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)
060158510381	1891	King-Chavez Academy of Excellence	Public, Charter	K-8	2716 Marcy Ave.	San Diego	92113	San Diego County	King-Chavez Academy of Excellence District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 232-2825	245	14	17.5	93.1%	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.8%)	240 (98.0%)	1 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.8%)								28.2	42.8	1377	514
060185912409	1892	EJE Middle Academy	Public, Charter	6-8	851 South Johnson Ave.	El Cajon	92020	San Diego County	EJE Middle Academy District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 401-4150	258	14	18.2	55.4%	9 (3.5%)	4 (1.6%)	241 (93.4%)	2 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.4%)	1 (0.4%)								28.2	24	2102	210
061539010199	1893	Pleasant Valley Middle	Public	6-8	4120 Pleasant Valley Rd.	Placerville	95667	El Dorado County	Gold Oak Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 644-9620	147	8	18.3	41.5%	101 (68.7%)	1 (0.7%)	29 (19.7%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (1.4%)	1 (0.7%)	13 (8.8%)	$10,176							28.2	34.7	1643	250
060245009301	1894	Ione Junior High	Public	6-8	450 S Mills St.	Ione	95640	Amador County	Amador County Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 257-5500	406	21	19.5	30.8%	254 (62.6%)	1 (0.2%)	105 (25.9%)	2 (0.5%)	4 (1.0%)	2 (0.5%)	38 (9.4%)	$50,137							28.1	43.5	1361	533
064347011930	1895	Riverbend Elementary	Public	K-8	301 Stewart Rd.	Yuba City	95991	Sutter County	Yuba City Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 822-3100	964	48	19.9	68.0%	242 (25.1%)	13 (1.3%)	441 (45.7%)	182 (18.9%)	4 (0.4%)	3 (0.3%)	79 (8.2%)	$6,685							28.1	33.8	1676	219
061974002378	1896	Kings River Elementary	Public	K-8	3961 Avenue 400	Kingsburg	93631	Fresno County	Kings River Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 897-7209	401	20	20	89.3%	15 (3.7%)	0 (0.0%)	382 (95.3%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.5%)	$12,531							28.1	30.3	1807	89
060699000644	1897	Bill E. Young Junior Middle	Public	5-8	220 South International Blvd.	Calipatria	92233	Imperial County	Calipatria Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 348-2842	336	19	17.3	89.3%	14 (4.2%)	14 (4.2%)	305 (90.8%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.9%)	$7,866							28.1	19.5	2296	399
060194014169	1898	Altus Schools East County	Public, Charter	7-12	111 Fletcher Pkwy.	El Cajon	92020	San Diego County	Altus Schools East County District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(858) 678-2020	260	8	31.7	69.6%	52 (20.0%)	18 (6.9%)	161 (61.9%)	5 (1.9%)	1 (0.4%)	1 (0.4%)	21 (8.1%)								28	24.5	2076	178
064245006936	1899	Walter F. Dexter Middle	Public	6-8	11532 East Floral Dr.	Whittier	90601	Los Angeles County	Whittier City Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(562) 789-3090	627	31	20.3	86.6%	28 (4.5%)	5 (0.8%)	577 (92.0%)	5 (0.8%)	3 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (1.4%)	$5,313							28	29	1853	46
060208213750	1900	PUC Inspire Charter Academy	Public, Charter	6-8	12550 Van Nuys Blvd.	Pacoima	91331	Los Angeles County	PUC Inspire Charter Academy District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(818) 492-1880	224	12	18.5	98.7%	2 (0.9%)	4 (1.8%)	215 (96.0%)	2 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.4%)								28	19.1	2319	419

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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

Student-Teacher Ratios and their Impact on Class Sizes & School Selection

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