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)
062271003044	861	Glen Alta Elementary	Public	K-8	3410 Sierra St.	Los Angeles	90031	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(323) 223-1195	116	8	14.5	97.4%	0 (0.0%)	4 (3.4%)	109 (94.0%)	3 (2.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	$15,916							60.9	68.2	713	148
063588006137	862	Cajon Park Elementary	Public	K-8	10300 Magnolia Ave.	Santee	92071	San Diego County	Santee	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 956-2400	866	37	23.3	37.4%	554 (64.0%)	11 (1.3%)	192 (22.2%)	16 (1.8%)	2 (0.2%)	3 (0.3%)	88 (10.2%)	$9,721							60.7	65.7	769	93
060002911241	863	Murrieta Canyon Academy	Public, Alternative	K-12	24150 Hayes Ave.	Murrieta	92562	Riverside County	Murrieta Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(951) 696-1661	369	25	15	59.6%	107 (29.0%)	24 (6.5%)	167 (45.3%)	31 (8.4%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.1%)	30 (8.1%)								60.7	62.1	845	18
063375005197	864	Alvarado Intermediate	Public	7-8	1901 South Desire Ave.	Rowland Heights	91748	Los Angeles County	Rowland Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(626) 964-2358	666	28	23.4	74.3%	18 (2.7%)	4 (0.6%)	335 (50.3%)	294 (44.1%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	14 (2.1%)								60.7	61.7	860	4
063732006312	865	Soulsbyville Elementary	Public	K-8	20300 Soulsbyville Rd.	Soulsbyville	95372	Tuolumne County	Soulsbyville Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 532-1419	471	25	19	44.4%	363 (77.1%)	0 (0.0%)	74 (15.7%)	3 (0.6%)	3 (0.6%)	1 (0.2%)	27 (5.7%)	$8,702							60.6	59.2	930	65
063723006305	866	Sonora Elementary	Public	K-8	830 Greenley Rd.	Sonora	95370	Tuolumne County	Sonora Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 532-5491	693	37	18.6	47.0%	499 (72.0%)	7 (1.0%)	122 (17.6%)	16 (2.3%)	17 (2.5%)	1 (0.1%)	31 (4.5%)								60.6	52.1	1106	240
060197211484	867	Woodland Star Charter	Public, Charter	K-8	11700 Dunbar Rd.	Glen Ellen	95442	Sonoma County	Woodland Star Charter District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(707) 996-3849	217	10	21.7	37.8%	113 (52.1%)	0 (0.0%)	77 (35.5%)	3 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	23 (10.6%)								60.6	51.8	1115	248
060962000974	868	Carver Elementary	Public	K-8	1425 East 120th St.	Los Angeles	90059	Los Angeles County	Compton Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 898-6150	312	14	22.9	96.5%	1 (0.3%)	64 (20.5%)	244 (78.2%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.6%)								60.6	34.3	1655	787
063432005566	869	Wangenheim Middle	Public	6-8	9230 Gold Coast Dr.	San Diego	92126	San Diego County	San Diego Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 605-2250	716	30	24.1	60.1%	79 (11.0%)	36 (5.0%)	258 (36.0%)	258 (36.0%)	3 (0.4%)	5 (0.7%)	77 (10.8%)	$7,575							60.6	68.1	717	152
060230511732	870	California Montessori Project - Capitol Campus	Public, Charter	K-8	2635 Chestnut Hill Dr.	Sacramento	95826	Sacramento County	California Montessori Project - Capitol Campus District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(916) 325-0910	357	16	22.8	23.2%	202 (56.6%)	8 (2.2%)	83 (23.2%)	20 (5.6%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	42 (11.8%)								60.6	60.4	892	22

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Other SchoolDigger ranking lists for California

Elementary Schools Middle Schools High Schools Districts Cities

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:

Alternative Schools vs Public Schools: A Comparison

Per-Pupil Spending: Understanding the Breakdown of Federal, State, and Local Funds

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