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
1191	Martin Luther King Junior Middle	Public	6-8	1290 Ivey Ranch Rd.	Oceanside	92057	San Diego County	Oceanside Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 901-8800	1,098	47	23.3	63.9%	210 (19.1%)	49 (4.5%)	588 (53.6%)	72 (6.6%)	4 (0.4%)	29 (2.6%)	146 (13.3%)	$10,126			$1,001			$9,125	49.4	60.2	880	311		062825003970
1192	Valley View Middle	Public	6-8	3347 Tapo St.	Simi Valley	93063	Ventura County	Simi Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 520-6820	1,329	54	24.7	41.2%	572 (43.0%)	20 (1.5%)	527 (39.7%)	123 (9.3%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	86 (6.5%)	$15,020			$1,011			$14,009	49.4	47.8	1222	30		063684006272
1193	Magnolia Science Academy Santa Ana	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	2840 West 1st St.	Santa Ana	92703	Orange County	Magnolia Science Academy Santa Ana District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 479-0115	524	29	17.9	79.8%	72 (13.7%)	7 (1.3%)	425 (81.1%)	14 (2.7%)	5 (1.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	$21,311			$1,477			$19,834	49.3	51.4	1125	68		060146112419
1194	Iftin Charter	Public, Charter	K-8	5465 El Cajon Blvd.	San Diego	92115	San Diego County	Iftin Charter District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 265-2411	531	17	31.2	78.7%	30 (5.6%)	384 (72.3%)	44 (8.3%)	56 (10.5%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	16 (3.0%)	$17,814			$2,891			$14,923	49.3	39.7	1475	281		060152711385
1195	Pescadero Elementary and Middle	Public	K-8	620 North St.	Pescadero	94060	San Mateo County	La Honda-Pescadero Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(650) 879-0332	126	10	13	42.1%	23 (18.3%)	0 (0.0%)	100 (79.4%)	2 (1.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.8%)	$30,638			$4,240			$26,398	49.3	41.3	1418	223		062022002422
1196	Douglass Middle	Public	7-8	525 Granada Dr.	Woodland	95695	Yolo County	Woodland Joint Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 666-2191	768	39	19.5	73.7%	124 (16.1%)	7 (0.9%)	537 (69.9%)	64 (8.3%)	4 (0.5%)	5 (0.7%)	27 (3.5%)	$10,563			$3,782			$6,781	49.3	41.7	1406	210		064308007901
1197	Valley Robotics Academy	Public, Alternative	K-12	13451 North Extension Rd.	Lodi	95242	San Joaquin County	Lodi Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 331-8008	278	14	20.1	50.7%	87 (31.3%)	15 (5.4%)	92 (33.1%)	63 (22.7%)	1 (0.4%)	7 (2.5%)	13 (4.7%)	$16,843			$2,271			$14,572	49.3	51.7	1118	79		062223014403
1198	Edward Hyatt World Language Academy	Public	K-8	400 East Shaver St.	San Jacinto	92583	Riverside County	San Jacinto Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(951) 654-9391	594	25	23.8	87.9%	14 (2.4%)	15 (2.5%)	560 (94.3%)	2 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.5%)	$9,910			$343			$9,567	49.2	54.8	1018	180		063444014382
1199	Edwin Markham Middle	Public	6-8	2800 Moulton Dr.	Placerville	95667	El Dorado County	Placerville Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 622-0403	431	19	22.3	63.3%	244 (56.6%)	1 (0.2%)	142 (32.9%)	1 (0.2%)	5 (1.2%)	0 (0.0%)	38 (8.8%)	$13,068			$1,184			$11,884	49.2	45.3	1305	106		063078004785
1200	Vista View Middle	Public	6-8	16250 Hickory St.	Fountain Valley	92708	Orange County	Ocean View	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 842-0626	724	34	21	83.1%	71 (9.8%)	8 (1.1%)	450 (62.2%)	165 (22.8%)	1 (0.1%)	2 (0.3%)	26 (3.6%)	$15,822			$1,264			$14,558	49.1	57.7	941	259		062814004350

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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:

High school students working on a science experiment

Magnet Schools: Unleashing the Power of Education

State-Administered Standardized Tests: A Comprehensive Guide

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