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)
060185613826	2751	Fusion Charter	Public, Charter	7-12	441 West Linwood Ave.	Turlock	95380	Stanislaus County	Fusion Charter District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 667-9047	126	4	28.3	81.7%	26 (20.6%)	3 (2.4%)	85 (67.5%)	3 (2.4%)	1 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (6.3%)		5.7			(n/a)
069102907174	2752	San Bernardino County Special Education	Public, Alternative	K-12	1950 S Sunwest Ln.	San Bernardino	92408	San Bernardino County	San Bernardino County Office of Education	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(909) 387-8511	1,489	144	10.3	77.4%	250 (16.8%)	209 (14.0%)	848 (57.0%)	68 (4.6%)	14 (0.9%)	3 (0.2%)	96 (6.4%)	$62,987	5.7	5.5	2783	31
069102911088	2753	Community School/Independent Alternative Education	Public, Alternative	K-12	601 North E St.	San Bernardino	92415	San Bernardino County	San Bernardino County Office of Education	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(909) 386-2722	447	26	17	86.8%	44 (9.8%)	82 (18.3%)	298 (66.7%)	3 (0.7%)	2 (0.4%)	1 (0.2%)	16 (3.6%)	$19,870	5.7	6.7	2767	14
069101207112	2754	Kern County Special Education	Public, Alternative	K-12	1300 17th St. City Centre	Bakersfield	93301	Kern County	Kern County Office of Education	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 636-4788	410	63	6.5	69.0%	107 (26.1%)	28 (6.8%)	252 (61.5%)	17 (4.1%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (1.2%)	$47,367	5.6	7.7	2752	2
062067008712	2755	Lakeport Alternative (Home School)	Public, Virtual, Alternative	K-12	2548 Howard Ave.	Lakeport	95453	Lake County	Lakeport Unified	No	(n/a)	Yes	(n/a)	(707) 262-3013	81	5	16.2	77.8%	34 (42.0%)	0 (0.0%)	29 (35.8%)	1 (1.2%)	11 (13.6%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (7.4%)		5.6	21.4	2204	551
069104111486	2756	Teel School in Empire	Public	5-12	5255 1st St.	Empire	95319	Stanislaus County	Stanislaus County Office of Education	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 238-6600	86	6	14.6	80.2%	30 (34.9%)	2 (2.3%)	47 (54.7%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.2%)	1 (1.2%)	5 (5.8%)		5.4			(n/a)
069104107887	2757	Petersen Alternative Center for Education at John B Allard	Public	6-12	3113 Mitchell Rd.	Ceres	95307	Stanislaus County	Stanislaus County Office of Education	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 238-6717	83	5	15.2	91.6%	13 (15.7%)	4 (4.8%)	60 (72.3%)	1 (1.2%)	1 (1.2%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (4.8%)	$13,109	5.4			(n/a)
062805004263	2758	Frick United Academy of Language Middle	Public	6-8	2845 64th Ave.	Oakland	94605	Alameda County	Oakland Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 879-3219	334	24	14.1	97.6%	2 (0.6%)	86 (25.7%)	215 (64.4%)	12 (3.6%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	17 (5.1%)	$8,523	5.4	5.5	2782	24
069102407991	2759	Orange County Special Education	Public, Alternative	K-12	200 Kalmus Dr.	Costa Mesa	92628	Orange County	Orange County Department of Education	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 966-4129	347	47	7.3	42.9%	72 (20.7%)	21 (6.1%)	181 (52.2%)	58 (16.7%)	5 (1.4%)	3 (0.9%)	6 (1.7%)		5.3			(n/a)
063531007593	2759	REACH Academy	Public	6-12	1325 East 4th St.	Santa Ana	92701	Orange County	Santa Ana Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 431-1800	226	11	21.2	78.8%	2 (0.9%)	1 (0.4%)	218 (96.5%)	2 (0.9%)	2 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	$51,115	5.3	5.3	2792	33

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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

