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)
062825007717	1001	Stuart Mesa Elementary	Public	K-8	100 Yamanaka Way	Oceanside	92058	San Diego County	Oceanside Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 901-7700	553	26	21.1	64.0%	196 (35.4%)	50 (9.0%)	209 (37.8%)	24 (4.3%)	2 (0.4%)	6 (1.1%)	66 (11.9%)	$12,547							55.4	46.2	1282	281
060206913963	1002	Aspire Benjamin Holt Middle	Public, Charter	6-8	3293 East Morada Ln.	Stockton	95212	San Joaquin County	Aspire Benjamin Holt Middle District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 437-9899	567	22	25.7	57.5%	54 (9.5%)	38 (6.7%)	283 (49.9%)	146 (25.7%)	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.4%)	42 (7.4%)								55.4	60.4	889	113
060253814487	1003	Endeavor Charter	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	777 W. Shaw	Fresno	93704	Fresno County	Endeavor Charter District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 248-0471	335	14	24.2	27.8%	147 (43.9%)	7 (2.1%)	143 (42.7%)	9 (2.7%)	1 (0.3%)	2 (0.6%)	26 (7.8%)								55.4	53.4	1073	70
060363013744	1004	Paul L. Cato Middle	Public	6-8	4115 Vineland Rd.	Bakersfield	93306	Kern County	Bakersfield City	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 631-5245	629	25	25.5	56.9%	105 (16.7%)	21 (3.3%)	459 (73.0%)	24 (3.8%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	18 (2.9%)	$7,032							55.3	54.5	1045	41
063432012352	1005	Innovation Middle	Public	6-8	5095 Arvinels Ave.	San Diego	92117	San Diego County	San Diego Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(858) 278-5948	349	19	18.3	71.6%	62 (17.8%)	18 (5.2%)	204 (58.5%)	31 (8.9%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.6%)	32 (9.2%)	$8,563							55.3	46.2	1281	276
060195813902	1006	Libertas College Preparatory Charter	Public, Charter	4-8	5101 Western Ave.	Los Angeles	90062	Los Angeles County	Libertas College Preparatory Charter District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(323) 400-6149	270	18	15	81.9%	1 (0.4%)	50 (18.5%)	217 (80.4%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.4%)								55.2	54.2	1055	49
063213004962	1007	Clifford Elementary	Public	K-8	225 Clifford Ave.	Redwood City	94062	San Mateo County	Redwood City Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(650) 482-2402	682	30	22.7	44.0%	247 (36.2%)	5 (0.7%)	337 (49.4%)	43 (6.3%)	1 (0.1%)	6 (0.9%)	43 (6.3%)								55.2	55.8	1014	7
063384012139	1008	School of Engineering & Sciences	Public	7-12	7345 Gloria Dr.	Sacramento	95831	Sacramento County	Sacramento City Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(916) 395-5040	572	23	24.7	56.6%	64 (11.2%)	57 (10.0%)	285 (49.8%)	111 (19.4%)	2 (0.3%)	10 (1.7%)	43 (7.5%)	$7,070							55.2	57	985	23
060236510251	1009	Mountain Home Charter (Alternative)	Public, Charter	K-8	41267 Highway 41	Oakhurst	93644	Madera County	Mountain Home Charter (Alternative) District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 642-1422	206	9	23.4	39.3%	123 (59.7%)	1 (0.5%)	44 (21.4%)	9 (4.4%)	4 (1.9%)	0 (0.0%)	25 (12.1%)								55.1	66.3	756	253
060212012864	1010	Bay View Academy	Public, Charter	K-8	222 Casa Verde Ave.	Monterey	93940	Monterey County	Bay View Academy District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 717-4630	501	21	23.8	46.5%	115 (23.0%)	17 (3.4%)	263 (52.5%)	33 (6.6%)	1 (0.2%)	7 (1.4%)	65 (13.0%)								55	63.3	813	197

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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:

Girl in a wheelchair raising her hand in a classroom setting

Understanding an IEP: The Ultimate Guide for Parents and Educators

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.