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
641	Piedmont Middle	Public	6-8	955 Piedmont Rd.	San Jose	95132	Santa Clara County	Berryessa Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(408) 923-1945	591	26	22.7	34.0%	21 (3.6%)	7 (1.2%)	206 (34.9%)	315 (53.3%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (0.7%)	38 (6.4%)	$16,937			$1,054			$15,883	71.7	70.7	676	35		060480000464
642	Sundale Elementary	Public	K-8	13990 Avenue 240	Tulare	93274	Tulare County	Sundale Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 688-7320	840	33	25.4	39.2%	398 (47.4%)	1 (0.1%)	399 (47.5%)	7 (0.8%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	33 (3.9%)	$14,435			$493			$13,942	71.6	73.6	619	23		063834006453
643	Scholarship Prep - Oceanside	Public, Charter	K-8	4070 Mission Ave.	Oceanside	92057	San Diego County	Scholarship Prep - Oceanside District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(442) 262-3249	626	23	27.2	72.5%	111 (17.7%)	32 (5.1%)	438 (70.0%)	18 (2.9%)	1 (0.2%)	11 (1.8%)	15 (2.4%)	$18,441			$2,195			$16,246	71.5	70.9	670	27		060160014079
644	Emerson Community Charter	Public, Charter	6-8	1650 Selby Ave.	Los Angeles	90024	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 234-3100	454	23	19.9	57.9%	138 (30.4%)	54 (11.9%)	183 (40.3%)	30 (6.6%)	2 (0.4%)	0 (0.0%)	47 (10.4%)	$21,778			$3,247			$18,531	71.3	61.3	855	211		062271002987
645	Castaic Middle	Public	7-8	28900 Hillcrest Pkwy.	Castaic	91384	Los Angeles County	Castaic Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 257-4550	451	20	22.7	50.8%	157 (34.8%)	12 (2.7%)	216 (47.9%)	29 (6.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	36 (8.0%)	$17,609			$421			$17,188	71.2	64.3	797	152		060774009121
646	Allegiance STEAM Academy - Thrive	Public, Charter	K-8	5862 C St.	Chino	91710	San Bernardino County	Allegiance STEAM Academy - Thrive District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(909) 465-5404	950	44	21.7	31.9%	76 (8.0%)	43 (4.5%)	638 (67.2%)	153 (16.1%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	39 (4.1%)	$13,695			$685			$13,010	71.2	73.1	631	15		060217514235
647	Silverado Middle	Public	6-8	2525 Country Club Dr.	Roseville	95747	Placer County	Dry Creek Joint Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(916) 780-2620	1,010	42	24.3	33.5%	486 (48.1%)	12 (1.2%)	239 (23.7%)	135 (13.4%)	6 (0.6%)	6 (0.6%)	126 (12.5%)	$12,972			$677			$12,295	71.2	77.3	543	104		061149008253
648	Joe Michell	Public	K-8	1001 Elaine Ave.	Livermore	94550	Alameda County	Livermore Valley Joint Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(925) 606-4738	786	36	22	17.7%	324 (41.2%)	11 (1.4%)	236 (30.0%)	139 (17.7%)	2 (0.3%)	2 (0.3%)	72 (9.2%)	$15,992			$248			$15,744	71.2	67.2	735	87		062211002628
649	Twin Peaks Middle	Public	6-8	14640 Tierra Bonita Rd.	Poway	92064	San Diego County	Poway Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(858) 748-5131	1,164	54	21.4	18.4%	643 (55.2%)	12 (1.0%)	282 (24.2%)	89 (7.6%)	2 (0.2%)	1 (0.1%)	132 (11.3%)	$15,619			$608			$15,011	71.2	79.2	493	156		063153004898
650	Louis Lake Intermediate	Public	7-8	10801 Orangewood Ave.	Garden Grove	92840	Orange County	Garden Grove Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 663-6506	453	17	26.7	81.7%	21 (4.6%)	4 (0.9%)	250 (55.2%)	166 (36.6%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.4%)	10 (2.2%)	$19,632			$2,162			$17,470	71.2	72.2	646	4		061488008753

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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:

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

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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.