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)
069101712301	2701	Madera County Independent Academy	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	1635 East Olive Ave.	Madera	93638	Madera County	Madera County Superintendent of Schools	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 662-4640	62	2	25.8	85.5%	8 (12.9%)	3 (4.8%)	50 (80.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.6%)	$11,816	8.5	11	2678	23
063531007597	2702	Romero-Cruz Academy	Public	K-8	2701 West Fifth St.	Santa Ana	92703	Orange County	Santa Ana Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 480-2200	894	48	18.8	83.0%	4 (0.4%)	4 (0.4%)	869 (97.2%)	11 (1.2%)	4 (0.4%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	$7,105	8.4	10.3	2699	3
060193514219	2703	Mojave River Academy - National Trails	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	851 South Mt. Vernon	Colton	92324	San Bernardino County	Mojave River Academy - National Trails District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 245-3222	695	28	24.9	80.7%	95 (13.7%)	25 (3.6%)	526 (75.7%)	1 (0.1%)	8 (1.2%)	0 (0.0%)	36 (5.2%)		8.4	11.6	2641	62
060231810560	2704	Learning for Life Charter	Public, Charter	7-12	3180 Imjin Rd. Ste. 110	Marina	93933	Monterey County	Learning for Life Charter District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 582-9820	156	6	26.7	69.2%	33 (21.2%)	5 (3.2%)	97 (62.2%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (12.8%)		8.3	20.6	2231	473
060148714233	2705	Mojave River Academy - Route 66	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	14554 Seventh St.	Victorville	92395	San Bernardino County	Mojave River Academy - Route 66 District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 245-3222	448	21	21.2	93.3%	61 (13.6%)	31 (6.9%)	309 (69.0%)	2 (0.4%)	4 (0.9%)	6 (1.3%)	32 (7.1%)		8.2	6.7	2768	63
060175114291	2706	Mojave River Academy - Marble City	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	9723 Sierra Vista Rd.	Phelan	92371	San Bernardino County	Mojave River Academy - Marble City District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 245-3222	222	9	24.9	82.4%	79 (35.6%)	6 (2.7%)	123 (55.4%)	2 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (5.0%)		8.2	11	2677	29
060234814224	2707	SAVA - Sacramento Academic and Vocational Academy - SCUSD	Public, Charter	7-12	5330 Power Inn Rd. Ste. A	Sacramento	95820	Sacramento County	SAVA - Sacramento Academy and Vocational Academy - SCUSD Di	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(916) 387-8063	701	41	17	87.0%	49 (7.0%)	107 (15.3%)	435 (62.1%)	34 (4.9%)	3 (0.4%)	5 (0.7%)	62 (8.8%)		8.2	7	2765	58
060384008555	2708	Banning Independent Study	Public, Alternative	K-12	1151 West Wilson St.	Banning	92220	Riverside County	Banning Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(951) 922-0268	96	4	23.6	84.4%	9 (9.4%)	10 (10.4%)	69 (71.9%)	1 (1.0%)	4 (4.2%)	1 (1.0%)	2 (2.1%)	$2,984	8.2	8.7	2730	22
060161410947	2709	Envision Academy for Arts & Technology	Public, Charter	6-12	1515 Webster St.	Oakland	94612	Alameda County	Envision Academy for Arts & Technology District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 596-8901	223	12	18.6	72.6%	11 (4.9%)	80 (35.9%)	105 (47.1%)	2 (0.9%)	1 (0.4%)	1 (0.4%)	20 (9.0%)		8.2	21.2	2213	496
062523003771	2710	Mojave Junior/Senior High	Public	6-12	15732 O St.	Mojave	93501	Kern County	Mojave Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 824-4088	364	19	18.8	96.4%	31 (8.5%)	84 (23.1%)	218 (59.9%)	11 (3.0%)	3 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (4.7%)	$9,247	8.1	12.4	2617	93

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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:

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

High school students working on a science experiment

Magnet Schools: Unleashing the Power of 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.

