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
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
441	Yuba River Charter	Public, Charter	K-8	10085 Adam Ave.	Grass Valley	95945	Nevada County	Yuba River Charter District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 272-6060	323	12	26.3	54.2%	242 (74.9%)	0 (0.0%)	38 (11.8%)	5 (1.5%)	3 (0.9%)	1 (0.3%)	34 (10.5%)	$14,642			$893			$13,749	82.1	88.1	319	122		060256511992
442	Cedarlane Academy	Public	K-8	16333 Cedarlane Dr.	Hacienda Heights	91745	Los Angeles County	Hacienda la Puente Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(626) 933-8002	878	39	22.6	69.6%	10 (1.1%)	6 (0.7%)	420 (47.8%)	418 (47.6%)	1 (0.1%)	2 (0.2%)	21 (2.4%)	$19,366			$1,599			$17,767	82	80.8	463	21		061632512808
443	Sacramento Valley Charter	Public, Charter	K-8	2399 Sellers Way	West Sacramento	95691	Yolo County	Sacramento Valley Charter District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(916) 596-6422	415	22	18.7	37.8%	10 (2.4%)	3 (0.7%)	20 (4.8%)	371 (89.4%)	3 (0.7%)	3 (0.7%)	5 (1.2%)								81.8	79.8	479	36		060206512962
444	Creekview Ranch	Public	K-8	8779 Cook Riolo Rd.	Roseville	95747	Placer County	Dry Creek Joint Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(916) 770-8845	838	39	21.3	45.9%	373 (44.5%)	29 (3.5%)	199 (23.7%)	124 (14.8%)	1 (0.1%)	7 (0.8%)	104 (12.4%)	$14,331			$1,109			$13,222	81.8	75	590	146		061149013755
445	Classical Academy Vista	Public, Charter	K-8	2022 University Dr	Vista	92083	San Diego County	Classical Academy Vista District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 330-9800	651	28	23.2	28.0%	388 (59.6%)	9 (1.4%)	179 (27.5%)	14 (2.2%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	60 (9.2%)	$12,917			$150			$12,767	81.8	82.5	429	16		060147314298
446	Vail Ranch Middle	Public	6-8	33340 Camino Piedra Rojo	Temecula	92592	Riverside County	Temecula Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(951) 302-5188	765	36	21.1	26.8%	312 (40.8%)	21 (2.7%)	234 (30.6%)	98 (12.8%)	6 (0.8%)	5 (0.7%)	89 (11.6%)	$16,013			$1,151			$14,862	81.8	80.3	471	25		060002803647
447	SLVUSD Charter	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	325 Marion Ave.	Ben Lomond	95005	Santa Cruz County	San Lorenzo Valley Unified	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 335-0932	301	12	25.7	20.6%	227 (75.4%)	4 (1.3%)	34 (11.3%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	35 (11.6%)	$17,567			$718			$16,849	81.7	81.2	454	7		063474002797
448	Ynez Elementary	Public	K-8	120 South Ynez Ave.	Monterey Park	91754	Los Angeles County	Alhambra Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(626) 570-6260	695	32	21.6	63.7%	7 (1.0%)	1 (0.1%)	159 (22.9%)	504 (72.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	24 (3.5%)	$12,064			$1,305			$10,759	81.7	87.5	336	112		060015310946
449	Bethune K-8	Public	K-8	6835 Benjamin Holt Rd.	San Diego	92114	San Diego County	San Diego Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 860-5800	520	23	22.6	72.1%	8 (1.5%)	26 (5.0%)	121 (23.3%)	308 (59.2%)	1 (0.2%)	4 (0.8%)	52 (10.0%)	$20,014			$3,437			$16,577	81.7	74.8	593	144		063432008963
450	Natomas Pacific Pathways Prep Middle	Public, Charter	6-8	3700 Del Paso Rd.	Sacramento	95834	Sacramento County	Natomas Unified	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(916) 567-5740	513	23	22.1	37.6%	48 (9.4%)	31 (6.0%)	113 (22.0%)	269 (52.4%)	1 (0.2%)	7 (1.4%)	44 (8.6%)	$13,373			$1,222			$12,151	81.7	86.2	365	85		060003612523

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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 Native American Students Pacific Islander Students White Students Multi-racial 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 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:

Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA): Transforming Education in America

Charter Schools vs Regular Public Schools: Understanding the Key Differences

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