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)
062088005857	2371	Lancaster Alternative and Virtual Academies	Public, Virtual	K-8	44034 13th St. West	Lancaster	93534	Los Angeles County	Lancaster Elementary	No	(n/a)	Yes	(n/a)	(661) 488-7600	263	12	21.4	93.5%	89 (33.8%)	55 (20.9%)	76 (28.9%)	11 (4.2%)	11 (4.2%)	3 (1.1%)	18 (6.8%)	$8,462							17.3	19.8	2285	86
060426000385	2372	Beardsley Junior High	Public	7-8	1001 Roberts Ln.	Bakersfield	93308	Kern County	Beardsley Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 392-9254	380	20	19.1	96.1%	124 (32.6%)	19 (5.0%)	224 (58.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (3.4%)	$7,410							17.3	22.4	2164	208
060238014033	2373	Russell Westbrook Why Not? Middle	Public, Charter	6-8	1700 West 46th St.	Los Angeles	90062	Los Angeles County	Russell Westbrook Why Not? Middle District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(323) 403-0770	133	10	13	83.5%	0 (0.0%)	42 (31.6%)	90 (67.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.8%)								17.3	11.5	2653	280
060225613895	2374	Valiente College Preparatory Charter	Public, Charter	5-8	8691 California Ave.	South Gate	90280	Los Angeles County	Valiente College Preparatory Charter District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(323) 744-2107	108	3	35.7	95.4%	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.9%)	99 (91.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (7.4%)								17.3	19.5	2297	77
060174112738	2375	Camino Nuevo Charter Academy #2	Public, Charter	K-8	3400 West 3rd St.	Los Angeles	90020	Los Angeles County	Camino Nuevo Charter Academy #2 District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(213) 736-5542	688	31	22.2	93.8%	3 (0.4%)	6 (0.9%)	671 (97.5%)	7 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)								17.2	23.9	2107	268
063488005889	2376	La Mirada Academy	Public	K-8	3697 La Mirada Dr.	San Marcos	92078	San Diego County	San Marcos Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 290-2000	897	43	20.7	75.9%	44 (4.9%)	4 (0.4%)	812 (90.5%)	23 (2.6%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.3%)	11 (1.2%)	$9,248							17.2	20	2271	105
060235713060	2377	Connect Community Charter	Public, Charter	K-8	635 Oakside Ave.	Redwood City	94063	San Mateo County	Connect Community Charter District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(650) 482-2426	132	11	12	83.3%	3 (2.3%)	0 (0.0%)	125 (94.7%)	2 (1.5%)	1 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.8%)								17.2	21.9	2183	194
060144210121	2378	Upper Lake Middle	Public	6-8	725 Old Lucerne Rd.	Upper Lake	95485	Lake County	Upper Lake Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(707) 275-0223	183	9	20.8	88.0%	91 (49.7%)	0 (0.0%)	65 (35.5%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (7.7%)	1 (0.5%)	12 (6.6%)	$8,227							17.2	25.8	2010	368
060016010252	2379	Rivergold Elementary	Public	K-8	31800 Road 400	Coarsegold	93614	Madera County	Yosemite Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 658-7566	433	19	22.2	62.4%	287 (66.3%)	3 (0.7%)	91 (21.0%)	10 (2.3%)	9 (2.1%)	0 (0.0%)	32 (7.4%)	$5,507							17.2	24.5	2074	305
060603000540	2380	Briggs Elementary	Public	5-8	14438 West Telegraph Rd.	Santa Paula	93060	Ventura County	Briggs Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 525-7151	239	12	19.1	61.9%	3 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	228 (95.4%)	3 (1.3%)	2 (0.8%)	1 (0.4%)	1 (0.4%)								17.2	25.9	2003	377

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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.