Santa Monica High School and Malibu High School were named among the nation’s best in the 2026-27 U.S. News & World Report Best High Schools rankings, which evaluated nearly 18,000 public schools.
Samohi ranked No. 562 nationally, No. 82 in California and No. 34 in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. Malibu High ranked No. 953 nationally, No. 158 in California and No. 73 in the Los Angeles area.
Both schools are part of the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District, and both posted significant gains from 2025. That year, Samohi ranked No. 777 nationally and No. 102 in California, and Malibu High ranked No. 2,009 nationally and No. 276 in California.
“We are proud to see both of our comprehensive high schools recognized among the top schools in the state and nation,” said SMMUSD Superintendent Antonio Shelton. “These rankings reflect the commitment of our students, educators, staff and administrators to academic excellence and preparing every student for success beyond high school.”
U.S. News evaluates schools on several measures of academic performance. They include college readiness, college curriculum breadth, state assessment proficiency and performance, underserved student performance and graduation rate.
Olympic High School is not included in the rankings because it is an alternative school.
Edited by SMDP Staff