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)
060157800869	941	Mueller Charter (Robert L.)	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	715 I St.	Chula Vista	91910	San Diego County	Mueller Charter (Robert L.) District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 422-6192	1,555	69	22.4	72.9%	67 (4.3%)	19 (1.2%)	1,421 (91.4%)	23 (1.5%)	2 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	22 (1.4%)								57.6	54.5	1043	102
060657011526	942	Summit Charter Academy	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	175 South Mathew St.	Porterville	93257	Tulare County	Burton Elementary	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 782-5902	2,426	107	22.6	74.2%	290 (12.0%)	4 (0.2%)	1,950 (80.4%)	47 (1.9%)	25 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	108 (4.5%)	$6,320							57.6	50	1169	227
060156708744	943	International School of Monterey	Public, Charter	K-8	1720 Yosemite St.	Seaside	93955	Monterey County	International School of Monterey District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 583-2165	428	20	21.7	33.6%	101 (23.6%)	27 (6.3%)	192 (44.9%)	46 (10.7%)	4 (0.9%)	2 (0.5%)	56 (13.1%)								57.5	54.9	1033	90
063321012712	944	Roberts Ferry Charter School Academy	Public, Charter	K-8	101 Roberts Ferry Rd.	Waterford	95386	Stanislaus County	Roberts Ferry Union Elementary	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 874-2331	167	8	20.9	46.7%	84 (50.3%)	2 (1.2%)	68 (40.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (7.8%)	$12,003							57.5	58.4	947	3
062871004465	945	Orcutt Junior High	Public	7-8	608 Pinal St.	Santa Maria	93455	Santa Barbara County	Orcutt Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 938-8700	480	22	22.2	41.9%	173 (36.0%)	8 (1.7%)	233 (48.5%)	10 (2.1%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	54 (11.3%)	$7,076							57.5	58.5	946	1
061665002092	946	Hart-Ransom Elementary	Public	K-8	3930 Shoemake Ave.	Modesto	95358	Stanislaus County	Hart-Ransom Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 523-9979	720	34	21.3	51.7%	248 (34.4%)	5 (0.7%)	396 (55.0%)	31 (4.3%)	3 (0.4%)	2 (0.3%)	34 (4.7%)	$10,359							57.5	52.2	1101	155
063462005760	947	Andrew Carnegie Middle	Public	6-8	5820 Illinois Ave.	Orangevale	95662	Sacramento County	San Juan Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(916) 971-7853	698	31	22.3	36.4%	416 (59.6%)	13 (1.9%)	163 (23.4%)	26 (3.7%)	1 (0.1%)	5 (0.7%)	72 (10.3%)	$6,312							57.5	58.2	957	10
060189404450	948	Santiago Middle	Public, Charter	7-8	515 North Rancho Santiago Blvd	Orange	92869	Orange County	Santiago Middle District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 997-6366	1,098	44	24.9	67.9%	182 (16.6%)	14 (1.3%)	781 (71.1%)	56 (5.1%)	1 (0.1%)	9 (0.8%)	55 (5.0%)								57.4	63.4	809	139
060199114308	949	Dimensions Collaborative	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	1441 Montiel Rd. Ste. 143	Escondido	92026	San Diego County	Dimensions Collaborative District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 743-7880	497	25	20.2	49.5%	200 (40.2%)	49 (9.9%)	167 (33.6%)	10 (2.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.6%)	62 (12.5%)								57.4	60.8	878	71
060141002500	950	Lammersville Elementary	Public	K-8	16555 West Von Sosten Rd.	Tracy	95304	San Joaquin County	Lammersville Joint Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 836-7220	168	12	13.4	32.7%	56 (33.3%)	6 (3.6%)	80 (47.6%)	15 (8.9%)	1 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	10 (6.0%)								57.4	66	763	187

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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:

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

Public School Districts and Their Services: A Comprehensive Guide

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