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)
063864006485	2051	Mar Vista Academy	Public	7-8	1267 Thermal Ave.	San Diego	92154	San Diego County	Sweetwater Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 628-5100	552	26	20.9	86.1%	60 (10.9%)	23 (4.2%)	393 (71.2%)	41 (7.4%)	2 (0.4%)	7 (1.3%)	25 (4.5%)	$8,736							24.5	19.1	2320	269
060003614537	2052	Larry G. Meeks Academy	Public, Virtual	K-8	2775 Millcreek Dr.	Sacramento	95833	Sacramento County	Natomas Unified	No	(n/a)	Yes	(n/a)	(916) 567-5608	206	14	15	70.9%	19 (9.2%)	58 (28.2%)	67 (32.5%)	34 (16.5%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (1.0%)	26 (12.6%)								24.5	24.1	2098	46
062922007922	2053	Dr. Manuel M. Lopez Academy of Arts & Sciences	Public	6-8	647 West Hill St.	Oxnard	93033	Ventura County	Oxnard	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 385-1545	755	38	19.8	88.5%	21 (2.8%)	5 (0.7%)	719 (95.2%)	4 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.4%)	3 (0.4%)	$3,473							24.5	21.8	2185	132
063870006506	2054	Lincoln Junior High	Public	6-8	810 Sixth St.	Taft	93268	Kern County	Taft City	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 765-2127	795	40	20.1	88.8%	233 (29.3%)	3 (0.4%)	547 (68.8%)	5 (0.6%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	5 (0.6%)	$11,164							24.4	26	1995	59
061944002331	2055	Keppel Academy	Public	5-8	9330 East Avenue U	Littlerock	93543	Los Angeles County	Keppel Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 944-2152	233	8	28.5	68.2%	43 (18.5%)	7 (3.0%)	181 (77.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.9%)								24.4	43	1373	682
063462005819	2056	Sierra Oaks K-8	Public	K-8	171 Mills Rd.	Sacramento	95864	Sacramento County	San Juan Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(916) 575-2390	615	27	23.1	47.0%	258 (42.0%)	83 (13.5%)	139 (22.6%)	66 (10.7%)	2 (0.3%)	3 (0.5%)	64 (10.4%)	$6,473							24.4	40.3	1450	606
064113006783	2057	Sunset	Public	5-8	8301 Sunset Blvd.	Bakersfield	93307	Kern County	Vineland Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 845-1320	325	17	19.1	100.0%	6 (1.8%)	0 (0.0%)	319 (98.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	$8,098							24.4	18	2377	320
061218001376	2058	North Park Academy of the Arts	Public	6-8	4450 South Durfee Ave.	Pico Rivera	90660	Los Angeles County	El Rancho Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(562) 801-7570	499	27	18.4	86.6%	8 (1.6%)	0 (0.0%)	480 (96.2%)	10 (2.0%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	$6,784							24.4	23.8	2111	53
062954004558	2059	Palermo	Public	6-8	7350 Bulldog Way	Palermo	95968	Butte County	Palermo Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 533-4708	404	25	16.4	77.5%	176 (43.6%)	3 (0.7%)	144 (35.6%)	16 (4.0%)	11 (2.7%)	0 (0.0%)	54 (13.4%)	$10,816							24.4	30.5	1802	257
061515013780	2060	Geyserville New Technical Academy	Public	6-12	1300 Moody Ln.	Geyserville	95441	Sonoma County	Geyserville Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(707) 857-3592	106	11	10	50.0%	31 (29.2%)	0 (0.0%)	71 (67.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (3.8%)	$11,470							24.4	22.5	2161	101

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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:

High school students working on a science experiment

Magnet Schools: Unleashing the Power of Education

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.