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)
060197713351	1351	Knowledge Enlightens You (KEY) Academy	Public, Charter	K-8	585 Willow Ave.	Hayward	94541	Alameda County	Knowledge Enlightens You (KEY) Academy District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 397-2524	628	25	25.1	78.0%	80 (12.7%)	41 (6.5%)	422 (67.2%)	52 (8.3%)	5 (0.8%)	11 (1.8%)	16 (2.5%)								43.6	42.9	1375	24
062079002498	1352	Tierra del Sol Middle	Public	6-8	9611 Petite Ln.	Lakeside	92040	San Diego County	Lakeside Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 390-2670	755	37	20.4	41.5%	381 (50.5%)	16 (2.1%)	278 (36.8%)	25 (3.3%)	17 (2.3%)	5 (0.7%)	32 (4.2%)	$7,855							43.5	45.2	1308	44
062169013919	1353	John McCandless Charter	Public, Charter	K-8	915 Rose Marie Ln.	Stockton	95207	San Joaquin County	Lincoln Unified	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 888-0160	448	22	20.6	53.3%	81 (18.1%)	18 (4.0%)	234 (52.2%)	51 (11.4%)	2 (0.4%)	8 (1.8%)	54 (12.1%)								43.5	58.2	959	394
062025002434	1354	Sci Technical Engr Arts and Math Academy at La Presa	Public	5-8	1001 Leland St.	Spring Valley	91977	San Diego County	La Mesa-Spring Valley	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 668-5720	694	34	20.1	73.5%	71 (10.2%)	78 (11.2%)	466 (67.1%)	36 (5.2%)	1 (0.1%)	5 (0.7%)	35 (5.0%)	$6,426							43.5	50.7	1146	208
060148112377	1355	SOAR Charter Academy	Public, Charter	K-8	198 West Mill St.	San Bernardino	92408	San Bernardino County	SOAR Charter Academy District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(909) 888-3300	449	20	22.3	84.2%	41 (9.1%)	61 (13.6%)	325 (72.4%)	3 (0.7%)	3 (0.7%)	2 (0.4%)	14 (3.1%)								43.5	38.1	1527	172
063697001140	1356	Snowline Academy	Public, Virtual, Alternative	K-12	9298 Sheep Creek Rd.	Phelan	92371	San Bernardino County	Snowline Joint Unified	No	(n/a)	Yes	(n/a)	(760) 868-6277	137	5	28.8	68.6%	40 (29.2%)	5 (3.6%)	76 (55.5%)	2 (1.5%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.7%)	13 (9.5%)	$11,431							43.4	27.2	1944	588
062724004131	1357	Charles W. Tewinkle Middle	Public	7-8	3224 California Ave.	Costa Mesa	92626	Orange County	Newport-Mesa Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 424-7965	514	32	16.2	83.7%	57 (11.1%)	3 (0.6%)	426 (82.9%)	12 (2.3%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.6%)	13 (2.5%)								43.3	36.5	1577	220
060162611255	1358	KIPP San Francisco Bay Academy	Public, Charter	5-8	1430 Scott St. Third Fl.	San Francisco	94115	San Francisco County	KIPP San Francisco Bay Academy District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(415) 440-4306	266	15	17.7	90.2%	12 (4.5%)	55 (20.7%)	178 (66.9%)	12 (4.5%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (1.5%)	5 (1.9%)								43.3	43.9	1347	11
062187012815	1359	Kennedy Elementary	Public	K-8	1701 East Tulare Rd.	Lindsay	93247	Tulare County	Lindsay Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 562-5466	360	17	21.1	88.6%	14 (3.9%)	0 (0.0%)	339 (94.2%)	3 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	3 (0.8%)	$8,238							43.3	44.8	1317	42
060005102013	1360	Sycamore Middle	Public	6-8	1125 Sycamore St.	Gridley	95948	Butte County	Gridley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 846-3636	448	23	19.6	73.0%	153 (34.2%)	4 (0.9%)	265 (59.2%)	13 (2.9%)	3 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (2.2%)	$6,416							43.2	54.7	1039	321

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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:

Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA): Transforming Education in America

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.