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
2542	Sequoia Junior High	Public	7-8	900 Belle Terr.	Bakersfield	93304	Kern County	Bakersfield City	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 631-5940	746	35	21.5	97.2%	22 (2.9%)	60 (8.0%)	651 (87.3%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	2 (0.3%)	9 (1.2%)	$19,690			$3,749			$15,941	12.4	15	2478	64		060363007099
2543	Envision Academy for Arts & Technology	Public, Charter	6-12	1515 Webster St.	Oakland	94612	Alameda County	Envision Academy for Arts & Technology District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 596-8901	207	12	17.2	73.9%	7 (3.4%)	61 (29.5%)	78 (37.7%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.5%)	58 (28.0%)	$28,559			$3,543			$25,016	12.2	8.2	2715	172		060161410947
2544	Summit Public School K2	Public, Charter	7-12	1800 Elm St.	El Cerrito	94530	Contra Costa County	Summit Public School K2 District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 374-4093	554	25	22.1	81.9%	12 (2.2%)	74 (13.4%)	418 (75.5%)	24 (4.3%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (0.7%)	21 (3.8%)	$18,234			$918			$17,316	12.2	24.6	2048	496		060191213776
2545	Ball Junior High	Public	7-8	1500 West Ball Rd.	Anaheim	92802	Orange County	Anaheim Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 999-3663	737	35	21	92.7%	34 (4.6%)	13 (1.8%)	604 (82.0%)	61 (8.3%)	10 (1.4%)	7 (0.9%)	8 (1.1%)	$19,774			$1,669			$18,105	12.1	11	2627	82		060263000170
2546	Gifford C. Cole Middle	Public	7-8	3126 East Avenue I	Lancaster	93535	Los Angeles County	Eastside Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(661) 946-1041	697	33	21.3	82.1%	31 (4.4%)	156 (22.4%)	471 (67.6%)	6 (0.9%)	1 (0.1%)	2 (0.3%)	30 (4.3%)	$21,494			$3,911			$17,583	12.1	16.4	2421	125		061191009533
2547	Jefferson Middle	Public	6-8	823 Acacia St.	Oceanside	92058	San Diego County	Oceanside Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 966-4700	441	24	18.5	93.0%	20 (4.5%)	11 (2.5%)	377 (85.5%)	15 (3.4%)	1 (0.2%)	3 (0.7%)	14 (3.2%)	$10,463			$1,328			$9,135	12.1	16.7	2409	138		062825004361
2548	Sunnymead Middle	Public	6-8	23996 Eucalyptus Ave.	Moreno Valley	92553	Riverside County	Moreno Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(951) 571-4280	1,185	57	20.7	94.2%	27 (2.3%)	144 (12.2%)	927 (78.2%)	37 (3.1%)	3 (0.3%)	11 (0.9%)	36 (3.0%)	$19,619			$2,263			$17,356	12.1	11.9	2593	45		062580009585
2549	Lucerne Valley Middle	Public	7-8	33233 Rabbit Springs Rd.	Lucerne Valley	92356	San Bernardino County	Lucerne Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 248-2124	195	12	16.1	91.3%	68 (34.9%)	4 (2.1%)	118 (60.5%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	4 (2.1%)	$19,363			$4,366			$14,997	12	11.7	2601	52		060001509084
2550	Ingenium Charter Middle	Public, Charter	6-8	7330 Winnetka Ave.	Winnetka	91306	Los Angeles County	Ingenium Charter Middle District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(818) 309-2777	179	10	18.6	96.6%	4 (2.2%)	8 (4.5%)	161 (89.9%)	4 (2.2%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.6%)	1 (0.6%)	$24,283			$2,223			$22,060	12	17.9	2350	200		060185813466
2551	Riverview Middle	Public	6-8	205 Pacifica Ave.	Bay Point	94565	Contra Costa County	Mt. Diablo Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(925) 458-3216	682	32	21.2	89.3%	19 (2.8%)	76 (11.1%)	489 (71.7%)	46 (6.7%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (0.9%)	45 (6.6%)	$2,635			$1,044			$1,591	12	11.6	2610	59		062637003969

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New! SchoolDigger ranking lists for CA student subgroups:

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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:

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

Girl in a wheelchair raising her hand in a classroom setting

Understanding an IEP: The Ultimate Guide for Parents and Educators

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