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
1492	River Springs Charter	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	27740 Jefferson Ave.	Temecula	92590	Riverside County	River Springs Charter District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(951) 252-8800	7,703	299	25.7	59.2%	2,465 (32.0%)	396 (5.1%)	4,132 (53.6%)	193 (2.5%)	22 (0.3%)	17 (0.2%)	478 (6.2%)								40.2	41.8	1397	95		060208911707
1493	Paramount Park Middle	Public	6-8	14608 Paramount Blvd.	Paramount	90723	Los Angeles County	Paramount Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(562) 602-8052	551	29	19.1	96.2%	6 (1.1%)	39 (7.1%)	492 (89.3%)	5 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (1.3%)	2 (0.4%)	$22,212			$2,298			$19,914	40.1	38.9	1509	16		062985012400
1494	Riverdale Elementary	Public	4-8	3700 Stathem St.	Riverdale	93656	Fresno County	Riverdale Joint Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 867-3589	507	28	17.8	90.5%	46 (9.1%)	5 (1.0%)	453 (89.3%)	3 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	$17,054			$1,794			$15,260	40	40.9	1430	64		060004005118
1495	Sierra Ridge Middle	Public	5-8	2700 Amber Trail	Pollock Pines	95726	El Dorado County	Pollock Pines Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 644-2031	247	14	17.6	45.7%	166 (67.2%)	1 (0.4%)	53 (21.5%)	5 (2.0%)	5 (2.0%)	1 (0.4%)	16 (6.5%)	$11,366			$1,011			$10,355	39.8	38.6	1517	22		063129009423
1496	Juan Lagunas Soria Elementary	Public	K-8	3101 Dunkirk Dr.	Oxnard	93035	Ventura County	Oxnard	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 385-1584	895	40	22.3	74.6%	26 (2.9%)	9 (1.0%)	825 (92.2%)	21 (2.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	13 (1.5%)	$22,973			$2,004			$20,969	39.7	51.1	1138	358		062922012389
1497	Sunset Elementary	Public	K-8	400 Sunset Ave.	Oak View	93022	Ventura County	Ventura Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 649-6600	357	13	27.4	66.1%	165 (46.2%)	0 (0.0%)	175 (49.0%)	8 (2.2%)	1 (0.3%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (2.2%)	$14,863			$2,032			$12,831	39.7	51.1	1139	358		064098008669
1498	Knowledge Enlightens You (KEY) Academy	Public, Charter	K-8	585 Willow Ave.	Hayward	94541	Alameda County	Knowledge Enlightens You (KEY) Academy District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 397-2524	645	25	25.8	81.7%	93 (14.4%)	36 (5.6%)	427 (66.2%)	51 (7.9%)	4 (0.6%)	15 (2.3%)	19 (2.9%)	$16,409			$1,208			$15,201	39.7	43.6	1355	143		060197713351
1499	Rocky Point Charter	Public, Charter	K-8	3500 Tamarack Dr.	Redding	96003	Shasta County	Rocky Point Charter District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 225-0456	178	10	17.5	75.8%	125 (70.2%)	0 (0.0%)	22 (12.4%)	2 (1.1%)	2 (1.1%)	2 (1.1%)	25 (14.0%)	$17,858			$547			$17,311	39.6	42.7	1380	119		060246311927
1500	Arizona Middle	Public	6-8	11045 Arizona Ave.	Riverside	92503	Riverside County	Alvord Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(951) 358-1675	804	37	21.6	88.3%	58 (7.2%)	52 (6.5%)	634 (78.9%)	42 (5.2%)	2 (0.2%)	5 (0.6%)	9 (1.1%)	$18,857			$1,429			$17,428	39.5	33.9	1671	171		060243000129
1501	Olive Vista Middle	Public	6-8	14600 Tyler St.	Sylmar	91342	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(818) 833-3900	897	49	18.2	88.7%	15 (1.7%)	11 (1.2%)	856 (95.4%)	8 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (0.8%)	$23,086			$3,921			$19,165	39.5	32.6	1721	220		062271003236

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Other SchoolDigger ranking lists for California

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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

Alternative Schools vs Public Schools: A Comparison

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