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)
060229514247	501	Baypoint Preparatory Academy - San Diego	Public, Charter	K-8	520 E. Carmel St.	San Marcos	92078	San Diego County	Baypoint Preparatory Academy - San Diego District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 203-4383	199	10	19.9	41.7%	54 (27.1%)	5 (2.5%)	110 (55.3%)	14 (7.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (7.5%)								79	83.4	406	95
060250014435	502	Excel Academy Charter	Public, Virtual, Charter, Alternative	K-12	1 Technology Dr.	Irvine	92618	Orange County	Excel Academy Charter District	Yes	(n/a)	Yes	(n/a)	(949) 387-7822	1,048	59	17.8	39.0%	424 (40.5%)	27 (2.6%)	302 (28.8%)	167 (15.9%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	127 (12.1%)								79	88.5	317	185
060015310937	503	Garfield Elementary	Public	K-8	110 West McLean St.	Alhambra	91801	Los Angeles County	Alhambra Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(626) 943-3380	574	33	17.4	54.9%	24 (4.2%)	9 (1.6%)	326 (56.8%)	189 (32.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	26 (4.5%)	$11,404							79	81.2	459	44
063459005707	504	Castillero Middle	Public	6-8	6384 Leyland Park Dr.	San Jose	95120	Santa Clara County	San Jose Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(408) 535-6385	881	37	23.5	31.0%	275 (31.2%)	18 (2.0%)	378 (42.9%)	146 (16.6%)	1 (0.1%)	2 (0.2%)	61 (6.9%)	$11,475							78.9	74.9	584	80
060183213743	505	Kairos Public	Public, Charter	K-8	129 Elm St.	Vacaville	95688	Solano County	Kairos Public District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(707) 453-7234	645	27	24	12.6%	347 (53.8%)	10 (1.6%)	159 (24.7%)	47 (7.3%)	4 (0.6%)	3 (0.5%)	75 (11.6%)								78.9	81.7	449	56
062046010657	506	Ingrid B. Lacy Middle	Public	6-8	1427 Palmetto Ave.	Pacifica	94044	San Mateo County	Pacifica	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(650) 738-6665	445	24	18.8	20.9%	172 (38.7%)	3 (0.7%)	121 (27.2%)	93 (20.9%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.4%)	53 (11.9%)	$5,997							78.8	78	530	24
062271002903	507	Castelar Street Elementary	Public	K-8	840 Yale St.	Los Angeles	90012	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(213) 626-3674	584	28	20.8	84.9%	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	$8,841							78.8	75.5	572	65
062271008888	508	Arroyo Seco Museum Science	Public	K-8	4805 Sycamore Terr.	Los Angeles	90042	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(323) 254-5141	452	22	20.4	76.8%	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	$10,877							78.8	74.5	594	86
060606000542	509	Lipman Middle	Public	6-8	1 Solano St.	Brisbane	94005	San Mateo County	Brisbane Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(415) 467-9541	132	8	15.9	16.7%	28 (21.2%)	5 (3.8%)	40 (30.3%)	41 (31.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	18 (13.6%)	$14,115							78.8	82.6	426	83
060002808272	510	James L. Day Middle	Public	6-8	40775 Camino Campos Verdes	Temecula	92591	Riverside County	Temecula Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(951) 699-8138	930	41	22.4	34.5%	309 (33.2%)	40 (4.3%)	373 (40.1%)	96 (10.3%)	3 (0.3%)	5 (0.5%)	104 (11.2%)	$9,563							78.8	76.1	560	50

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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

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.