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)
063492014143	661	Bayside Academy	Public	K-8	2025 Kehoe Ave.	San Mateo	94403	San Mateo County	San Mateo-Foster City	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(650) 312-7660	855	44	19.2	42.3%	78 (9.1%)	9 (1.1%)	452 (52.9%)	193 (22.6%)	0 (0.0%)	48 (5.6%)	75 (8.8%)	$7,721							71.5	73.7	607	54
062691004066	662	Itliong-Vera Cruz	Public	6-8	31604 Alvarado Blvd.	Union City	94587	Alameda County	New Haven Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 489-0700	1,092	49	22.3	49.7%	72 (6.6%)	41 (3.8%)	229 (21.0%)	666 (61.0%)	5 (0.5%)	17 (1.6%)	62 (5.7%)	$9,888							71.4	73.6	609	53
062271002869	663	Brooklyn Avenue	Public	K-8	4620 Cesar Chavez Ave.	Los Angeles	90022	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(323) 269-8161	505	26	19.4	87.7%	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	500 (99.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (0.8%)	$10,364							71.4	61.9	852	189
062361003585	664	Nile Garden Elementary	Public	K-8	5700 East Nile Rd.	Manteca	95337	San Joaquin County	Manteca Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 858-7370	1,155	44	26.2	51.7%	183 (15.8%)	33 (2.9%)	360 (31.2%)	525 (45.5%)	10 (0.9%)	10 (0.9%)	34 (2.9%)	$5,460							71.3	73.6	610	54
062380003595	665	Marcum-Illinois Union Elementary	Public	K-8	2452 El Centro Blvd.	East Nicolaus	95659	Sutter County	Marcum-Illinois Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 656-2407	182	10	18.2	34.6%	108 (59.3%)	0 (0.0%)	55 (30.2%)	3 (1.6%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (1.1%)	14 (7.7%)	$14,188							71.3	73.7	606	59
060744000704	666	Shorecliffs Middle	Public	6-8	240 Via Socorro	San Clemente	92672	Orange County	Capistrano Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(949) 498-1660	679	35	19.1	44.9%	383 (56.4%)	4 (0.6%)	221 (32.5%)	12 (1.8%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	57 (8.4%)	$10,361							71	83.5	402	264
060645000576	667	John Muir Middle	Public	6-8	1111 North Kenneth Rd.	Burbank	91504	Los Angeles County	Burbank Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(818) 729-3800	1,362	60	22.7	39.4%	920 (67.5%)	22 (1.6%)	201 (14.8%)	119 (8.7%)	1 (0.1%)	5 (0.4%)	91 (6.7%)	$11,366							70.9	74.9	585	82
060160014079	668	Scholarship Prep - Oceanside	Public, Charter	K-8	4070 Mission Ave.	Oceanside	92057	San Diego County	Scholarship Prep - Oceanside District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(442) 262-3249	536	19	28.2	72.0%	110 (20.5%)	17 (3.2%)	363 (67.7%)	22 (4.1%)	2 (0.4%)	7 (1.3%)	15 (2.8%)								70.9	58.9	940	272
060200307250	669	Natomas Charter	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	4600 Blackrock Dr.	Sacramento	95835	Sacramento County	Natomas Charter District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(916) 928-5353	1,863	84	22.1	39.7%	363 (19.5%)	190 (10.2%)	549 (29.5%)	436 (23.4%)	1 (0.1%)	11 (0.6%)	312 (16.7%)								70.9	71.4	655	14
060846012552	670	Cal Aero Preserve Academy	Public	K-8	15850 Main St.	Chino	91708	San Bernardino County	Chino Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(909) 606-8531	1,718	70	24.5	33.0%	169 (9.8%)	203 (11.8%)	586 (34.1%)	619 (36.0%)	5 (0.3%)	8 (0.5%)	128 (7.5%)	$9,641							70.8	74	602	68

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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

Girl in a wheelchair raising her hand in a classroom setting

Understanding an IEP: The Ultimate Guide for Parents and Educators

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