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)
061734008147	2391	Calaveras Elementary	Public	K-8	1151 Buena Vista Rd. Ste. 100	Hollister	95023	San Benito County	Hollister	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 636-4460	574	22	26.6	60.1%	13 (2.3%)	3 (0.5%)	508 (88.5%)	23 (4.0%)	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.3%)	24 (4.2%)	$7,760							17	22.3	2167	224
060681000607	2392	Cajon Valley Middle	Public	6-8	550 Park Ave.	El Cajon	92020	San Diego County	Cajon Valley Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 588-3092	967	49	19.7	89.7%	348 (36.0%)	105 (10.9%)	396 (41.0%)	55 (5.7%)	2 (0.2%)	5 (0.5%)	56 (5.8%)	$11,656							17	19.3	2307	85
061233010292	2393	Samuel Jackman Middle	Public	7-8	7925 Kentwal Dr.	Sacramento	95823	Sacramento County	Elk Grove Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(916) 393-2352	891	43	20.5	62.3%	37 (4.2%)	121 (13.6%)	425 (47.7%)	225 (25.3%)	5 (0.6%)	31 (3.5%)	47 (5.3%)	$6,878							17	18.6	2351	42
062271014456	2394	Valley Oaks Center for Enriched Studies	Public	6-12	9171 Telfair Ave.	Sun Valley	91352	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(818) 394-4600	293	24	12	93.2%	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								16.9	20.4	2251	143
062271002933	2395	Canoga Park Middle	Public	6-8	22250 Elkwood St.	Canoga Park	91304	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(818) 702-1200	673	37	18.3	92.9%	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	$12,030							16.9	18.5	2355	40
060006908612	2396	Valley Center Middle	Public	6-8	28102 North Lake Wohlford Rd.	Valley Center	92082	San Diego County	Valley Center-Pauma Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 751-4295	756	36	21	40.7%	170 (22.5%)	1 (0.1%)	466 (61.6%)	17 (2.2%)	62 (8.2%)	0 (0.0%)	40 (5.3%)	$10,706							16.9	20.3	2253	143
060165214109	2397	Gabriella Charter 2	Public, Charter	K-7	3736 Trinity St.	Los Angeles	90011	Los Angeles County	Gabriella Charter 2 District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(213) 413-5828	374	19	19.2	96.5%	9 (2.4%)	5 (1.3%)	322 (86.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	38 (10.2%)								16.9	12.8	2602	205
060141501784	2398	West Fresno Middle	Public	6-8	2888 South Ivy St.	Fresno	93706	Fresno County	Washington Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 495-5607	318	20	15.5	88.7%	3 (0.9%)	31 (9.7%)	260 (81.8%)	17 (5.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	5 (1.6%)	$12,379							16.9	18.9	2333	65
061692009555	2399	Academy of Innovation	Public, Virtual, Alternative	K-12	26866 San Jacinto St.	Hemet	92543	Riverside County	Hemet Unified	No	(n/a)	Yes	(n/a)	(951) 765-5193	539	21	26.1	86.1%	89 (16.5%)	48 (8.9%)	360 (66.8%)	8 (1.5%)	3 (0.6%)	5 (0.9%)	26 (4.8%)	$13,045							16.9	18.8	2342	57
060211511108	2400	Public Safety Academy	Public, Charter	6-12	1482 East Enterprise Dr.	San Bernardino	92408	San Bernardino County	Public Safety Academy District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(909) 382-2211	385	17	23	96.9%	15 (3.9%)	11 (2.9%)	295 (76.6%)	3 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	61 (15.8%)								16.9	13.7	2570	170

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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:

Girl in a wheelchair raising her hand in a classroom setting

Understanding an IEP: The Ultimate Guide for Parents and Educators

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.