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
1372	Academy of Innovation	Public, Virtual, Alternative	K-12	3211 South Main St.	Corona	92882	Riverside County	Corona-Norco Unified	No	(n/a)	Yes	(n/a)	(951) 739-6809	556	36	15.5	68.5%	164 (29.5%)	42 (7.6%)	269 (48.4%)	47 (8.5%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.4%)	28 (5.0%)	$17,236			$632			$16,604	43.7	51.6	1119	253		060985014184
1373	Sequoia Union Elementary	Public	8	23958 Ave. 324	Lemon Cove	93286	Tulare County	Sequoia Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 564-2016	43	6	7.4	48.8%	25 (58.1%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (32.6%)	1 (2.3%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (7.0%)	$23,269			$1,596			$21,673	43.7	72.3	645	728		063636014008
1374	Rosewood Park	Public	K-8	2353 Commerce Way	Commerce	90040	Los Angeles County	Montebello Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(323) 887-7862	585	28	21.2	86.3%	1 (0.2%)	4 (0.7%)	574 (98.1%)	5 (0.9%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	$16,023			$1,045			$14,978	43.7	35.8	1597	223		062547003807
1375	Lincoln Elementary	Public	K-8	851 North Stanford Ave.	Lindsay	93247	Tulare County	Lindsay Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 562-2571	333	19	17.5	86.5%	15 (4.5%)	0 (0.0%)	316 (94.9%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	$26,493			$3,890			$22,603	43.6	50.6	1154	221		062187009389
1376	Evergreen Institute of Excellence	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	19500 Learning Way	Cottonwood	96022	Tehama County	Evergreen Union	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 347-3411	184	12	15.3	57.1%	131 (71.2%)	1 (0.5%)	31 (16.8%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (2.2%)	0 (0.0%)	17 (9.2%)	$14,117			$00			$14,117	43.6	26.6	1971	595		061317013933
1377	Kohl Open Elementary	Public	K-8	4115 North Crown	Stockton	95207	San Joaquin County	Stockton Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 933-7235	221	8	27.6	43.9%	49 (22.2%)	3 (1.4%)	119 (53.8%)	18 (8.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	32 (14.5%)	$14,067			$2,695			$11,372	43.6	39.3	1489	112		063801006417
1378	Virtual Academy of International Studies/Humanities	Public, Virtual, Alternative	K-12	19452 Hart St.	Reseda	91335	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	Yes	(n/a)	(747) 316-2533	665	31	21.6	86.0%	59 (8.9%)	66 (9.9%)	497 (74.7%)	19 (2.9%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	23 (3.5%)	$18,523			$2,817			$15,706	43.5	27.2	1941	563		062271014631
1379	McKee Middle	Public	6-8	205 McKee Rd.	Bakersfield	93307	Kern County	Greenfield Union	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 837-6060	869	44	19.8	93.2%	54 (6.2%)	38 (4.4%)	759 (87.3%)	8 (0.9%)	2 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (0.9%)	$17,112			$2,018			$15,094	43.5	42.5	1384	5		061605011210
1380	Los Angeles Leadership Academy	Public, Charter	6-12	234 East Avenue 33	Los Angeles	90031	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Leadership Academy District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(323) 227-7719	322	21	15.5	91.3%	4 (1.2%)	1 (0.3%)	304 (94.4%)	5 (1.6%)	2 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (1.9%)	$24,449			$4,531			$19,918	43.5	23	2129	749		060149410517
1381	Burton Middle	Public	7-8	1155 North Elderwood St.	Porterville	93257	Tulare County	Burton Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 781-2671	586	28	20.5	83.6%	69 (11.8%)	3 (0.5%)	450 (76.8%)	33 (5.6%)	6 (1.0%)	1 (0.2%)	24 (4.1%)	$19,595			$1,858			$17,737	43.5	40.2	1452	71		060657008800

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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

No Child Left Behind (NCLB): A Comprehensive Analysis of Its Impact on 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.