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)
060744011233	41	Ladera Ranch Middle	Public	6-8	29551 Sienna Pkwy.	Ladera Ranch	92694	Orange County	Capistrano Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(949) 234-5922	1,196	51	23.2	18.8%	762 (63.7%)	10 (0.8%)	128 (10.7%)	145 (12.1%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.2%)	148 (12.4%)	$9,640							98.1	97.7	67	26
061719002172	42	Crocker Middle	Public	6-8	2600 Ralston Ave.	Hillsborough	94010	San Mateo County	Hillsborough City Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(650) 342-6331	435	34	12.7	2.8%	216 (49.7%)	1 (0.2%)	14 (3.2%)	153 (35.2%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	50 (11.5%)	$20,943							98.1	98.3	43	1
062970008514	43	Ridgecrest Intermediate	Public	6-8	28915 Northbay Rd.	Rancho Palos Verdes	90275	Los Angeles County	Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 544-2747	890	35	25.7	9.6%	211 (23.7%)	17 (1.9%)	98 (11.0%)	463 (52.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	99 (11.1%)	$5,452							98.1	98.2	49	6
061029001127	44	Cupertino Middle	Public	6-8	1650 South Bernardo Ave.	Sunnyvale	94087	Santa Clara County	Cupertino Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(408) 245-0303	1,099	53	20.6	16.2%	296 (26.9%)	9 (0.8%)	113 (10.3%)	591 (53.8%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	88 (8.0%)	$7,688							98.1	97.7	68	24
063750006337	45	South Pasadena Middle	Public	6-8	1500 Fair Oaks	South Pasadena	91030	Los Angeles County	South Pasadena Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(626) 441-5830	1,084	49	22.2	16.8%	269 (24.8%)	18 (1.7%)	258 (23.8%)	361 (33.3%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	174 (16.1%)	$9,866							98.1	98	53	8
063429008627	46	Tierra Linda Middle	Public	6-8	750 Dartmouth Ave.	San Carlos	94070	San Mateo County	San Carlos Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(650) 508-7370	458	23	20.2	8.3%	208 (45.4%)	5 (1.1%)	66 (14.4%)	117 (25.5%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.7%)	58 (12.7%)	$11,688							98.1	96.9	102	56
064314007013	47	Woodside Elementary	Public	K-8	3195 Woodside Rd.	Woodside	94062	San Mateo County	Woodside Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(650) 851-1571	371	32	11.4	7.8%	230 (62.0%)	5 (1.3%)	69 (18.6%)	20 (5.4%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.3%)	46 (12.4%)	$26,398							98.1	98.3	42	5
064128006834	48	Chaparral Middle	Public	6-8	1405 South Spruce Tree Dr.	Diamond Bar	91765	Los Angeles County	Walnut Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(909) 861-6227	1,133	44	25.6	22.1%	62 (5.5%)	14 (1.2%)	205 (18.1%)	803 (70.9%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.3%)	46 (4.1%)	$5,169							98	97.8	62	14
063432009437	49	Mt. Everest Academy	Public, Virtual, Alternative	K-12	4350 Mt. Everest Blvd.	San Diego	92117	San Diego County	San Diego Unified	No	(n/a)	Yes	(n/a)	(619) 605-8700	213	12	17.9	22.5%	105 (49.3%)	5 (2.3%)	39 (18.3%)	38 (17.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	25 (11.7%)	$9,276							98	97.8	63	14
063153002667	50	Mesa Verde Middle	Public	6-8	8375 Entreken Way	San Diego	92129	San Diego County	Poway Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(858) 538-5478	1,040	42	24.9	9.5%	350 (33.7%)	10 (1.0%)	112 (10.8%)	432 (41.5%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	132 (12.7%)	$6,734							98	97.9	59	9

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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:

Charter Schools vs Regular Public Schools: Understanding the Key Differences

Per-Pupil Spending: Understanding the Breakdown of Federal, State, and Local Funds

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