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)
062580009159	1551	Vista Heights Middle	Public	6-8	23049 Old Lake Dr.	Moreno Valley	92557	Riverside County	Moreno Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(951) 571-4300	1,454	62	23.4	81.5%	96 (6.6%)	197 (13.5%)	1,027 (70.6%)	55 (3.8%)	2 (0.1%)	5 (0.3%)	72 (5.0%)	$8,557							37.2	36	1592	41
060195211336	1552	Today's Fresh Start-Compton	Public, Charter	K-8	4476 Crenshaw Blvd.	Los Angeles	90043	Los Angeles County	Today's Fresh Start-Compton District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(323) 293-9826	409	24	17.2	94.9%	1 (0.2%)	223 (54.5%)	171 (41.8%)	1 (0.2%)	6 (1.5%)	2 (0.5%)	5 (1.2%)								37.2	33.8	1672	120
060181613008	1553	Urban Montessori Charter	Public, Charter	K-8	4551 Steele St.	Oakland	94619	Alameda County	Urban Montessori Charter District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 842-1181	349	8	44.7	33.5%	104 (29.8%)	60 (17.2%)	109 (31.2%)	24 (6.9%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.9%)	42 (12.0%)								37.2	46.3	1278	275
060186213508	1554	Kepler Neighborhood	Public, Charter	K-8	1462 Broadway St.	Fresno	93721	Fresno County	Kepler Neighborhood District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 495-0849	307	21	14.3	71.7%	49 (16.0%)	35 (11.4%)	194 (63.2%)	10 (3.3%)	4 (1.3%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (4.2%)								37.2	32.3	1729	175
062271003363	1555	South Gate Middle	Public	6-8	4100 Firestone Blvd.	South Gate	90280	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(323) 568-4000	1,264	63	20	92.6%	27 (2.1%)	4 (0.3%)	1,229 (97.2%)	3 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	$8,522							37.2	32.3	1735	180
061887002281	1556	Thomas R. Pollicita Middle	Public	6-8	550 East Market St.	Daly City	94014	San Mateo County	Jefferson Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(650) 991-1216	584	27	21.2	47.6%	18 (3.1%)	5 (0.9%)	317 (54.3%)	219 (37.5%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (0.9%)	19 (3.3%)	$11,134							37.2	39.7	1471	85
062664004028	1557	Redwood Middle	Public	6-8	3600 Oxford St.	Napa	94558	Napa County	Napa Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(707) 253-3415	876	38	22.8	62.9%	307 (35.0%)	8 (0.9%)	516 (58.9%)	17 (1.9%)	5 (0.6%)	1 (0.1%)	21 (2.4%)	$6,348							37.1	37	1560	3
060242812189	1558	Ceiba College Preparatory Academy	Public, Charter	6-12	260 West Riverside Dr.	Watsonville	95076	Santa Cruz County	Ceiba College Preparatory Academy District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 786-2100	507	28	18.2	77.5%	10 (2.0%)	1 (0.2%)	488 (96.3%)	5 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.4%)								37.1	37.4	1549	9
060185314168	1559	Wonderful College Prep Academy - Lost Hills	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	14848 Lamberson Ave.	Lost Hills	93249	Kern County	Wonderful College Prep Academy - Lost Hills District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 797-2220	538	35	15.2	53.7%	10 (1.9%)	2 (0.4%)	521 (96.8%)	3 (0.6%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)								37.1	21.5	2201	642
060004707398	1560	Gladys Poet-Christian Elementary	Public	K-8	1701 South Central Ave.	Tracy	95376	San Joaquin County	Tracy Joint Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 830-3325	549	24	22.5	66.3%	99 (18.0%)	42 (7.7%)	273 (49.7%)	97 (17.7%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.4%)	35 (6.4%)	$6,747							37.1	27.1	1950	390

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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

Girl in a wheelchair raising her hand in a classroom setting

Understanding an IEP: The Ultimate Guide for Parents and Educators

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