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
811	The Language Academy of Sacramento	Public, Charter	K-8	2850 49th St.	Sacramento	95817	Sacramento County	The Language Academy of Sacramento District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(916) 277-7137	615	32	19.1	71.2%	26 (4.2%)	5 (0.8%)	575 (93.5%)	3 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (1.0%)	$14,062			$1,582			$12,480	63.7	64.5	796	15		060178611076
812	Grace Yokley Junior High	Public	7-8	2947 South Turner Ave.	Ontario	91761	San Bernardino County	Mountain View Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(909) 947-6774	606	29	21.2	66.0%	57 (9.4%)	56 (9.2%)	419 (69.1%)	65 (10.7%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (1.2%)	$17,178			$1,607			$15,571	63.7	65.7	777	35		062622007789
813	Marina Middle	Public	6-8	3500 Fillmore St.	San Francisco	94123	San Francisco County	San Francisco Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(415) 749-3495	646	38	16.8	75.9%	55 (8.5%)	38 (5.9%)	114 (17.6%)	393 (60.8%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.5%)	42 (6.5%)	$21,832			$2,104			$19,728	63.7	67.2	739	74		063441005645
814	CORE Butte Charter	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	2847 Notre Dame Blvd.	Chico	95928	Butte County	CORE Butte Charter District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 894-3952	916	53	17.1	53.4%	647 (70.6%)	10 (1.1%)	162 (17.7%)	11 (1.2%)	3 (0.3%)	2 (0.2%)	76 (8.3%)	$14,231			$796			$13,435	63.6	65.6	779	35		060184311953
815	Bella Vista Elementary	Public	K-8	22661 Old Alturas Rd.	Bella Vista	96008	Shasta County	Bella Vista Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 549-4415	343	19	17.9	63.6%	235 (68.5%)	0 (0.0%)	61 (17.8%)	3 (0.9%)	8 (2.3%)	0 (0.0%)	36 (10.5%)	$17,074			$1,802			$15,272	63.5	48.5	1205	390		060435000392
816	Natomas Charter	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	2920 Advantage Way	Sacramento	95834	Sacramento County	Natomas Charter District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(916) 419-3788	1,850	79	23.4	39.8%	358 (19.4%)	196 (10.6%)	541 (29.2%)	441 (23.8%)	3 (0.2%)	12 (0.6%)	299 (16.2%)	$13,714			$344			$13,370	63.5	70.9	671	145		060200307250
817	Richmond College Preparatory	Public, Charter	K-8	214 South 11th St.	Richmond	94804	Contra Costa County	Richmond College Preparatory District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 235-2066	560	16	36.1	86.4%	1 (0.2%)	79 (14.1%)	449 (80.2%)	9 (1.6%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (0.9%)	17 (3.0%)	$18,379			$814			$17,565	63.4	65.2	785	32		060172211576
818	Goethe International Charter	Public, Charter	K-8	12500 Braddock Dr.	Los Angeles	90066	Los Angeles County	Goethe International Charter District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 306-3484	479	23	20.6	25.1%	165 (34.4%)	82 (17.1%)	144 (30.1%)	22 (4.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	66 (13.8%)	$13,378			$535			$12,843	63.4	73.9	612	206		060217812215
819	Sky Mountain Charter	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	4535 Missouri Flat Rd. Ste. 1A	Placerville	95667	El Dorado County	Sky Mountain Charter District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(800) 976-4436	2,511	108	23.3	37.1%	778 (31.0%)	87 (3.5%)	1,036 (41.3%)	152 (6.1%)	3 (0.1%)	6 (0.2%)	447 (17.8%)	$11,737			$595			$11,142	63.4	71.6	662	157		060174311860
820	Chrysalis Charter	Public, Charter	K-8	21945 Old Forty-Four Dr.	Palo Cedro	96073	Shasta County	Chrysalis Charter District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 547-9726	226	11	20.5	38.9%	166 (73.5%)	0 (0.0%)	31 (13.7%)	1 (0.4%)	2 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	26 (11.5%)	$12,514			$1,110			$11,404	63.4	67.3	732	88		060225311800

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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

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.