Best Middle Schools in California

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Find the best California middle schools with SchoolDigger.com! Focused on test scores for accurate rankings, our user-friendly site simplifies your search. Empower your decisions by exploring top-rated schools, only on SchoolDigger.com - the ultimate guide to K-12 schools!

Year after year, SchoolDigger is always the first to publish California test scores and rankings. Other sites use stale test score data that are several years old! Be in the know with the very latest performance metrics.

The list is updated annually upon the release of the CAST and Smarter Balanced Assessments test scores by the California Department of Education. The most recent update was on Thursday, October 10, 2024.

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School															Students/Teachers											Per Pupil Expenditures (2018)							Ranking (2024 vs 2023)
ID	Rank (of 2777)	School	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Disc Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Per Pupil Expenditures: Total	Personnel from Federal Funds	Non-Personnel from Federal Funds	Total from Federal Funds	Personnel from State and Local Funds	Non-Personnel from State and Local Funds	Total from State and Local Funds	Average Standard Score (2024)	Average Standard Score (2023)	Rank (2023)	Rank Change from 2023	SchoolDigger Rating (2024)
060171011089	1221	George Visual and Performing Arts Magnet and Middle	Public	K-8	10650 Bartlett Ave.	Adelanto	92301	San Bernardino County	Adelanto Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 246-8231	676	27	24.7	81.7%	27 (4.0%)	66 (9.8%)	549 (81.2%)	3 (0.4%)	3 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	28 (4.1%)								47.7	44.3	1336	115
062169002581	1222	Sierra Middle	Public	7-8	6768 Alexandria Pl.	Stockton	95207	San Joaquin County	Lincoln Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 953-8748	572	24	23.5	73.3%	97 (17.0%)	58 (10.1%)	324 (56.6%)	55 (9.6%)	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.3%)	35 (6.1%)	$4,163							47.7	48.9	1201	21
061500001903	1223	General Shafter Elementary	Public	K-8	1825 Shafter Rd.	Bakersfield	93313	Kern County	General Shafter Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 837-1931	179	10	17.9	62.6%	33 (18.4%)	0 (0.0%)	143 (79.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.7%)	$17,128							47.7	56.7	991	232
061209001356	1224	Potrero Elementary	Public	K-8	2611 North Potrero Ave.	El Monte	91733	Los Angeles County	El Monte City	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(626) 350-9386	649	30	21.4	95.4%	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	592 (91.2%)	53 (8.2%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	$7,292							47.7	47.4	1241	17
062004002397	1225	Knightsen Elementary	Public	K-8	1923 Delta Rd.	Knightsen	94548	Contra Costa County	Knightsen Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(925) 625-0073	272	13	20.7	30.1%	120 (44.1%)	2 (0.7%)	134 (49.3%)	2 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (5.1%)	$9,897							47.7	42.3	1395	170
060213712191	1226	Santa Clarita Valley International	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	28060 Hasley Canyon Rd. Ste. 2	Castaic	91384	Los Angeles County	Santa Clarita Valley International District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 705-4820	766	36	21.2	32.2%	319 (41.6%)	41 (5.4%)	280 (36.6%)	35 (4.6%)	3 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	83 (10.8%)								47.7	50.5	1152	74
060177913821	1227	Vista Oaks Charter	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	315 South Lower Sacramento Ste	Lodi	95242	San Joaquin County	Vista Oaks Charter District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 365-4060	936	35	26.5	33.9%	414 (44.2%)	21 (2.2%)	311 (33.2%)	66 (7.1%)	6 (0.6%)	4 (0.4%)	112 (12.0%)								47.7	44.4	1330	103
061233008275	1228	Elk Grove Charter	Public, Charter	7-12	10065 Atkins Dr.	Elk Grove	95757	Sacramento County	Elk Grove Unified	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(916) 714-1653	295	13	22.1	46.1%	81 (27.5%)	53 (18.0%)	96 (32.5%)	37 (12.5%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (1.7%)	23 (7.8%)	$5,693							47.6	23.4	2129	901
063825006451	1229	Summerville Elementary	Public	K-8	18451 Carter St.	Tuolumne	95379	Tuolumne County	Summerville Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 928-4291	416	21	19.7	55.8%	280 (67.3%)	0 (0.0%)	57 (13.7%)	0 (0.0%)	36 (8.7%)	0 (0.0%)	43 (10.3%)	$10,321							47.5	47	1255	26
060231714034	1230	Citrus Springs Charter	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	2121 North Grand Ave.	Santa Ana	92705	Orange County	Citrus Springs Charter District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(951) 252-8800	397	16	24.1	61.2%	112 (28.2%)	14 (3.5%)	230 (57.9%)	23 (5.8%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	16 (4.0%)								47.5	49.3	1191	39

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Other SchoolDigger ranking lists for California

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New! SchoolDigger ranking lists for CA student subgroups:

Female Students Male Students Asian Students African American Students Hispanic Students Pacific Islander Students White Students Multi-racial Students English Language Learner Students Special Education Students Low Socio Economic Status Students Migrant Students Homeless Students Military Connected Students

About our rankings:

Schooldigger calculates school rankings based on Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy, Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics, CAST Science test scores released by the California Department of Education.
These rankings were last updated on October 10, 2024, and are based on the most recent test scores available. We update rankings as we receive new test scores from the California Department of Education, usually on a yearly basis.
Our sources of data include the National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education and the California Department of Education.
For more information about our ranking process, please see our Ranking FAQ. Details about our methodology are here.

Educational resources:

Student-Teacher Ratios and their Impact on Class Sizes & School Selection

No Child Left Behind (NCLB): A Comprehensive Analysis of Its Impact on Education

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the California Department of Education.