Photo: Cedward Brice · CC BY 2.0Rancho Palos Verdes’s public schools outscore 95% of California districts
72% of students in Rancho Palos Verdes’s public schools are proficient in math, above the California average (33%). The grade covers the public school district serving Rancho Palos Verdes, from kindergarten through graduation, on state tests and graduation. Each state writes its own tests, so this is the one TownRatings grade compared within California, not nationally.
From California state tests taken in spring 2022, when 94% of students in the tested grades sat them, and the class of 2023’s four-year graduation rate, as reported to the U.S. Department of Education.
Rancho Palos Verdes’s schools, in brief
Against towns with similar incomes
Among the 196 California towns with household incomes within a quarter of Rancho Palos Verdes’s, its schools beat 89%, lower than their 95% against all the state’s districts. The grade ↓
Above the state on both counts
Reading proficiency is 80% and math 72% in spring 2022, against 47% and 33% statewide; 97% of the class of 2023 graduated in four years, against 86%. Test scores ↓
Spending and class size
The district spends $16,812 per student, against $21,206 across California (FY2024). Spending doesn’t count toward the grade. Districts ↓
Six elementary schools, then two middle and two high schools
Which school depends on the address at every step. See the path ↓
Choice beyond the district
Christ Lutheran Church & School (private), St. John Fisher School (private), Palos Verdes Montessori Academy (private) and Brighter Days Montessori School (private) are in town. Every school ↓
Written from the figures on this page. Tests are from 2021–22, graduation from the class of 2023; each school’s own letter uses 2020–21 results.
What’s behind Rancho Palos Verdes’s grade
A+: better than 95% of California school districts, #40 of 847 California towns. Test scores and graduation are both above the California average; test scores are the stronger of the two.
Where will my kid go?
Pick a grade. These are the public schools that serve Rancho Palos Verdes, with each school’s own grade.
6th grade in Rancho Palos Verdes · depends on your address
Ridgecrest Intermediate
Grades 6–8 · 881 students · 24:1 students per teacher
Miraleste Intermediate
Grades 6–8 · 720 students · 21:1 students per teacher
7th grade in Rancho Palos Verdes · depends on your address
Ridgecrest Intermediate
Grades 6–8 · 881 students · 24:1 students per teacher
Miraleste Intermediate
Grades 6–8 · 720 students · 21:1 students per teacher
8th grade in Rancho Palos Verdes · depends on your address
Ridgecrest Intermediate
Grades 6–8 · 881 students · 24:1 students per teacher
Miraleste Intermediate
Grades 6–8 · 720 students · 21:1 students per teacher
9th grade in Rancho Palos Verdes · depends on your address
Palos Verdes Peninsula High
Grades 9–12 · 2,075 students · 22:1 students per teacher · in Rolling Hills Estates
Palos Verdes High
Grades 9–12 · 1,484 students · 23:1 students per teacher · in Palos Verdes Estates
10th grade in Rancho Palos Verdes · depends on your address
Palos Verdes Peninsula High
Grades 9–12 · 2,075 students · 22:1 students per teacher · in Rolling Hills Estates
Palos Verdes High
Grades 9–12 · 1,484 students · 23:1 students per teacher · in Palos Verdes Estates
11th grade in Rancho Palos Verdes · depends on your address
Palos Verdes Peninsula High
Grades 9–12 · 2,075 students · 22:1 students per teacher · in Rolling Hills Estates
Palos Verdes High
Grades 9–12 · 1,484 students · 23:1 students per teacher · in Palos Verdes Estates
12th grade in Rancho Palos Verdes · depends on your address
Palos Verdes Peninsula High
Grades 9–12 · 2,075 students · 22:1 students per teacher · in Rolling Hills Estates
Palos Verdes High
Grades 9–12 · 1,484 students · 23:1 students per teacher · in Palos Verdes Estates
Rancho Palos Verdes’s public schools are run by Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District, which also serves Palos Verdes Estates, Rolling Hills and Rolling Hills Estates. Parts of Rancho Palos Verdes (9% of its land) are served by Los Angeles Unified instead. To confirm the school for a specific address, ask the district.
The district
Spending and class size are shown but don’t count toward the grade. Each district’s own page has every school.
Well above the state in reading
Rancho Palos Verdes vs. its neighbors
Schools grades for the California towns that share Rancho Palos Verdes’s borders.
| Town | Schools | Main districts |
|---|---|---|
| Rancho Palos Verdes | A+ | Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified |
| Rolling Hills Estates | A+ | Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified |
| Rolling Hills | A+ | Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified |
| Los Angeles | B− | Los Angeles Unified |
| Palos Verdes Estates | A+ | Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified |
| Lomita | B− | Los Angeles Unified |
3 of the 5 neighbors share Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified with Rancho Palos Verdes, so their letters differ mainly through other districts.
Every school in Rancho Palos Verdes
16 schools. Each public school’s letter compares its own 2020–21 reading and math results with California’s other public schools (the newest school-level results we have).
Questions about Rancho Palos Verdes’s schools
Are Rancho Palos Verdes’s schools good?
By California’s own tests, yes: the public schools Rancho Palos Verdes children attend outscore 95% of California’s school districts on tests and graduation, an A+ Schools grade, #40 of 847 California towns. Among towns with similar incomes they beat 89%. Tests are from 2021–22, graduation from the class of 2023.
What school district is Rancho Palos Verdes in?
Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District, which runs grades K–12 and enrolls 10,131 students in 17 schools (2024–25). Small parts of Rancho Palos Verdes are served by Los Angeles Unified.
Where do Rancho Palos Verdes kids go to high school?
One of 2 high schools, depending on your address: Palos Verdes Peninsula High and Palos Verdes High.
What is Rancho Palos Verdes’s graduation rate?
97% of the class of 2023 in Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District graduated in four years, against 86% across California.
How much does Rancho Palos Verdes spend per student?
$16,812 in Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District (FY2024), against $21,206 across California. Spending doesn’t count toward the grade.
Are there private schools in Rancho Palos Verdes?
Yes: Christ Lutheran Church & School (religious, grades PK–8, 231 students), St. John Fisher School (Catholic, grades K–8, 176 students), Palos Verdes Montessori Academy (nonsectarian, grades PK–K, 91 students) and Brighter Days Montessori School (nonsectarian, grades PK–K, 55 students).
Parents talk
What Rancho Palos Verdes families are saying about school.
Looking for colleges? Colleges near Rancho Palos Verdes → They have their own page.
School data: state test results (2021–22, with participation) and four-year graduation rates (class of 2023) reported to the U.S. Department of Education (EDFacts via ED Data Express); each school’s own letter uses its 2020–21 results (EDFacts via the Urban Institute); schools and enrollment from NCES (2024–25; private schools 2023–24); spending from the Census Bureau’s school finance survey (FY2024). The School Grade is our own summary, graded within California. Stars are from neighbors.