Palo Alto High School (Paly)

Questions about Palo Alto High School (Paly)

How is Palo Alto High School (Paly) ranked?

Palo Alto High School (Paly) is ranked #394 nationally and #56 in California in the 2026-27 U.S. News Best High Schools edition, better than 97% of the 17,945 schools U.S. News ranked.

Has Palo Alto High School (Paly)'s ranking changed?

Palo Alto High School (Paly) is #394 nationally in 2026-27, up from #471 in 2025-26.

How many students attend Palo Alto High School (Paly)?

Palo Alto High School (Paly) has 1,891 students (2026-27 edition data), compared with a median of 873 for ranked schools across California.

What is the graduation rate at Palo Alto High School (Paly)?

Palo Alto High School (Paly)'s graduation rate is 98.4% (2025-26 edition data).

How many students at Palo Alto High School (Paly) take AP exams?

At Palo Alto High School (Paly), 76% of students take at least one AP exam (2026-27 edition data).

How do Palo Alto High School (Paly) students score on state tests?

At Palo Alto High School (Paly), 70% of students are proficient in math and 72% in reading on state assessments (2026-27 edition data).

Sources

• U.S. News & World Report, Best High Schools, 2026-2027 edition: California list, read Aug 20, 2026. California list (live page; it may have changed since we read it)
  Used for: national rank, state rank, AP participation, math proficiency, reading proficiency, enrollment.
• U.S. News & World Report, Best High Schools, 2025-2026 edition: figures recovered from our records and checked against archived U.S. News pages by sample; archived U.S. News list page.
  Used for: previous national rank, graduation rate.
• U.S. News & World Report, Best High Schools, editions 2012 to 2026-2027.
  Used for: rank and figure history on the trend chart.
• U.S. News & World Report, Best High Schools, 2026-2027 edition, California list, read Aug 20, 2026. California list (live page; it may have changed since we read it)
  Used for: median school figures.
• NCES Common Core of Data (U.S. Department of Education), school years 2015-2016 to 2024-2025, via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal. NCES school record · Urban Institute Education Data Portal · ODC-By license
  Used for: enrollment by school year, students per teacher, free or reduced-price lunch share.
• EDFacts adjusted cohort graduation rates (U.S. Department of Education), school years 2010-2011 to 2019-2020, via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal. Urban Institute Education Data Portal · ODC-By license
  Used for: federal graduation rate by school year.
• Civil Rights Data Collection (U.S. Department of Education), 2021-2022 collection, chronic absenteeism 2022-2023, via the Urban Institute Education Data Portal. Civil Rights Data Collection data · Urban Institute Education Data Portal · ODC-By license
  Used for: chronic absenteeism, suspension rates, counselors per 1,000 students, certified teachers, AP courses offered.