Burroughs High

Burroughs High punches well above its weight for a school in the high desert — sitting in the 70th percentile statewide, it's a genuinely solid option in Ridgecrest, a small city anchored by Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake. Families connected to the base or working in defense and engineering will find a school culture that takes academics seriously, with particularly strong English and science scores that reflect the technically minded community around it. Ridgecrest itself has a tight-knit, small-town feel where Friday night football matters and neighbors actually know each other — the kind of place where a high school is still very much the center of community life.