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 9, 2025.

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School	Students/Teachers	Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)	Ranking (2025 vs 2024)	ID
2722	Los Angeles Academy of Arts and Enterprise	Public, Charter	6-12	1575 West 2nd St.	Los Angeles	90026	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Academy of Arts and Enterprise District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(213) 487-0600	201	13	15.3	96.0%	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.5%)	177 (88.1%)	3 (1.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	18 (9.0%)	$25,125	$7,340	$17,785	5.6	6	2750	28	060153411628
2723	Aspire Capitol Heights Academy	Public, Charter	K-8	7300 Folsom Blvd.	Sacramento	95826	Sacramento County	Aspire Capitol Heights Academy District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(916) 739-8520	222	13	16.8	91.4%	0 (0.0%)	119 (53.6%)	63 (28.4%)	1 (0.5%)	6 (2.7%)	0 (0.0%)	33 (14.9%)	$28,560	$3,296	$25,264	5.6	9.3	2687	36	060159811189
2724	Summit Leadership Academy-High Desert	Public, Charter	7-12	12850 Muscatel St.	Hesperia	92345	San Bernardino County	Summit Leadership Academy-High Desert District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 949-9202	253	16	15.8	74.3%	22 (8.7%)	38 (15.0%)	178 (70.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (5.9%)	$25,273	$6,153	$19,120	5.6	6.4	2742	18	060160711118
2725	Mojave Junior/Senior High	Public	6-12	15732 O St.	Mojave	93501	Kern County	Mojave Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 824-4088	400	20	20	84.5%	35 (8.8%)	93 (23.3%)	227 (56.8%)	21 (5.3%)	3 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	21 (5.3%)	$24,822	$2,848	$21,974	5.6	8.1	2716	9	062523003771
2726	Baker Junior High	Public	6-8	72100 School House Ln.	Baker	92309	San Bernardino County	Baker Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 733-4567	35	3	13.3	68.6%	8 (22.9%)	0 (0.0%)	27 (77.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)				5.5			(n/a)	060361010304
2727	California School for the Deaf-Riverside	Public, Alternative	K-12	3044 Horace St.	Riverside	92506	Riverside County	California School for the Deaf-Riverside (ST Special Schl)	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(951) 248-7700	350	66	5.3	42.0%	92 (26.3%)	12 (3.4%)	222 (63.4%)	7 (2.0%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (4.6%)				5.3	6.1	2749	22	060000710348
2728	Barstow Junior High	Public	7-8	1000 Armory Rd.	Barstow	92311	San Bernardino County	Barstow Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 255-6204	646	31	20.7	80.0%	83 (12.8%)	137 (21.2%)	369 (57.1%)	5 (0.8%)	2 (0.3%)	6 (0.9%)	44 (6.8%)	$15,580	$2,717	$12,863	5.2	7	2735	7	060402000356
2729	Oak Tree Community Day	Public	K-8	38136 35th St. East	Palmdale	93550	Los Angeles County	Palmdale Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 285-1548	63	8	8	100.0%	3 (4.8%)	33 (52.4%)	22 (34.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.6%)	4 (6.3%)	$71,680	$3,676	$68,004	5.2	4.7	2782	53	062958012221
2730	San Diego County Community	Public, Alternative	K-12	6401 Linda Vista Rd. Rm. 216	San Diego	92111	San Diego County	San Diego County Office of Education	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(858) 290-5853	510	43	11.7	92.5%	38 (7.5%)	52 (10.2%)	394 (77.3%)	6 (1.2%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	18 (3.5%)	$39,543	$5,878	$33,665	5.1	4.8	2781	51	069103013682
2731	Community School/Independent Alternative Education	Public, Alternative	K-12	601 North E St.	San Bernardino	92415	San Bernardino County	San Bernardino County Office of Education	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(909) 386-2722	394	27	14.6	90.1%	30 (7.6%)	57 (14.5%)	285 (72.3%)	3 (0.8%)	4 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (3.8%)	$61,296	$12,571	$48,725	5.1	5.7	2759	28	069102911088

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Other SchoolDigger ranking lists for California

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New! SchoolDigger ranking lists for CA student subgroups:

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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 9, 2025, 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:

