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)
061146001279	821	Stauffer (Mary R.) Middle	Public	6-8	11985 Old River School Rd.	Downey	90242	Los Angeles County	Downey Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(562) 904-3565	1,327	55	23.9	72.2%	52 (3.9%)	29 (2.2%)	1,206 (90.9%)	27 (2.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (0.3%)	9 (0.7%)	$18,059							62.6	55.7	1019	198
063588006140	822	Chet F. Harritt Elementary	Public	K-8	8120 Arlette St.	Santee	92071	San Diego County	Santee	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 258-4800	625	26	24.2	36.6%	305 (48.8%)	20 (3.2%)	202 (32.3%)	23 (3.7%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	73 (11.7%)	$9,286							62.6	53.9	1062	240
060004711784	823	George Kelly Elementary	Public	K-8	535 Mabel Josephine Dr.	Tracy	95377	San Joaquin County	Tracy Joint Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 830-3390	926	42	22.1	58.6%	157 (17.0%)	40 (4.3%)	303 (32.7%)	339 (36.6%)	3 (0.3%)	14 (1.5%)	70 (7.6%)	$5,339							62.6	72.3	634	189
060636000552	824	Gordon H. Beatty Middle	Public	6-8	8201 Country Club Dr.	Buena Park	90621	Orange County	Buena Park Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 523-1160	627	31	20.5	71.1%	33 (5.3%)	17 (2.7%)	341 (54.4%)	210 (33.5%)	2 (0.3%)	5 (0.8%)	19 (3.0%)	$7,865							62.5	68.1	721	103
060236000126	825	Dairyland Elementary	Public	4-8	12861 Avenue 18 1/2	Chowchilla	93610	Madera County	Alview-Dairyland Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 665-2394	215	10	22.4	68.4%	75 (34.9%)	1 (0.5%)	132 (61.4%)	4 (1.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.4%)	$9,578							62.5	66.4	753	72
062448003659	826	Mendocino K-8	Public	K-8	44261 Little Lake Rd.	Mendocino	95460	Mendocino County	Mendocino Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(707) 937-0515	246	17	14.5	68.3%	186 (75.6%)	0 (0.0%)	41 (16.7%)	2 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (6.5%)	$9,360							62.5	50.8	1137	311
063588006142	827	Pepper Drive Elementary	Public	K-8	1935 Marlinda Way	El Cajon	92021	San Diego County	Santee	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 956-5100	655	26	25.1	50.5%	297 (45.3%)	23 (3.5%)	240 (36.6%)	35 (5.3%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	58 (8.9%)	$9,182							62.5	62.9	823	4
063488005895	828	Woodland Park Middle	Public	6-8	1270 Rock Springs Rd.	San Marcos	92069	San Diego County	San Marcos Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 290-2455	1,179	51	23.2	45.6%	339 (28.8%)	9 (0.8%)	646 (54.8%)	81 (6.9%)	1 (0.1%)	3 (0.3%)	99 (8.4%)	$7,594							62.5	69.6	689	139
062199011260	829	Tierra Pacifica Charter	Public, Charter	K-8	986 Bostwick Ln.	Santa Cruz	95062	Santa Cruz County	Live Oak Elementary	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 462-9404	163	7	23.2	28.8%	101 (62.0%)	3 (1.8%)	36 (22.1%)	5 (3.1%)	1 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (10.4%)	$9,013							62.4	73.8	604	225
063462005808	830	Louis Pasteur Fundamental Middle	Public	6-8	8935 Elm Ave.	Orangevale	95662	Sacramento County	San Juan Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(916) 971-7891	703	29	24.4	46.5%	464 (66.0%)	14 (2.0%)	151 (21.5%)	21 (3.0%)	4 (0.6%)	3 (0.4%)	44 (6.3%)	$7,133							62.4	66.5	752	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:

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

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.