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)
062271012559	2171	Ambassador-Global Leadership	Public	6-12	701 South Catalina St.	Los Angeles	90005	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(213) 480-4540	548	29	19	95.1%	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	$10,042							21.9	15.6	2486	315
062619003919	2172	Parkview Elementary	Public	K-8	12044 Elliott Ave.	El Monte	91732	Los Angeles County	Mountain View Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(626) 652-4800	1,033	48	21.6	85.2%	1 (0.1%)	3 (0.3%)	981 (95.0%)	48 (4.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								21.9	25.4	2029	143
064218006919	2173	Westmorland Elementary	Public	K-8	200 South C St.	Westmorland	92281	Imperial County	Westmorland Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 344-4364	335	19	17.6	93.7%	5 (1.5%)	1 (0.3%)	329 (98.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	$12,536							21.9	25.4	2032	141
060146314373	2174	Vista Springs Charter	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	700 East Bobier Ave.	Vista	92084	San Diego County	Vista Springs Charter District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(951) 252-8800	246	10	25.3	68.3%	50 (20.3%)	3 (1.2%)	166 (67.5%)	5 (2.0%)	2 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (8.1%)								21.8	27.5	1932	242
063432007316	2175	Clark Middle	Public	6-8	4388 Thorn St.	San Diego	92105	San Diego County	San Diego Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 344-4200	799	32	25	91.7%	16 (2.0%)	64 (8.0%)	591 (74.0%)	106 (13.3%)	1 (0.1%)	3 (0.4%)	17 (2.1%)	$8,324							21.8	19.8	2282	107
062361014647	2176	Manteca Online Academy	Public, Virtual	K-8	4726 McCuen Ave.	Stockton	95206	San Joaquin County	Manteca Unified	No	(n/a)	Yes	(n/a)	(209) 858-7240	201	10	21.1	57.2%	31 (15.4%)	15 (7.5%)	105 (52.2%)	33 (16.4%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (2.5%)	11 (5.5%)								21.8	43.7	1351	825
062271003378	2177	Sun Valley Magnet	Public	6-12	7330 Bakman Ave.	Sun Valley	91352	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(818) 255-5100	1,245	75	16.6	95.7%	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	$11,007							21.8	19.8	2283	106
064245013047	2178	Whittier Independent Study	Public	K-8	11532 Floral Dr.	Whittier	90601	Los Angeles County	Whittier City Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(562) 789-3038	90	3	25.9	47.8%	5 (5.6%)	2 (2.2%)	81 (90.0%)	1 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.1%)								21.8	14.2	2550	372
063255005051	2179	Pinole Middle	Public	7-8	1575 Mann Dr.	Pinole	94564	Contra Costa County	West Contra Costa Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 231-1436	399	21	18.9	50.9%	49 (12.3%)	62 (15.5%)	187 (46.9%)	66 (16.5%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.8%)	32 (8.0%)	$9,011							21.8	31.6	1761	418
060155112318	2180	Urban Discovery Academy Charter	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	840 14th St.	San Diego	92101	San Diego County	Urban Discovery Academy Charter District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 788-4668	382	22	17.4	49.7%	66 (17.3%)	45 (11.8%)	218 (57.1%)	11 (2.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	42 (11.0%)								21.7	13.5	2572	392

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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:

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.