Charter Schools vs Regular Public Schools: Understanding the Key Differences

A high school boy doing homework on a laptop

Virtual Schools: The Future of Online Education

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

School														Students/Teachers											Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)							Ranking (2025 vs 2024)					ID
Rank (of 2760)	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 (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Rank (2024)	Rank Change from 2024	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	ID
2722	Los Angeles Academy of Arts and Enterprise	Public, Charter	6-12	1575 West 2nd St.	Los Angeles	90026	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Academy of Arts and Enterprise District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(213) 487-0600	201	13	15.3	96.0%	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.5%)	177 (88.1%)	3 (1.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	18 (9.0%)	$25,125			$7,340			$17,785	5.6	6	2750	28		060153411628
2723	Aspire Capitol Heights Academy	Public, Charter	K-8	7300 Folsom Blvd.	Sacramento	95826	Sacramento County	Aspire Capitol Heights Academy District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(916) 739-8520	222	13	16.8	91.4%	0 (0.0%)	119 (53.6%)	63 (28.4%)	1 (0.5%)	6 (2.7%)	0 (0.0%)	33 (14.9%)	$28,560			$3,296			$25,264	5.6	9.3	2687	36		060159811189
2724	Summit Leadership Academy-High Desert	Public, Charter	7-12	12850 Muscatel St.	Hesperia	92345	San Bernardino County	Summit Leadership Academy-High Desert District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 949-9202	253	16	15.8	74.3%	22 (8.7%)	38 (15.0%)	178 (70.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (5.9%)	$25,273			$6,153			$19,120	5.6	6.4	2742	18		060160711118
2725	Mojave Junior/Senior High	Public	6-12	15732 O St.	Mojave	93501	Kern County	Mojave Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 824-4088	400	20	20	84.5%	35 (8.8%)	93 (23.3%)	227 (56.8%)	21 (5.3%)	3 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	21 (5.3%)	$24,822			$2,848			$21,974	5.6	8.1	2716	9		062523003771
2726	Baker Junior High	Public	6-8	72100 School House Ln.	Baker	92309	San Bernardino County	Baker Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 733-4567	35	3	13.3	68.6%	8 (22.9%)	0 (0.0%)	27 (77.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)								5.5			(n/a)		060361010304
2727	California School for the Deaf-Riverside	Public, Alternative	K-12	3044 Horace St.	Riverside	92506	Riverside County	California School for the Deaf-Riverside (ST Special Schl)	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(951) 248-7700	350	66	5.3	42.0%	92 (26.3%)	12 (3.4%)	222 (63.4%)	7 (2.0%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (4.6%)								5.3	6.1	2749	22		060000710348
2728	Barstow Junior High	Public	7-8	1000 Armory Rd.	Barstow	92311	San Bernardino County	Barstow Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 255-6204	646	31	20.7	80.0%	83 (12.8%)	137 (21.2%)	369 (57.1%)	5 (0.8%)	2 (0.3%)	6 (0.9%)	44 (6.8%)	$15,580			$2,717			$12,863	5.2	7	2735	7		060402000356
2729	Oak Tree Community Day	Public	K-8	38136 35th St. East	Palmdale	93550	Los Angeles County	Palmdale Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 285-1548	63	8	8	100.0%	3 (4.8%)	33 (52.4%)	22 (34.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (1.6%)	4 (6.3%)	$71,680			$3,676			$68,004	5.2	4.7	2782	53		062958012221
2730	San Diego County Community	Public, Alternative	K-12	6401 Linda Vista Rd. Rm. 216	San Diego	92111	San Diego County	San Diego County Office of Education	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(858) 290-5853	510	43	11.7	92.5%	38 (7.5%)	52 (10.2%)	394 (77.3%)	6 (1.2%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	18 (3.5%)	$39,543			$5,878			$33,665	5.1	4.8	2781	51		069103013682
2731	Community School/Independent Alternative Education	Public, Alternative	K-12	601 North E St.	San Bernardino	92415	San Bernardino County	San Bernardino County Office of Education	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(909) 386-2722	394	27	14.6	90.1%	30 (7.6%)	57 (14.5%)	285 (72.3%)	3 (0.8%)	4 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	15 (3.8%)	$61,296			$12,571			$48,725	5.1	5.7	2759	28		069102911088