In April 2017, U.S. News & World Report ranked Mission San Jose High as the 76th best high school in the United States. The school was ranked 12th within California, with an Advanced Placement participation rate of 91%. The school was named a National Blue Ribbon School in 1987, 1996, and 2008.
Students
Demographics
As of the 2018-2019 school year, 92.4% of the students were Asian American, 5% were European American, 1.6% were Hispanic and 0.3% were African American. According to California School Dashboard, in 2017 MSJH had 3.8% socioeconomically disadvantaged students and 3.1% English Learners out of its total population of 2003.
Extracurricular activities
Academic competitions
Quiz bowl-style tournaments
In 2008, Mission San Jose's National Ocean Science Bowl Team placed first at the regional competition, advancing to the National Competition and placing second behind Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School. In 2015, Mission San Jose's Ocean Science Bowl team finished fourth in nationals; they attended nationals again in 2017.
Mission San Jose's Go team took first place at the California High School Go Championships three years in a row. In 2008, the MSJ Go club won first place in the Open Division to become the national champions. In 2010, Mission won first place in Division A at the newly formed Bay Area High School Go Tournament.
Chess tournaments
In 2005, the team tied for first place at the CalNorthYouthChess regionals. In 2000, the team took first at the State Scholastic Championship.
Athletics
Mission San Jose High School belongs to the Mission Valley Athletic League, which comprises the five high schools in Fremont as well as Newark Memorial High School, the only high school in Newark. The MVAL is a league of the North Coast Section of the California Interscholastic Federation. Mission High School's championships include badminton, tennis and swimming. In 2009, the boys' team won the NorCal Championships. The following fall, the girls' team had an 84-0 league individual record, first place in the MVAL team tournament, first and third place in the MVAL singles tournament, and a doubles sweep in the MVAL doubles tournament. In the 2011 season, the girls' golf team placed second at NCS Championships and first at NorCal Championships. In the 2012 season, the team placed first at NCS Championships and third at Norcal Championships. In the 1978 football season, the football team was the first in MVAL history to win the North Coast Section 4A Varsity Football Championship, going undefeated 12-0. Michael Carnell rushed for a record 2,364 yards and 44 touchdowns in one season. The Warriors also produced former SF 49er and Super Bowl XXIX Champion Gary Plummer. The team was disbanded following the 2015 season. Mission's Winter Guard team won Champion status in the 2006 Novice Division competition against fifteen other guard units at Del Oro. The team also placed first at the 2011 NCBA Winterguard Championship at Del Oro in 2011, for the Intermediate Division. The school colors are green and white and the mascot is the warrior. Its logo was the Mission Peak until recently, when a new warrior logo was designed and implemented by student vote. The school's previous logo was a feathered arrow, but this was changed in the late 1990s in response to controversies surrounding the use of Native American mascots and symbols by American schools. Currently, the school designates the "Mission Man" as a mascot.
