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)
061743002187	571	Pine Elementary	Public	K-8	3295 Holt Rd.	Holtville	92250	Imperial County	Holtville Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 356-2615	215	11	19.2	60.5%	79 (36.7%)	0 (0.0%)	133 (61.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.9%)								75.6	75.6	569	2
064098006765	572	Academy of Technology & Leadership at Saticoy	Public	K-7	760 Jazmin Ave.	Ventura	93004	Ventura County	Ventura Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 672-2701	422	18	23.8	56.6%	115 (27.3%)	4 (0.9%)	277 (65.6%)	5 (1.2%)	3 (0.7%)	1 (0.2%)	17 (4.0%)	$6,823							75.6			(n/a)
060190812801	573	River Oaks Academy	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	920 Hampshire Rd. Ste. X	Westlake Village	91361	Ventura County	River Oaks Academy District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 777-7999	339	12	29.4	24.5%	157 (46.3%)	5 (1.5%)	126 (37.2%)	10 (2.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	41 (12.1%)								75.6	77.7	534	39
060210607689	574	Museum	Public, Charter	K-8	211 Maple St.	San Diego	92103	San Diego County	Museum District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 236-8712	222	11	20.2	30.2%	96 (43.2%)	7 (3.2%)	84 (37.8%)	7 (3.2%)	2 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	26 (11.7%)								75.6	72.5	627	53
060166408673	575	Alameda Community Learning Center	Public, Charter	6-12	1900 Third St.	Alameda	94501	Alameda County	Alameda Community Learning Center District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 995-4300	398	18	22	33.9%	104 (26.1%)	43 (10.8%)	64 (16.1%)	131 (32.9%)	2 (0.5%)	1 (0.3%)	50 (12.6%)								75.6	81.3	457	118
060002811040	576	Bella Vista Middle	Public	6-8	31650 Browning St.	Murrieta	92563	Riverside County	Temecula Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(951) 294-6600	1,396	56	25.1	25.5%	456 (32.7%)	69 (4.9%)	555 (39.8%)	176 (12.6%)	4 (0.3%)	2 (0.1%)	134 (9.6%)	$8,868							75.4	74.4	595	19
060225211473	577	Dixon Montessori Charter	Public, Charter	K-8	355 North Almond St.	Dixon	95620	Solano County	Dixon Montessori Charter District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(707) 678-8953	447	19	22.9	23.5%	194 (43.4%)	3 (0.7%)	194 (43.4%)	12 (2.7%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	42 (9.4%)								75.3	85.9	358	219
061062011541	578	Frances Ellen Watkins Harper Junior High	Public	7-9	4000 East Covell Blvd.	Davis	95618	Yolo County	Davis Joint Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 757-5330	564	27	20.5	28.5%	201 (35.6%)	31 (5.5%)	188 (33.3%)	98 (17.4%)	2 (0.4%)	4 (0.7%)	40 (7.1%)								75.3	77.7	535	43
061970002365	579	Dunlap Elementary	Public	K-8	39667 Dunlap Rd.	Dunlap	93621	Fresno County	Kings Canyon Joint Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 305-7310	418	20	20.9	72.5%	191 (45.7%)	0 (0.0%)	175 (41.9%)	13 (3.1%)	6 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	33 (7.9%)	$8,619							75.3	67	744	165
060002903649	580	Thompson Middle	Public	6-8	24040 Hayes Ave.	Murrieta	92562	Riverside County	Murrieta Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(951) 696-1410	1,557	58	27	43.7%	674 (43.3%)	55 (3.5%)	612 (39.3%)	75 (4.8%)	8 (0.5%)	7 (0.4%)	125 (8.0%)								75.2	71.2	658	78

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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:

Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA): Transforming Education in America

Girl in a wheelchair raising her hand in a classroom setting

Understanding an IEP: The Ultimate Guide for Parents and Educators

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