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)
069101712301	2701	Madera County Independent Academy	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	1635 East Olive Ave.	Madera	93638	Madera County	Madera County Superintendent of Schools	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 662-4640	62	2	25.8	85.5%	8 (12.9%)	3 (4.8%)	50 (80.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.6%)	$11,816							8.5	11	2678	23
063531007597	2702	Romero-Cruz Academy	Public	K-8	2701 West Fifth St.	Santa Ana	92703	Orange County	Santa Ana Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 480-2200	894	48	18.8	83.0%	4 (0.4%)	4 (0.4%)	869 (97.2%)	11 (1.2%)	4 (0.4%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	$7,105							8.4	10.3	2699	3
060193514219	2703	Mojave River Academy - National Trails	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	851 South Mt. Vernon	Colton	92324	San Bernardino County	Mojave River Academy - National Trails District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 245-3222	695	28	24.9	80.7%	95 (13.7%)	25 (3.6%)	526 (75.7%)	1 (0.1%)	8 (1.2%)	0 (0.0%)	36 (5.2%)								8.4	11.6	2641	62
060231810560	2704	Learning for Life Charter	Public, Charter	7-12	3180 Imjin Rd. Ste. 110	Marina	93933	Monterey County	Learning for Life Charter District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 582-9820	156	6	26.7	69.2%	33 (21.2%)	5 (3.2%)	97 (62.2%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (12.8%)								8.3	20.6	2231	473
060148714233	2705	Mojave River Academy - Route 66	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	14554 Seventh St.	Victorville	92395	San Bernardino County	Mojave River Academy - Route 66 District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 245-3222	448	21	21.2	93.3%	61 (13.6%)	31 (6.9%)	309 (69.0%)	2 (0.4%)	4 (0.9%)	6 (1.3%)	32 (7.1%)								8.2	6.7	2768	63
060175114291	2706	Mojave River Academy - Marble City	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	9723 Sierra Vista Rd.	Phelan	92371	San Bernardino County	Mojave River Academy - Marble City District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 245-3222	222	9	24.9	82.4%	79 (35.6%)	6 (2.7%)	123 (55.4%)	2 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (5.0%)								8.2	11	2677	29
060234814224	2707	SAVA - Sacramento Academic and Vocational Academy - SCUSD	Public, Charter	7-12	5330 Power Inn Rd. Ste. A	Sacramento	95820	Sacramento County	SAVA - Sacramento Academy and Vocational Academy - SCUSD Di	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(916) 387-8063	701	41	17	87.0%	49 (7.0%)	107 (15.3%)	435 (62.1%)	34 (4.9%)	3 (0.4%)	5 (0.7%)	62 (8.8%)								8.2	7	2765	58
060384008555	2708	Banning Independent Study	Public, Alternative	K-12	1151 West Wilson St.	Banning	92220	Riverside County	Banning Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(951) 922-0268	96	4	23.6	84.4%	9 (9.4%)	10 (10.4%)	69 (71.9%)	1 (1.0%)	4 (4.2%)	1 (1.0%)	2 (2.1%)	$2,984							8.2	8.7	2730	22
060161410947	2709	Envision Academy for Arts & Technology	Public, Charter	6-12	1515 Webster St.	Oakland	94612	Alameda County	Envision Academy for Arts & Technology District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 596-8901	223	12	18.6	72.6%	11 (4.9%)	80 (35.9%)	105 (47.1%)	2 (0.9%)	1 (0.4%)	1 (0.4%)	20 (9.0%)								8.2	21.2	2213	496
062523003771	2710	Mojave Junior/Senior High	Public	6-12	15732 O St.	Mojave	93501	Kern County	Mojave Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 824-4088	364	19	18.8	96.4%	31 (8.5%)	84 (23.1%)	218 (59.9%)	11 (3.0%)	3 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (4.7%)	$9,247							8.1	12.4	2617	93