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
421	Clinton William Jefferson	Public	K-8	6500 Compton Blvd.	Compton	90221	Los Angeles County	Compton Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(562) 630-7912	692	27	25.2	88.7%	4 (0.6%)	27 (3.9%)	660 (95.4%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	$21,340			$3,366			$17,974	82.8	76.6	554	133		060962011323
422	Coastal Academy Charter	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	4096 Calle Platino	Oceanside	92056	San Diego County	Coastal Academy Charter District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 631-4020	2,015	82	24.4	30.6%	1,107 (54.9%)	37 (1.8%)	567 (28.1%)	55 (2.7%)	2 (0.1%)	4 (0.2%)	240 (11.9%)	$12,490			$153			$12,337	82.8	81.6	447	25		060225814145
423	Connecting Waters Charter - East Bay	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	703 C St.	Union City	94587	Alameda County	Connecting Waters Charter - East Bay District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 874-1119	540	30	17.9	30.4%	115 (21.3%)	21 (3.9%)	48 (8.9%)	242 (44.8%)	3 (0.6%)	1 (0.2%)	108 (20.0%)	$12,990			$143			$12,847	82.7	82.5	427	4		060215914091
424	Marcum-Illinois Union Elementary	Public	K-8	2452 El Centro Blvd.	East Nicolaus	95659	Sutter County	Marcum-Illinois Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 656-2407	179	10	17.9	29.6%	113 (63.1%)	0 (0.0%)	49 (27.4%)	3 (1.7%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (1.1%)	12 (6.7%)	$16,732			$737			$15,995	82.6	71.3	667	243		062380003595
425	Orcutt Academy Charter	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	500 Dyer St.	Orcutt	93455	Santa Barbara County	Orcutt Union Elementary	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 938-8900	812	35	23.2	50.5%	311 (38.3%)	11 (1.4%)	371 (45.7%)	19 (2.3%)	4 (0.5%)	2 (0.2%)	89 (11.0%)	$11,142			$331			$10,811	82.6	75.8	569	144		062871012315
426	Franklin Elementary	Public	K-8	7050 Franklin School Rd.	Loomis	95650	Placer County	Loomis Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(916) 652-1818	433	21	20.4	11.3%	320 (73.9%)	3 (0.7%)	50 (11.5%)	16 (3.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	44 (10.2%)	$12,699			$1,064			$11,635	82.6	92.7	215	211		062256002771
427	Muscatel Middle	Public	7-8	4201 North Ivar Ave.	Rosemead	91770	Los Angeles County	Rosemead Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(626) 287-1139	511	24	20.9	76.7%	7 (1.4%)	0 (0.0%)	189 (37.0%)	296 (57.9%)	3 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (3.1%)	$20,073			$1,935			$18,138	82.5	87.8	327	100		063357005180
428	Leonardo Da Vinci	Public	K-8	4701 Joaquin Way	Sacramento	95822	Sacramento County	Sacramento City Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(916) 395-4635	822	38	21.9	26.9%	283 (34.4%)	52 (6.3%)	299 (36.4%)	83 (10.1%)	2 (0.2%)	4 (0.5%)	99 (12.0%)	$20,601			$3,302			$17,299	82.5	75.2	585	157		063384010040
429	Redwood Preparatory Charter	Public, Charter	K-8	1480 Ross Hill Rd.	Fortuna	95540	Humboldt County	Redwood Preparatory Charter District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(707) 682-6149	236	10	23.6	44.9%	150 (63.6%)	0 (0.0%)	49 (20.8%)	7 (3.0%)	2 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	28 (11.9%)	$12,635			$696			$11,939	82.5	95.3	141	288		060199512857
430	Arlie F. Hutchinson Middle	Public	6-8	13900 Estero Rd.	La Mirada	90638	Los Angeles County	Norwalk-La Mirada Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(562) 210-2945	646	29	22	59.3%	54 (8.4%)	13 (2.0%)	459 (71.1%)	85 (13.2%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.3%)	33 (5.1%)	$17,527			$459			$17,068	82.5	74.2	606	176		062769004170

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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:

Girl in a wheelchair raising her hand in a classroom setting

Understanding an IEP: The Ultimate Guide for Parents and Educators

Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA): Transforming Education in America

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