Best Middle Schools in California

A teacher high-fives a student in a classroom.

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.

Be the first to know when we post new test scores and rankings!

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
1081	Sonora Elementary	Public	K-8	830 Greenley Rd.	Sonora	95370	Tuolumne County	Sonora Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 532-5491	643	32	20	48.2%	462 (71.9%)	5 (0.8%)	113 (17.6%)	15 (2.3%)	18 (2.8%)	1 (0.2%)	29 (4.5%)	$14,324			$1,938			$12,386	53.8	60.6	869	212		063723006305
1082	La Tijera Academy of Excellence Charter	Public, Charter	K-8	1415 North La Tijera Blvd.	Inglewood	90302	Los Angeles County	Inglewood Unified	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 680-5260	552	24	23	92.8%	0 (0.0%)	325 (58.9%)	183 (33.2%)	3 (0.5%)	2 (0.4%)	2 (0.4%)	37 (6.7%)								53.8	40.7	1438	356		061839002257
1083	Ladera Vista Junior High School of the Arts	Public	7-8	1700 East Wilshire Dr.	Fullerton	92831	Orange County	Fullerton Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 447-7765	820	37	22	62.6%	160 (19.5%)	21 (2.6%)	525 (64.0%)	67 (8.2%)	0 (0.0%)	2 (0.2%)	44 (5.4%)	$18,232			$425			$17,807	53.8	63.8	805	278		061473001795
1084	Clovis Online Charter	Public, Virtual, Charter, Alternative	K-12	1655 David E Cook Way	Clovis	93611	Fresno County	Clovis Unified	Yes	(n/a)	Yes	(n/a)	(559) 327-4400	797	20	40.1	59.5%	251 (31.5%)	24 (3.0%)	408 (51.2%)	61 (7.7%)	7 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	44 (5.5%)	$17,528			$354			$17,174	53.8	35.7	1599	515		060903012267
1085	Knightsen Elementary	Public	K-8	1923 Delta Rd.	Knightsen	94548	Contra Costa County	Knightsen Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(925) 625-0073	316	14	23	38.0%	130 (41.1%)	5 (1.6%)	157 (49.7%)	1 (0.3%)	3 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (6.3%)	$16,987			$1,780			$15,207	53.8	47.7	1228	143		062004002397
1086	California Virtual Academy at Sutter	Public, Virtual, Charter, Alternative	K-12	50 Moreland Rd.	Simi Valley	93065	Ventura County	California Virtual Academy at Sutter District	Yes	(n/a)	Yes	(n/a)	(805) 581-0202	1,623	60	27.2	71.3%	524 (32.3%)	275 (16.9%)	462 (28.5%)	183 (11.3%)	21 (1.3%)	28 (1.7%)	130 (8.0%)	$10,481			$399			$10,082	53.7	39.1	1503	417		060181013698
1087	Liberty Elementary	Public	K-8	1771 East Pacific Ave.	Tulare	93274	Tulare County	Liberty Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 686-1675	861	38	22.6	48.5%	336 (39.0%)	18 (2.1%)	459 (53.3%)	21 (2.4%)	10 (1.2%)	1 (0.1%)	16 (1.9%)	$1,662			$592			$1,070	53.7	50.7	1153	66		062157002571
1088	John McCandless Charter	Public, Charter	K-8	915 Rose Marie Ln.	Stockton	95207	San Joaquin County	Lincoln Unified	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 888-0160	434	21	20.5	58.5%	80 (18.4%)	20 (4.6%)	232 (53.5%)	44 (10.1%)	2 (0.5%)	7 (1.6%)	49 (11.3%)	$16,067			$1,675			$14,392	53.7	43.5	1357	269		062169013919
1089	Oak Valley Elementary	Public	K-8	24500 Road 68	Tulare	93274	Tulare County	Oak Valley Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 688-2908	562	31	17.8	65.3%	101 (18.0%)	6 (1.1%)	447 (79.5%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	7 (1.2%)	$19,186			$485			$18,701	53.6	52.9	1073	16		062790004228
1090	Cortez Elementary	Public	K-8	1300 North Dudley	Pomona	91768	Los Angeles County	Pomona Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(909) 397-4750	607	25	24.7	91.6%	11 (1.8%)	11 (1.8%)	566 (93.2%)	12 (2.0%)	1 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (1.0%)	$20,654			$2,462			$18,192	53.6	53	1070	20		063132011672

Sign up for updates!

Be the first to know when we update our rankings!

Other SchoolDigger ranking lists for California

Elementary Schools Middle Schools High Schools Districts Cities

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:

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

Public School Districts and Their Services: 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.