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
1902	Mar Vista Academy	Public	7-8	1267 Thermal Ave.	San Diego	92154	San Diego County	Sweetwater Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 628-5100	462	26	18	59.5%	24 (5.2%)	13 (2.8%)	374 (81.0%)	38 (8.2%)	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.4%)	10 (2.2%)								27.9	24.5	2056	154		063864006485
1903	Rio del Valle Middle	Public	6-8	3100 Rose Ave.	Oxnard	93036	Ventura County	Rio Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(805) 485-3119	569	30	19	77.9%	14 (2.5%)	4 (0.7%)	519 (91.2%)	25 (4.4%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (1.1%)	$26,513			$1,955			$24,558	27.8	29.1	1856	47		063276005089
1904	Roy Romer Middle	Public	6-8	6501 Laurel Canyon Blvd.	North Hollywood	91606	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(818) 505-2200	707	38	18.8	94.1%	37 (5.2%)	11 (1.6%)	637 (90.1%)	13 (1.8%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	7 (1.0%)	$22,554			$3,985			$18,569	27.8	25.3	2020	116		062271012207
1905	Divisadero Middle	Public	7-8	1200 South Divisadero	Visalia	93277	Tulare County	Visalia Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 730-7661	769	35	21.8	79.5%	75 (9.8%)	17 (2.2%)	590 (76.7%)	42 (5.5%)	2 (0.3%)	2 (0.3%)	41 (5.3%)	$18,799			$2,949			$15,850	27.8	23.4	2110	205		064116006788
1906	Morada Middle	Public	7-8	5001 Eastview Dr.	Stockton	95212	San Joaquin County	Lodi Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 953-8490	685	35	19.3	83.1%	16 (2.3%)	55 (8.0%)	300 (43.8%)	285 (41.6%)	2 (0.3%)	6 (0.9%)	21 (3.1%)	$16,552			$2,296			$14,256	27.8	33.3	1696	210		062223002659
1907	Gompers Preparatory Academy	Public, Charter	6-12	1005 47th St.	San Diego	92102	San Diego County	Gompers Preparatory Academy District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 263-2171	1,175	56	20.8	83.0%	10 (0.9%)	37 (3.1%)	1,085 (92.3%)	33 (2.8%)	3 (0.3%)	2 (0.2%)	5 (0.4%)	$16,827			$1,947			$14,880	27.7	25.4	2017	110		060178812386
1908	Invictus Academy of Richmond	Public, Charter	7-12	7150 Portola Dr.	El Cerrito	94530	Contra Costa County	Invictus Academy of Richmond District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 994-0888	403	24	16.4	78.9%	21 (5.2%)	47 (11.7%)	300 (74.4%)	13 (3.2%)	3 (0.7%)	2 (0.5%)	17 (4.2%)	$16,569			$712			$15,857	27.7	29.6	1826	82		060203714304
1909	Watsonville Charter School of the Arts	Public, Charter	K-8	115 Casserly Rd. West Campus	Watsonville	95076	Santa Cruz County	Pajaro Valley Unified	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 728-8123	415	18	22.8	55.9%	98 (23.6%)	1 (0.2%)	297 (71.6%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	15 (3.6%)								27.6	23.5	2104	195		062949010413
1910	Chemawa Middle	Public	7-8	8830 Magnolia Ave.	Riverside	92503	Riverside County	Riverside Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(951) 352-8244	885	37	23.6	89.0%	67 (7.6%)	39 (4.4%)	726 (82.0%)	23 (2.6%)	4 (0.5%)	6 (0.7%)	18 (2.0%)	$17,745			$1,546			$16,199	27.6	26.8	1959	49		063315005135
1911	Bell Middle	Public	6-8	620 Briarwood Rd.	San Diego	92139	San Diego County	San Diego Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 430-1000	700	33	21.4	81.1%	26 (3.7%)	92 (13.1%)	377 (53.9%)	143 (20.4%)	4 (0.6%)	5 (0.7%)	53 (7.6%)	$21,167			$3,526			$17,641	27.5	24.5	2054	143		063432005419

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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:

Public School Districts and Their Services: A Comprehensive Guide

State-Administered Standardized Tests: A Comprehensive Guide

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