Charter Schools vs Regular Public Schools: Understanding the Key Differences

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

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)
060185613826	2751	Fusion Charter	Public, Charter	7-12	441 West Linwood Ave.	Turlock	95380	Stanislaus County	Fusion Charter District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 667-9047	126	4	28.3	81.7%	26 (20.6%)	3 (2.4%)	85 (67.5%)	3 (2.4%)	1 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (6.3%)								5.7			(n/a)
069102907174	2752	San Bernardino County Special Education	Public, Alternative	K-12	1950 S Sunwest Ln.	San Bernardino	92408	San Bernardino County	San Bernardino County Office of Education	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(909) 387-8511	1,489	144	10.3	77.4%	250 (16.8%)	209 (14.0%)	848 (57.0%)	68 (4.6%)	14 (0.9%)	3 (0.2%)	96 (6.4%)	$62,987							5.7	5.5	2783	31
069102911088	2753	Community School/Independent Alternative Education	Public, Alternative	K-12	601 North E St.	San Bernardino	92415	San Bernardino County	San Bernardino County Office of Education	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(909) 386-2722	447	26	17	86.8%	44 (9.8%)	82 (18.3%)	298 (66.7%)	3 (0.7%)	2 (0.4%)	1 (0.2%)	16 (3.6%)	$19,870							5.7	6.7	2767	14
069101207112	2754	Kern County Special Education	Public, Alternative	K-12	1300 17th St. City Centre	Bakersfield	93301	Kern County	Kern County Office of Education	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 636-4788	410	63	6.5	69.0%	107 (26.1%)	28 (6.8%)	252 (61.5%)	17 (4.1%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (1.2%)	$47,367							5.6	7.7	2752	2
062067008712	2755	Lakeport Alternative (Home School)	Public, Virtual, Alternative	K-12	2548 Howard Ave.	Lakeport	95453	Lake County	Lakeport Unified	No	(n/a)	Yes	(n/a)	(707) 262-3013	81	5	16.2	77.8%	34 (42.0%)	0 (0.0%)	29 (35.8%)	1 (1.2%)	11 (13.6%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (7.4%)								5.6	21.4	2204	551
069104111486	2756	Teel School in Empire	Public	5-12	5255 1st St.	Empire	95319	Stanislaus County	Stanislaus County Office of Education	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 238-6600	86	6	14.6	80.2%	30 (34.9%)	2 (2.3%)	47 (54.7%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.2%)	1 (1.2%)	5 (5.8%)								5.4			(n/a)
069104107887	2757	Petersen Alternative Center for Education at John B Allard	Public	6-12	3113 Mitchell Rd.	Ceres	95307	Stanislaus County	Stanislaus County Office of Education	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 238-6717	83	5	15.2	91.6%	13 (15.7%)	4 (4.8%)	60 (72.3%)	1 (1.2%)	1 (1.2%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (4.8%)	$13,109							5.4			(n/a)
062805004263	2758	Frick United Academy of Language Middle	Public	6-8	2845 64th Ave.	Oakland	94605	Alameda County	Oakland Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 879-3219	334	24	14.1	97.6%	2 (0.6%)	86 (25.7%)	215 (64.4%)	12 (3.6%)	1 (0.3%)	1 (0.3%)	17 (5.1%)	$8,523							5.4	5.5	2782	24
069102407991	2759	Orange County Special Education	Public, Alternative	K-12	200 Kalmus Dr.	Costa Mesa	92628	Orange County	Orange County Department of Education	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 966-4129	347	47	7.3	42.9%	72 (20.7%)	21 (6.1%)	181 (52.2%)	58 (16.7%)	5 (1.4%)	3 (0.9%)	6 (1.7%)								5.3			(n/a)
063531007593	2759	REACH Academy	Public	6-12	1325 East 4th St.	Santa Ana	92701	Orange County	Santa Ana Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 431-1800	226	11	21.2	78.8%	2 (0.9%)	1 (0.4%)	218 (96.5%)	2 (0.9%)	2 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	$51,115							5.3	5.3	2792	33