The school was designed with the purpose "to provide profoundly gifted young people an advanced educational opportunity matched to their abilities, strengths and interests.

[8] As listed by the Washington Post's Jay Mathews, the Davidson Academy is one of the nation's "Top-performing schools with elite students.

"[9] The academy was ranked as the #1 Best Public High School in America by Niche.com in 2024 [10] and has the highest average ACT score in the nation.

[18] Curriculum offered includes math up to differential equations, language instruction in Spanish and Chinese, as well as various electives such as machine learning and animation.

The academy's Reno campus was created following state legislation that passed in 2005 allowing the creation of a "university school for profoundly gifted pupils."