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)
063444014534	1961	San Jacinto Technology Institute	Public, Virtual	K-8	1599 Malaga Dr. West	San Jacinto	92583	Riverside County	San Jacinto Unified	No	(n/a)	Yes	(n/a)	(951) 929-7700	197	13	15.3	73.6%	16 (8.1%)	23 (11.7%)	142 (72.1%)	4 (2.0%)	6 (3.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (3.0%)								26.7	26	1998	37
060236913005	1962	KIPP Sol Academy	Public, Charter	5-8	4800 East Cesar Chavez Ave.	Los Angeles	90022	Los Angeles County	KIPP Sol Academy District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(323) 800-5220	488	19	25.4	86.3%	2 (0.4%)	2 (0.4%)	483 (99.0%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								26.7	40.7	1435	527
061495011804	1963	Shasta Lake	Public	K-8	4620 Vallecito St.	Shasta Lake	96019	Shasta County	Gateway Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 275-7020	614	34	18.3	79.0%	414 (67.4%)	8 (1.3%)	91 (14.8%)	17 (2.8%)	32 (5.2%)	1 (0.2%)	51 (8.3%)	$8,272							26.7	25.8	2008	45
063531000758	1964	Martin R. Heninger Elementary	Public	K-8	417 West Walnut St.	Santa Ana	92701	Orange County	Santa Ana Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 953-3800	840	38	22.2	86.3%	3 (0.4%)	1 (0.1%)	827 (98.5%)	3 (0.4%)	6 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	$6,752							26.7	19.9	2278	314
060142106109	1965	Isbell Middle	Public	7-8	221 South Fourth St.	Santa Paula	93060	Ventura County	Santa Paula Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 933-8880	671	32	20.9	84.2%	17 (2.5%)	1 (0.1%)	646 (96.3%)	3 (0.4%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	$7,952							26.6	16.8	2438	473
061317013933	1966	Evergreen Institute of Excellence	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	19500 Learning Way	Cottonwood	96022	Shasta County	Evergreen Union	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 347-3411	152	12	12.4	58.6%	109 (71.7%)	1 (0.7%)	28 (18.4%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (2.0%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (7.2%)								26.6	34.8	1638	328
060205613002	1967	KIPP Philosophers Academy	Public, Charter	5-8	1999 East 102nd St.	Los Angeles	90002	Los Angeles County	KIPP Philosophers Academy District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(323) 584-6664	358	14	25.5	96.6%	11 (3.1%)	145 (40.5%)	192 (53.6%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	7 (2.0%)								26.6	12.6	2609	642
062334010953	1968	Jack G. Desmond Middle	Public	7-8	26490 Martin St.	Madera	93638	Madera County	Madera Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 674-1775	813	41	19.7	91.1%	37 (4.6%)	4 (0.5%)	754 (92.7%)	4 (0.5%)	3 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (1.2%)	$1,794							26.5	26.5	1972	4
063801006399	1969	August Elementary	Public	K-8	2101 Sutro Ave.	Stockton	95205	San Joaquin County	Stockton Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 933-7160	537	24	22.7	90.5%	22 (4.1%)	25 (4.7%)	468 (87.2%)	13 (2.4%)	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.4%)	6 (1.1%)	$8,711							26.5	24.9	2054	85
060369000327	1970	Charles D. Jones Middle	Public	6-8	14250 East Merced Ave.	Baldwin Park	91706	Los Angeles County	Baldwin Park Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(626) 962-8312	437	24	18	94.1%	6 (1.4%)	1 (0.2%)	393 (89.9%)	35 (8.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.5%)	$7,912							26.5	24.5	2072	102

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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

Student-Teacher Ratios and their Impact on Class Sizes & School Selection

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