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)
062271003267	641	Palms Middle	Public	6-8	10860 Woodbine St.	Los Angeles	90034	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 253-7600	1,195	57	20.8	68.7%	172 (14.4%)	311 (26.0%)	532 (44.5%)	104 (8.7%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	75 (6.3%)	$9,217							72.4	70.2	680	39
060148011198	642	Sol Aureus College Preparatory	Public, Charter	K-8	6620 Gloria Dr.	Sacramento	95831	Sacramento County	Sol Aureus College Preparatory District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(916) 421-0600	324	19	17	53.7%	21 (6.5%)	121 (37.3%)	122 (37.7%)	40 (12.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	19 (5.9%)								72.4	54.2	1054	412
063636014008	643	Sequoia Union Elementary	Public	8	23958 Ave. 324	Lemon Cove	93286	Tulare County	Sequoia Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 564-2016	36	6	6	44.4%	18 (50.0%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (38.9%)	1 (2.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (8.3%)	$7,954							72.3	71.9	644	1
061488008753	644	Louis Lake Intermediate	Public	7-8	10801 Orangewood Ave.	Garden Grove	92840	Orange County	Garden Grove Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 663-6506	451	18	24.7	86.7%	26 (5.8%)	3 (0.7%)	271 (60.1%)	144 (31.9%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.4%)	5 (1.1%)	$11,890							72.2	68.2	716	72
060147905673	645	AIMS College Prep Middle	Public, Charter	6-8	171 12th St.	Oakland	94607	Alameda County	AIMS College Prep Middle District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 893-8701	212	11	18.9	77.8%	12 (5.7%)	72 (34.0%)	25 (11.8%)	85 (40.1%)	1 (0.5%)	1 (0.5%)	16 (7.5%)								72.2	50	1168	523
061440001689	646	G. M. Walters Middle	Public	6-8	39600 Logan Dr.	Fremont	94538	Alameda County	Fremont Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 656-7211	1,154	52	22	41.3%	99 (8.6%)	33 (2.9%)	374 (32.4%)	590 (51.1%)	2 (0.2%)	8 (0.7%)	46 (4.0%)	$9,129							72.1	71.2	660	14
062370003592	647	Manzanita Elementary	Public	K-8	627 East Evans-Reimer Rd.	Gridley	95948	Butte County	Manzanita Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 846-5594	327	18	18.4	39.4%	139 (42.5%)	0 (0.0%)	151 (46.2%)	11 (3.4%)	5 (1.5%)	1 (0.3%)	20 (6.1%)	$8,421							72.1	67.1	741	94
060002909686	648	Shivela Middle	Public	6-8	24515 Lincoln Ave.	Murrieta	92562	Riverside County	Murrieta Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(951) 696-1406	1,203	47	25.3	66.3%	306 (25.4%)	63 (5.2%)	583 (48.5%)	92 (7.6%)	5 (0.4%)	10 (0.8%)	142 (11.8%)								72.1	72.3	635	13
060165311733	649	California Montessori Project-San Juan Campuses	Public, Charter	K-8	5330A Gibbons Dr. Ste. 700	Carmichael	95608	Sacramento County	California Montessori Project-San Juan Campuses District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(916) 971-2432	1,477	61	24.4	33.0%	887 (60.1%)	24 (1.6%)	294 (19.9%)	56 (3.8%)	3 (0.2%)	1 (0.1%)	210 (14.2%)								72	65.7	768	119
061317004183	650	Evergreen Middle	Public	5-8	19500 Learning Way	Cottonwood	96022	Shasta County	Evergreen Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 347-3411	403	21	19.3	55.1%	295 (73.2%)	1 (0.2%)	74 (18.4%)	7 (1.7%)	9 (2.2%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (4.2%)								72	69.3	691	41

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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:

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

State-Administered Standardized Tests: A Comprehensive Guide

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