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)
062748004137	621	Spring Grove Elementary	Public	K-8	500 Spring Grove Rd.	Hollister	95023	San Benito County	North County Joint Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 637-3745	743	35	21.1	39.7%	228 (30.7%)	3 (0.4%)	449 (60.4%)	6 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	57 (7.7%)	$7,678							73.4	62.3	843	222
062193002604	622	Lakeside Middle	Public	6-8	11000 East Kenney St.	Norwalk	90650	Los Angeles County	Little Lake City Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(562) 868-9442	514	26	19.4	74.3%	24 (4.7%)	7 (1.4%)	449 (87.4%)	25 (4.9%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (1.6%)	$11,856							73.4	64	793	171
061665005478	623	Hart-Ransom Charter	Public, Virtual, Charter, Alternative	K-12	3920 Shoemake Ave.	Modesto	95358	Stanislaus County	Hart-Ransom Union Elementary	Yes	(n/a)	Yes	(n/a)	(209) 523-0401	436	18	24.5	42.0%	193 (44.3%)	7 (1.6%)	149 (34.2%)	39 (8.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	48 (11.0%)	$8,057							73.4	79.4	506	117
060474000446	624	Longfellow Arts and Technology Middle	Public	6-8	1500 Derby St.	Berkeley	94703	Alameda County	Berkeley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 644-6360	450	37	12.3	48.0%	80 (17.8%)	104 (23.1%)	179 (39.8%)	36 (8.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	49 (10.9%)	$10,375							73.3	61.5	862	238
062943004533	625	Pacific Union Elementary	Public	K-8	3001 Janes Rd.	Arcata	95521	Humboldt County	Pacific Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(707) 822-4619	537	28	19.1	51.8%	276 (51.4%)	16 (3.0%)	133 (24.8%)	13 (2.4%)	43 (8.0%)	0 (0.0%)	55 (10.2%)	$9,700							73.2	62.1	846	221
063207013458	626	Redlands eAcademy	Public, Virtual, Alternative	K-12	820 West Stuart Ave.	Redlands	92374	San Bernardino County	Redlands Unified	No	(n/a)	Yes	(n/a)	(909) 748-6941	159	18	8.7	61.6%	62 (39.0%)	5 (3.1%)	68 (42.8%)	6 (3.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (10.7%)	$4,625							73.2	75.8	563	63
060985011247	627	El Cerrito Middle	Public	6-8	7610 El Cerrito Rd.	Corona	92881	Riverside County	Corona-Norco Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(951) 736-3216	1,188	45	26.6	61.4%	361 (30.4%)	89 (7.5%)	500 (42.1%)	186 (15.7%)	2 (0.2%)	4 (0.3%)	45 (3.8%)	$7,695							73.2	72.4	633	6
062433003653	628	McKittrick Elementary	Public	K-8	23250 Second St.	Mc Kittrick	93251	Kern County	McKittrick Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 762-7303	79	5	15.8	54.4%	45 (57.0%)	3 (3.8%)	29 (36.7%)	1 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.3%)								73.2			(n/a)
060217514235	629	Allegiance STEAM Academy - Thrive	Public, Charter	K-8	5862 C St.	Chino	91710	San Bernardino County	Allegiance STEAM Academy - Thrive District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(909) 465-5404	956	41	23.3	32.5%	103 (10.8%)	46 (4.8%)	601 (62.9%)	180 (18.8%)	1 (0.1%)	2 (0.2%)	23 (2.4%)								73.1	69.6	688	59
064215006916	630	Warner Middle	Public	6-8	14171 Newland St.	Westminster	92683	Orange County	Westminster	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 894-7281	879	42	20.7	87.4%	25 (2.8%)	4 (0.5%)	387 (44.0%)	445 (50.6%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.3%)	14 (1.6%)	$5,527							73.1	72.2	637	7

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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:

State-Administered Standardized Tests: A Comprehensive Guide

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.