Niche grade: A+
This story features data reporting by Rob Powell, writing by Jill Jaracz, and is part of a series utilizing data automation across 97 metros.
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