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)
060254208363	131	Pacific Collegiate Charter	Public, Charter	7-12	3004 Mission St.	Santa Cruz	95060	Santa Cruz County	Pacific Collegiate Charter District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 479-7785	540	33	16.3	10.0%	343 (63.5%)	0 (0.0%)	88 (16.3%)	33 (6.1%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	73 (13.5%)								95.6	94.8	163	32
060247312390	132	Western Sierra Collegiate Academy	Public, Charter	7-12	660 Menlo Dr.	Rocklin	95765	Placer County	Western Sierra Collegiate Academy District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(916) 778-4544	772	37	20.6	14.2%	318 (41.2%)	6 (0.8%)	105 (13.6%)	255 (33.0%)	6 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	82 (10.6%)								95.6	92.8	212	80
061524001944	133	Rosemont Middle	Public	7-8	4725 Rosemont Ave.	La Crescenta	91214	Los Angeles County	Glendale Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(818) 248-4224	1,236	52	23.6	21.1%	633 (51.2%)	8 (0.6%)	151 (12.2%)	352 (28.5%)	2 (0.2%)	2 (0.2%)	87 (7.0%)	$72,299							95.6	94.3	166	33
060141012551	134	Sebastian Questa Elementary	Public	K-8	685 North Montebello St.	Mountain House	95391	San Joaquin County	Lammersville Joint Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 836-7230	858	38	22.4	9.2%	89 (10.4%)	33 (3.8%)	107 (12.5%)	537 (62.6%)	14 (1.6%)	2 (0.2%)	76 (8.9%)								95.5	93.4	192	58
060648000581	135	Burlingame Intermediate	Public	6-8	1715 Quesada Way	Burlingame	94010	San Mateo County	Burlingame Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(650) 259-3830	1,059	48	21.9	15.6%	406 (38.3%)	3 (0.3%)	193 (18.2%)	318 (30.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.3%)	136 (12.8%)	$10,325							95.5	95.6	133	2
061938002329	136	Adaline E. Kent Middle	Public	5-8	800 College Ave.	Kentfield	94904	Marin County	Kentfield Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(415) 458-5970	513	34	14.9	11.7%	327 (63.7%)	6 (1.2%)	84 (16.4%)	22 (4.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	71 (13.8%)	$12,024							95.5	95.2	145	9
060297000229	137	Foothills Middle	Public	6-8	171 East Sycamore Ave.	Arcadia	91006	Los Angeles County	Arcadia Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(626) 821-8363	684	29	23.8	28.8%	73 (10.7%)	5 (0.7%)	128 (18.7%)	429 (62.7%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	47 (6.9%)	$11,197							95.5	95.2	146	9
060222514101	138	Sherman Thomas STEM Academy	Public, Charter	6-8	51 East Adell St.	Madera	93638	Madera County	Sherman Thomas STEM Academy District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 871-5490	76	3	27.6	43.4%	15 (19.7%)	0 (0.0%)	53 (69.7%)	5 (6.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (3.9%)								95.4	97	96	42
060627010767	139	Charter Montessori Valley View Campus	Public, Charter	K-8	1665 Blackstone Pkwy.	El Dorado Hills	95762	El Dorado County	Buckeye Union Elementary	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 672-3890	702	29	24.1	15.2%	407 (58.0%)	8 (1.1%)	126 (17.9%)	81 (11.5%)	5 (0.7%)	1 (0.1%)	74 (10.5%)	$8,590							95.3	91.8	240	101
060199512857	140	Redwood Preparatory Charter	Public, Charter	K-8	1480 Ross Hill Rd.	Fortuna	95540	Humboldt County	Redwood Preparatory Charter District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(707) 682-6149	230	10	23	47.0%	149 (64.8%)	0 (0.0%)	43 (18.7%)	6 (2.6%)	2 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	30 (13.0%)								95.3	95	152	12

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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:

State-Administered Standardized Tests: A Comprehensive Guide

Alternative Schools vs Public Schools: A Comparison

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