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)
060164200042	611	The Academy of Alameda	Public, Charter	K-8	401 Pacific Ave.	Alameda	94501	Alameda County	The Academy of Alameda District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 748-4017	620	31	19.7	57.3%	104 (16.8%)	120 (19.4%)	126 (20.3%)	155 (25.0%)	2 (0.3%)	6 (1.0%)	105 (16.9%)								73.9	74.1	598	13
061962006745	612	Keyes to Learning Charter	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	5709 Ninth St.	Keyes	95328	Stanislaus County	Keyes Union	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 634-6467	354	13	28	35.9%	157 (44.4%)	5 (1.4%)	167 (47.2%)	12 (3.4%)	2 (0.6%)	1 (0.3%)	10 (2.8%)	$10,060							73.9	76.5	555	57
060157011695	613	Monterey Bay Charter	Public, Charter	K-8	1004 David Ave.	Pacific Grove	93950	Monterey County	Monterey Bay Charter District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 655-4638	478	19	25.1	19.9%	274 (57.3%)	5 (1.0%)	125 (26.2%)	15 (3.1%)	2 (0.4%)	5 (1.0%)	52 (10.9%)								73.8	80.8	472	141
060154112614	614	ISANA Palmati Academy	Public, Charter	K-8	6501 Laurel Canyon Blvd.	North Hollywood	91606	Los Angeles County	ISANA Palmati Academy District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(818) 753-2712	360	15	24.7	77.5%	7 (1.9%)	1 (0.3%)	332 (92.2%)	11 (3.1%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (2.2%)								73.8	55.1	1030	416
061089011598	615	La Vina Middle	Public	6-8	1331 Browning Rd.	Delano	93215	Kern County	Delano Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 721-3601	522	25	20.8	79.1%	7 (1.3%)	3 (0.6%)	412 (78.9%)	88 (16.9%)	2 (0.4%)	1 (0.2%)	9 (1.7%)	$7,117							73.7	64	794	179
060015310936	616	Fremont Elementary	Public	K-8	2001 South Elm St.	Alhambra	91803	Los Angeles County	Alhambra Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(626) 943-3360	649	29	22.1	53.6%	21 (3.2%)	2 (0.3%)	483 (74.4%)	113 (17.4%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	28 (4.3%)	$11,705							73.6	75.4	573	43
063834006453	617	Sundale Elementary	Public	K-8	13990 Avenue 240	Tulare	93274	Tulare County	Sundale Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 688-7320	844	33	25.5	38.3%	405 (48.0%)	0 (0.0%)	393 (46.6%)	8 (0.9%)	2 (0.2%)	1 (0.1%)	35 (4.1%)	$9,669							73.6	74	601	16
060215503982	618	Creative Arts Charter	Public, Charter	K-8	1601 Turk St.	San Francisco	94115	San Francisco County	Creative Arts Charter District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(415) 749-3509	429	22	19.1	22.1%	191 (44.5%)	51 (11.9%)	96 (22.4%)	20 (4.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	70 (16.3%)								73.5	72.2	638	20
063459004084	619	River Glen	Public	K-8	1088 Broadway	San Jose	95125	Santa Clara County	San Jose Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(408) 535-6240	451	17	26.8	43.0%	41 (9.1%)	4 (0.9%)	380 (84.3%)	8 (1.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	18 (4.0%)	$11,483							73.4	65.9	766	147
062493003723	620	Millville Elementary	Public	K-8	8570 Brookdale Rd.	Millville	96062	Shasta County	Millville Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 547-4471	214	11	18.6	43.9%	167 (78.0%)	3 (1.4%)	19 (8.9%)	3 (1.4%)	4 (1.9%)	2 (0.9%)	16 (7.5%)	$9,508							73.4	74.7	588	32

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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:

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Understanding an IEP: The Ultimate Guide for Parents and Educators

Alternative Schools vs Public Schools: A Comparison

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