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)
062580008907	981	Butterfield Language Academy	Public	K-8	13400 Kitching St.	Moreno Valley	92553	Riverside County	Moreno Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(951) 571-4540	964	44	22.1	88.1%	29 (3.0%)	65 (6.7%)	829 (86.0%)	16 (1.7%)	1 (0.1%)	2 (0.2%)	22 (2.3%)	$7,270							56.3	49.5	1181	200
064015006635	982	Columbus Tustin Middle	Public	6-8	17952 Beneta Way	Tustin	92780	Orange County	Tustin Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 730-7352	604	24	24.7	82.9%	39 (6.5%)	11 (1.8%)	475 (78.6%)	47 (7.8%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (0.7%)	28 (4.6%)	$10,304							56.2	53.8	1064	82
064245006944	983	Wallen L. Andrews	Public	K-8	1010 South Caraway Dr.	Whittier	90601	Los Angeles County	Whittier City Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(562) 789-3140	539	27	19.9	64.9%	22 (4.1%)	3 (0.6%)	471 (87.4%)	24 (4.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	19 (3.5%)	$4,886							56.2	58.4	949	34
062271003460	984	Stephen M. White Middle	Public	6-8	22102 South Figueroa St.	Carson	90745	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 783-4900	1,386	73	19	79.4%	62 (4.5%)	216 (15.6%)	843 (60.8%)	175 (12.6%)	2 (0.1%)	46 (3.3%)	42 (3.0%)	$8,838							56.2	50.2	1162	178
060180211787	985	California Virtual Academy San Mateo	Public, Virtual, Charter, Alternative	K-12	50 Moreland Rd.	Simi Valley	93065	Ventura County	California Virtual Academy San Mateo District	Yes	(n/a)	Yes	(n/a)	(805) 581-0202	1,063	37	28.5	58.1%	227 (21.4%)	93 (8.7%)	469 (44.1%)	155 (14.6%)	5 (0.5%)	18 (1.7%)	96 (9.0%)								56.1	58.3	950	35
062271013177	986	Harry Bridges Span	Public	K-8	1235 Broad Ave.	Wilmington	90744	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 522-5400	1,203	57	21.2	90.4%	14 (1.2%)	20 (1.7%)	1,153 (95.8%)	3 (0.2%)	2 (0.2%)	4 (0.3%)	7 (0.6%)	$8,700							56.1	44.4	1334	348
063942006560	987	J. H. Hull Middle	Public	6-8	2080 West 231st St.	Torrance	90501	Los Angeles County	Torrance Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 533-4516	597	26	22.7	49.2%	92 (15.4%)	30 (5.0%)	353 (59.1%)	87 (14.6%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	33 (5.5%)	$5,141							56.1	59.3	928	59
063963006596	988	Golden West Middle	Public	7-8	2651 De Ronde Dr.	Fairfield	94533	Solano County	Travis Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(707) 437-8240	742	33	22.2	44.9%	183 (24.7%)	93 (12.5%)	214 (28.8%)	126 (17.0%)	4 (0.5%)	8 (1.1%)	114 (15.4%)	$6,729							56.1	67.7	728	260
060006306868	989	Waterford Junior	Public	7-8	12916 Bentley St.	Waterford	95386	Stanislaus County	Waterford Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 874-2382	262	13	19.6	93.5%	60 (22.9%)	1 (0.4%)	188 (71.8%)	6 (2.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (2.3%)	$11,342							56	63.7	802	187
064116013978	990	Ridgeview Middle	Public	7-8	3315 North Akers St.	Visalia	93291	Tulare County	Visalia Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 622-3308	932	33	28.4	52.0%	180 (19.3%)	9 (1.0%)	598 (64.2%)	73 (7.8%)	4 (0.4%)	2 (0.2%)	66 (7.1%)	$59,489							55.9	54.2	1052	62

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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:

Public School Districts and Their Services: A Comprehensive Guide

No Child Left Behind (NCLB): A Comprehensive Analysis of Its Impact on Education

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