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)
060234412690	2151	Animo Jefferson Charter Middle	Public, Charter	6-8	1655 East 27th St.	Los Angeles	90011	Los Angeles County	Animo Jefferson Charter Middle District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(323) 232-1857	454	21	21.7	95.4%	14 (3.1%)	7 (1.5%)	432 (95.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)								22.4	25.1	2045	106
060147511746	2152	Pathways to College K8	Public, Charter	K-8	9144 Third Ave.	Hesperia	92345	San Bernardino County	Pathways to College K8 District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 949-8002	379	22	17.4	59.9%	27 (7.1%)	33 (8.7%)	313 (82.6%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (1.3%)								22.3	36.5	1576	576
062781004208	2153	Christopher Elementary	Public	K-8	565 Coyote Rd.	San Jose	95111	Santa Clara County	Oak Grove Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(408) 227-8550	423	17	24.5	63.4%	23 (5.4%)	3 (0.7%)	322 (76.1%)	63 (14.9%)	4 (0.9%)	3 (0.7%)	5 (1.2%)	$12,071							22.3	20.7	2229	76
064198006873	2154	Weed Elementary	Public	K-8	575 White Ave.	Weed	96094	Siskiyou County	Weed Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 938-2715	288	16	18	85.8%	134 (46.5%)	20 (6.9%)	58 (20.1%)	21 (7.3%)	8 (2.8%)	1 (0.3%)	45 (15.6%)	$10,694							22.3	17.7	2399	245
062217002639	2155	Livingston Middle	Public	6-8	101 F St.	Livingston	95334	Merced County	Livingston Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 394-5450	842	35	24.1	78.3%	31 (3.7%)	5 (0.6%)	706 (83.8%)	92 (10.9%)	4 (0.5%)	1 (0.1%)	3 (0.4%)								22.3	22.7	2147	8
060256214589	2156	Bostonia Global	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	1390 Broadway	El Cajon	92021	San Diego County	Bostonia Global District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 588-3121	1,175	46	25.3	75.7%	217 (18.5%)	46 (3.9%)	824 (70.1%)	12 (1.0%)	1 (0.1%)	2 (0.2%)	72 (6.1%)								22.2	25.6	2016	140
064271006979	2157	Willows Intermediate	Public	6-8	1145 West Cedar St.	Willows	95988	Glenn County	Willows Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 934-6633	316	15	20.7	79.7%	126 (39.9%)	5 (1.6%)	152 (48.1%)	11 (3.5%)	9 (2.8%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (4.1%)	$9,073							22.2	20.6	2234	77
061437001643	2158	Bridges Academy	Public	7-8	1702 Mclaughlin Ave.	San Jose	95122	Santa Clara County	Franklin-McKinley Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(408) 283-6400	273	20	13.4	75.5%	2 (0.7%)	1 (0.4%)	210 (76.9%)	54 (19.8%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (1.8%)	1 (0.4%)								22.2	18.9	2337	179
062519003765	2159	Modoc Middle	Public	6-8	906 West Fourth St.	Alturas	96101	Modoc County	Modoc Joint Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 233-7201	202	11	18.4	64.9%	140 (69.3%)	5 (2.5%)	32 (15.8%)	3 (1.5%)	10 (5.0%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (5.9%)	$6,673							22.2	24.4	2079	80
064254006964	2160	Williams Junior/Senior High	Public	7-12	260 11th St.	Williams	95987	Colusa County	Williams Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 473-5369	626	28	22.3	95.5%	19 (3.0%)	0 (0.0%)	598 (95.5%)	7 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	$7,424							22.2	12.9	2597	437

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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

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.