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
261	Laguna Middle	Public	7-8	11050 Los Osos Valley Rd.	San Luis Obispo	93405	San Luis Obispo County	San Luis Coastal Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 596-4055	780	39	19.8	43.3%	427 (54.7%)	11 (1.4%)	234 (30.0%)	45 (5.8%)	3 (0.4%)	1 (0.1%)	57 (7.3%)	$15,576			$1,008			$14,568	90.6	91	256	5		063480005872
262	San Jose Charter Academy	Public, Charter	K-8	2021 West Alwood St.	West Covina	91790	Los Angeles County	San Jose Charter Academy District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(626) 856-1693	1,255	55	22.8	53.7%	50 (4.0%)	9 (0.7%)	850 (67.7%)	332 (26.5%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.2%)	12 (1.0%)	$16,359			$1,892			$14,467	90.5	89.9	279	17		060169507533
263	Language Academy	Public	K-8	4961 64th St.	San Diego	92115	San Diego County	San Diego Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 860-5150	1,015	43	23.7	43.9%	249 (24.5%)	94 (9.3%)	551 (54.3%)	21 (2.1%)	5 (0.5%)	1 (0.1%)	94 (9.3%)	$18,868			$3,301			$15,567	90.5	87.3	339	76		063432005275
264	De Portola Middle	Public	6-8	11010 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.	San Diego	92124	San Diego County	San Diego Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(858) 496-8080	680	29	23.7	45.0%	239 (35.1%)	29 (4.3%)	245 (36.0%)	65 (9.6%)	2 (0.3%)	3 (0.4%)	97 (14.3%)	$19,792			$2,696			$17,096	90.5	88.7	303	39		063432008964
265	Murrieta Canyon Academy	Public, Alternative	K-12	24150 Hayes Ave.	Murrieta	92562	Riverside County	Murrieta Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(951) 696-1661	296	24	12.2	62.5%	91 (30.7%)	18 (6.1%)	147 (49.7%)	16 (5.4%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (1.0%)	21 (7.1%)	$20,992			$260			$20,732	90.5	60.7	866	601		060002911241
266	Ophir STEAM Academy	Public	K-8	1373 Lozanos Rd.	Newcastle	95658	Placer County	Loomis Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 885-3495	200	10	19.2	21.0%	154 (77.0%)	3 (1.5%)	29 (14.5%)	2 (1.0%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	11 (5.5%)	$13,812			$1,047			$12,765	90.5	81	458	192		062256004416
267	Miraleste Intermediate	Public	6-8	29323 Palos Verdes Dr. East	Rancho Palos Verdes	90275	Los Angeles County	Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 732-0900	720	35	20.4	14.2%	300 (41.7%)	14 (1.9%)	168 (23.3%)	127 (17.6%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	110 (15.3%)	$16,019			$560			$15,459	90.5	94.6	166	101		062970004620
268	Pioneer Middle	Public	6-8	2700 Pioneer Rd.	Tustin	92782	Orange County	Tustin Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 730-7534	971	37	26.3	39.4%	187 (19.3%)	21 (2.2%)	272 (28.0%)	377 (38.8%)	1 (0.1%)	3 (0.3%)	110 (11.3%)	$18,621			$1,278			$17,343	90.4	93.6	196	72		064015008250
269	Walnut Creek Intermediate	Public	6-8	2425 Walnut Blvd.	Walnut Creek	94597	Contra Costa County	Walnut Creek Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(925) 944-6840	940	42	22.1	15.3%	447 (47.6%)	29 (3.1%)	179 (19.0%)	161 (17.1%)	1 (0.1%)	3 (0.3%)	119 (12.7%)	$14,850			$697			$14,153	90.4	90.2	273	4		064125006831
270	Mesa View Middle	Public	6-8	17601 Avilla Ln.	Huntington Beach	92647	Orange County	Ocean View	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 842-6608	817	35	23.1	45.4%	285 (34.9%)	5 (0.6%)	283 (34.6%)	134 (16.4%)	1 (0.1%)	6 (0.7%)	102 (12.5%)	$16,806			$839			$15,967	90.4	94.9	157	113		062814004340

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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:

Charter Schools vs Regular Public Schools: Understanding the Key Differences

Student-Teacher Ratios and their Impact on Class Sizes & School Selection

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