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
221	University Preparatory Academy Charter	Public, Charter	7-12	2315 Canoas Garden Ave.	San Jose	95125	Santa Clara County	University Preparatory Academy Charter District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(408) 723-1839	727	38	19.3	27.8%	40 (5.5%)	135 (18.6%)	129 (17.7%)	366 (50.3%)	1 (0.1%)	3 (0.4%)	53 (7.3%)	$12,808			$218			$12,590	92.1	95.2	145	76		060223312016
222	Adams Middle	Public	6-8	2600 Ripley Ave.	Redondo Beach	90278	Los Angeles County	Redondo Beach Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 798-8636	1,165	49	23.9	17.9%	407 (34.9%)	45 (3.9%)	336 (28.8%)	197 (16.9%)	1 (0.1%)	2 (0.2%)	177 (15.2%)	$14,343			$1,238			$13,105	92.1	92	229	7		060003204949
223	Altamont Elementary	Public	K-8	452 West Saint Francis St.	Mountain House	95391	San Joaquin County	Lammersville Joint Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 836-7240	616	27	22.9	12.7%	84 (13.6%)	43 (7.0%)	111 (18.0%)	312 (50.6%)	2 (0.3%)	4 (0.6%)	60 (9.7%)	$12,427			$157			$12,270	92.1	94.5	173	50		060141013781
224	Da Vinci Charter Academy	Public, Charter	7-12	1400 East Eighth St.	Davis	95616	Yolo County	Davis Joint Unified	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 757-7154	562	31	18.3	24.7%	315 (56.0%)	14 (2.5%)	121 (21.5%)	40 (7.1%)	5 (0.9%)	2 (0.4%)	55 (9.8%)	$19,140			$874			$18,266	92.1	86.6	354	130		061062012422
225	Oak Grove Elementary	Public	K-8	4445 West Ferguson Ave.	Visalia	93291	Tulare County	Visalia Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 622-3105	756	29	25.8	32.5%	227 (30.0%)	4 (0.5%)	378 (50.0%)	94 (12.4%)	2 (0.3%)	2 (0.3%)	49 (6.5%)	$17,894			$2,474			$15,420	92	86.5	355	130		064116011529
226	Genevieve Didion	Public	K-8	6490 Harmon Dr.	Sacramento	95831	Sacramento County	Sacramento City Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(916) 395-4575	609	27	22.9	29.2%	129 (21.2%)	14 (2.3%)	160 (26.3%)	176 (28.9%)	2 (0.3%)	3 (0.5%)	123 (20.2%)	$19,479			$3,176			$16,303	92	94.1	182	44		063384005244
227	Rio Norte Junior High	Public	7-8	28771 Rio Norte Dr.	Santa Clarita	91354	Los Angeles County	William S. Hart Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 295-3700	1,138	47	24	17.0%	436 (38.3%)	54 (4.7%)	282 (24.8%)	294 (25.8%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.2%)	70 (6.2%)	$16,742			$1,862			$14,880	92	90.1	276	49		064251011320
228	Isaac L. Sowers Middle	Public	6-8	9300 Indianapolis Ave.	Huntington Beach	92646	Orange County	Huntington Beach City Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 962-7738	771	32	24.2	25.0%	451 (58.5%)	3 (0.4%)	120 (15.6%)	96 (12.5%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	99 (12.8%)	$16,952			$1,038			$15,914	91.9	89.1	296	68		061803002225
229	Talbert (Samuel E.) Middle	Public	6-8	9101 Brabham Dr.	Huntington Beach	92646	Orange County	Fountain Valley Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 378-4220	690	34	20.4	21.3%	325 (47.1%)	1 (0.1%)	156 (22.6%)	118 (17.1%)	1 (0.1%)	2 (0.3%)	87 (12.6%)	$14,422			$764			$13,658	91.9	92.6	217	12		061422001634
230	Foothill Middle	Public	6-8	2775 Cedro Ln.	Walnut Creek	94598	Contra Costa County	Mt. Diablo Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(925) 939-8600	1,005	39	25.7	8.4%	442 (44.0%)	8 (0.8%)	169 (16.8%)	203 (20.2%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (0.5%)	178 (17.7%)	$1,319			$352			$967	91.8	90.8	262	32		062637003947

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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:

State-Administered Standardized Tests: A Comprehensive Guide

Girl in a wheelchair raising her hand in a classroom setting

Understanding an IEP: The Ultimate Guide for Parents and Educators

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