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)
060133211074	1031	Creative Connections Arts Academy	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	7201 Arutas Dr.	North Highlands	95660	Sacramento County	Twin Rivers Unified	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(916) 566-1870	705	33	21.1	77.6%	165 (23.4%)	112 (15.9%)	328 (46.5%)	24 (3.4%)	11 (1.6%)	8 (1.1%)	57 (8.1%)								54.3	59.8	913	118
061005001098	1032	Las Palmas Middle	Public	6-8	641 North Lark Ellen Ave.	Covina	91722	Los Angeles County	Covina-Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(626) 974-7200	851	37	22.8	84.1%	45 (5.3%)	24 (2.8%)	717 (84.3%)	57 (6.7%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (0.8%)	$7,523							54.3	52.3	1100	68
062769002165	1033	Reginald M. Benton Middle	Public	6-8	15709 East Olive Branch Rd.	La Mirada	90638	Los Angeles County	Norwalk-La Mirada Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(562) 210-2500	714	29	24.9	54.9%	109 (15.3%)	14 (2.0%)	505 (70.7%)	54 (7.6%)	2 (0.3%)	4 (0.6%)	26 (3.6%)	$12,272							54.2	46.5	1272	239
063213004970	1034	John F. Kennedy Middle	Public	6-8	2521 Goodwin Ave.	Redwood City	94061	Kings County	Redwood City Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(650) 482-2409	751	43	17.4	65.1%	116 (15.4%)	10 (1.3%)	561 (74.7%)	22 (2.9%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (0.8%)	36 (4.8%)								54.2	51.2	1130	96
062289003500	1035	Los Nietos Middle	Public	7-8	11425 East Rivera Rd.	Los Nietos	90606	Los Angeles County	Los Nietos	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(562) 695-0637	263	16	16	79.5%	1 (0.4%)	2 (0.8%)	255 (97.0%)	5 (1.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	$8,730							54.1	59.3	927	108
060411000372	1036	Edgewood Academy	Public	K-8	14135 East Fairgrove Ave.	La Puente	91746	Los Angeles County	Bassett Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(626) 931-7800	470	22	21.1	86.4%	1 (0.2%)	4 (0.9%)	415 (88.3%)	49 (10.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	$6,519							54.1	57.3	979	57
062697004075	1037	New Hope Elementary	Public	K-8	26675 North Sacramento Blvd.	Thornton	95686	San Joaquin County	New Hope Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 794-2376	168	10	16.8	81.5%	10 (6.0%)	0 (0.0%)	155 (92.3%)	1 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (1.2%)	$13,296							54	58.8	942	95
060948000962	1038	Columbia Elementary	Public	K-8	22540 Parrotts Ferry Rd.	Columbia	95310	Tuolumne County	Columbia Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 533-7700	450	25	17.8	54.7%	309 (68.7%)	5 (1.1%)	91 (20.2%)	4 (0.9%)	14 (3.1%)	2 (0.4%)	23 (5.1%)	$9,172							54	47.5	1240	202
060133205023	1039	Westside Preparatory Charter	Public, Charter	7-8	6537 West Second St.	Rio Linda	95673	Sacramento County	Twin Rivers Unified	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(916) 566-1990	446	21	21.5	78.9%	117 (26.2%)	39 (8.7%)	213 (47.8%)	37 (8.3%)	5 (1.1%)	4 (0.9%)	31 (7.0%)								53.9	56.4	1003	36
063207011101	1040	Beattie Middle	Public	6-8	7800 Orange St.	Highland	92346	San Bernardino County	Redlands Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(909) 307-2400	1,108	52	21.5	69.3%	206 (18.6%)	71 (6.4%)	653 (58.9%)	121 (10.9%)	2 (0.2%)	1 (0.1%)	53 (4.8%)	$6,191							53.9	58.3	951	89

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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:

Girl in a wheelchair raising her hand in a classroom setting

Understanding an IEP: The Ultimate Guide for Parents and Educators

State-Administered Standardized Tests: 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.