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)
063255005050	2691	Peres Elementary	Public	K-8	719 Fifth St.	Richmond	94801	Contra Costa County	West Contra Costa Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 231-1407	513	24	21.1	97.9%	0 (0.0%)	69 (13.5%)	425 (82.8%)	9 (1.8%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	8 (1.6%)	$6,878							9	14	2557	134
060363007992	2692	Abraham Lincoln Junior High	Public	7-8	815 Eureka St.	Bakersfield	93305	Kern County	Bakersfield City	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 631-5950	498	27	18.7	95.6%	21 (4.2%)	39 (7.8%)	431 (86.5%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (1.0%)	$8,461							9	11	2675	17
062271014112	2693	Horace Mann UCLA Community	Public	6-12	7001 South Saint Andrews Pl.	Los Angeles	90047	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(323) 541-1900	512	37	13.8	91.4%	8 (1.6%)	235 (45.9%)	253 (49.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (3.1%)	$17,356							8.9	12.8	2606	87
063471005851	2694	Edendale Middle	Public	6-8	16160 Ashland Ave.	San Lorenzo	94580	Alameda County	San Lorenzo Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 317-5100	462	25	18.4	86.1%	8 (1.7%)	76 (16.5%)	302 (65.4%)	49 (10.6%)	2 (0.4%)	8 (1.7%)	17 (3.7%)	$6,357							8.9	10	2706	12
064119006819	2695	Rancho Minerva Middle	Public	6-8	2245 Foothill Dr.	Vista	92084	San Diego County	Vista Unified	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	(n/a)	(760) 631-4500	450	29	15.3	87.3%	21 (4.7%)	2 (0.4%)	401 (89.1%)	5 (1.1%)	5 (1.1%)	1 (0.2%)	15 (3.3%)	$9,796							8.8	10.5	2693	2
069102010961	2696	Valley Atwater Community	Public	6-12	1800 Matthew Ave.	Atwater	95301	Merced County	Merced County Office of Education	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 381-4550	120	7	17.2	94.2%	12 (10.0%)	6 (5.0%)	99 (82.5%)	1 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (1.7%)	$32,954							8.7			(n/a)
060285000208	2697	Antioch Middle	Public	6-8	1500 D St.	Antioch	94509	Contra Costa County	Antioch Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(925) 779-7400	653	30	21.9	86.4%	35 (5.4%)	130 (19.9%)	421 (64.5%)	22 (3.4%)	8 (1.2%)	10 (1.5%)	27 (4.1%)	$6,625							8.6	8.5	2735	38
062007003176	2698	Richard H. Lewis Alternative	Public, Alternative	K-12	9707 Winchester	Lower Lake	95457	Lake County	Konocti Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(707) 701-0264	98	4	26.2	78.6%	52 (53.1%)	4 (4.1%)	25 (25.5%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (14.3%)								8.5	12.1	2627	71
060001712663	2699	Phoenix Academy	Public	K-8	20700 Thunderbird Rd.	Apple Valley	92307	San Bernardino County	Apple Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 242-7011	1,171	57	20.6	87.7%	189 (16.1%)	220 (18.8%)	699 (59.7%)	14 (1.2%)	3 (0.3%)	1 (0.1%)	44 (3.8%)	$6,711							8.5	8	2744	45
060206314249	2700	Ingenium Clarion Charter Middle	Public, Charter	6-8	13305 South San Pedro St.	Los Angeles	90061	Los Angeles County	Ingenium Clarion Charter Middle District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(888) 660-6736	125	8	16.2	92.8%	1 (0.8%)	87 (69.6%)	35 (28.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (1.6%)								8.5	12	2628	72

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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

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.