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)
061288001456	1951	Mission Middle	Public	6-8	939 East Mission Ave.	Escondido	92026	San Diego County	Escondido Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 432-2452	925	52	17.8	94.8%	15 (1.6%)	7 (0.8%)	869 (93.9%)	12 (1.3%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	21 (2.3%)	$7,762							26.9	26.4	1974	23
063462005793	1952	Lichen K-8	Public	K-8	8319 Lichen Dr.	Citrus Heights	95621	Sacramento County	San Juan Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(916) 971-5237	487	25	19.5	63.4%	185 (38.0%)	23 (4.7%)	220 (45.2%)	14 (2.9%)	1 (0.2%)	13 (2.7%)	31 (6.4%)	$8,027							26.9	30.1	1813	139
060163012695	1953	Magnolia Science Academy Bell	Public, Charter	6-8	6411 Orchard Ave.	Bell	90201	Los Angeles County	Magnolia Science Academy Bell District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(323) 826-3925	404	20	20.2	75.5%	21 (5.2%)	3 (0.7%)	376 (93.1%)	4 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								26.9	32.9	1703	250
063315005135	1954	Chemawa Middle	Public	7-8	8830 Magnolia Ave.	Riverside	92503	Riverside County	Riverside Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(951) 352-8244	861	40	21.7	54.4%	56 (6.5%)	31 (3.6%)	717 (83.3%)	24 (2.8%)	7 (0.8%)	5 (0.6%)	21 (2.4%)	$8,153							26.8	30.1	1815	139
063132010000	1955	Vejar Elementary	Public	K-8	950 West Grand Ave.	Pomona	91766	Los Angeles County	Pomona Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(909) 397-4985	750	36	20.8	96.3%	7 (0.9%)	18 (2.4%)	686 (91.5%)	29 (3.9%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (1.1%)	$4,919							26.8	30.5	1801	154
062271011649	1956	William Jefferson Clinton Middle	Public	6-8	3500 South Hill St.	Los Angeles	90007	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(323) 235-7200	635	32	19.5	97.2%	2 (0.3%)	36 (5.7%)	596 (93.9%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	$11,524							26.8	19.2	2313	357
062964004599	1957	Felix J. Appleby Elementary	Public	K-8	10321 Vernon Ave.	Blythe	92225	Riverside County	Palo Verde Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 922-7174	615	27	22.7	83.4%	84 (13.7%)	40 (6.5%)	472 (76.7%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (0.7%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (2.4%)	$4,964							26.8	32.9	1707	250
060000109444	1958	High Desert	Public	5-8	3620 Antelope Woods Rd.	Acton	93510	Los Angeles County	Acton-Agua Dulce Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 269-0310	287	13	21.3	77.0%	123 (42.9%)	5 (1.7%)	150 (52.3%)	2 (0.7%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (2.1%)								26.8	26.2	1985	27
063682007258	1959	Yermo Elementary	Public	K-8	38280 Gleason St.	Yermo	92398	San Bernardino County	Silver Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 254-2931	368	22	16.8	82.9%	126 (34.2%)	8 (2.2%)	190 (51.6%)	4 (1.1%)	1 (0.3%)	8 (2.2%)	31 (8.4%)	$4,385							26.8	18	2373	414
060202510845	1960	Ivy Academia	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	5975 Shoup Ave.	Woodland Hills	91367	Los Angeles County	Ivy Academia District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(818) 716-0771	410	19	21.4	90.2%	33 (8.0%)	36 (8.8%)	290 (70.7%)	28 (6.8%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	22 (5.4%)								26.8	45.3	1305	655

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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

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.