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
271	Carmel Middle	Public	6-8	4380 Carmel Valley Rd.	Carmel	93922	Monterey County	Carmel Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 624-2785	468	36	13.1	17.3%	293 (62.6%)	0 (0.0%)	95 (20.3%)	20 (4.3%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	58 (12.4%)	$38,867			$784			$38,083	90.3	91.2	250	21		060753000719
272	Col. J. K. Tuffree Middle	Public	7-8	2151 North Kraemer Blvd.	Placentia	92870	Orange County	Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 986-7480	566	24	23.2	46.6%	159 (28.1%)	6 (1.1%)	282 (49.8%)	94 (16.6%)	1 (0.2%)	2 (0.4%)	21 (3.7%)	$18,092			$993			$17,099	90.3	86.9	348	76		063066004772
273	University Preparatory	Public, Charter	6-12	2200 Eureka Way	Redding	96001	Shasta County	University Preparatory District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 245-2790	1,009	48	21.1	31.7%	691 (68.5%)	8 (0.8%)	123 (12.2%)	67 (6.6%)	13 (1.3%)	2 (0.2%)	104 (10.3%)	$12,257			$10			$12,247	90.3	87.5	334	61		060175911467
274	La Paz Intermediate	Public	7-8	25151 Pradera Dr.	Mission Viejo	92691	Orange County	Saddleback Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(949) 830-1720	713	33	21.8	39.7%	310 (43.5%)	7 (1.0%)	223 (31.3%)	89 (12.5%)	1 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	82 (11.5%)	$19,045			$1,362			$17,683	90.2	90.8	261	13		063386005301
275	Gilroy Prep (a Navigator School)	Public, Charter	K-8	277 IOOF Ave.	Gilroy	95020	Santa Clara County	Gilroy Prep (a Navigator School) District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(408) 337-5445	587	21	27.9	45.0%	79 (13.5%)	7 (1.2%)	379 (64.6%)	93 (15.8%)	3 (0.5%)	5 (0.9%)	20 (3.4%)	$16,394			$855			$15,539	90.2	86.1	366	91		060183112751
276	Newcastle Elementary	Public	K-8	8951 Valley View Dr.	Newcastle	95658	Placer County	Newcastle Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(916) 663-3307	164	12	14	13.4%	129 (78.7%)	0 (0.0%)	25 (15.2%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.6%)	0 (0.0%)	9 (5.5%)	$25,537			$2,211			$23,326	90.1	91.4	245	31		062712004093
277	Douglas City Elementary	Public	K-8	100 School Rd.	Douglas City	96024	Trinity County	Douglas City Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 623-6350	162	10	16.9	50.6%	109 (67.3%)	3 (1.9%)	12 (7.4%)	16 (9.9%)	10 (6.2%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (7.4%)	$20,569			$1,138			$19,431	90	89.7	283	6		061143001259
278	Parras (Nick G.) Middle	Public	6-8	200 North Lucia	Redondo Beach	90277	Los Angeles County	Redondo Beach Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 798-8616	1,031	41	25.1	13.0%	489 (47.4%)	31 (3.0%)	212 (20.6%)	146 (14.2%)	2 (0.2%)	1 (0.1%)	149 (14.5%)	$14,088			$1,051			$13,037	90	94.4	174	104		060003204955
279	Travis Ranch	Public	K-8	5200 Via de la Escuela	Yorba Linda	92887	Orange County	Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(714) 986-7460	1,197	52	22.8	23.0%	554 (46.3%)	10 (0.8%)	305 (25.5%)	211 (17.6%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.3%)	114 (9.5%)	$17,580			$1,048			$16,532	90	91.6	241	38		063066009177
280	Public Safety Academy	Public	5-12	230 Atlantic Ave.	Fairfield	94533	Solano County	Fairfield-Suisun Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(707) 421-3933	745	30	24.6	52.6%	125 (16.8%)	57 (7.7%)	314 (42.1%)	159 (21.3%)	3 (0.4%)	11 (1.5%)	75 (10.1%)	$15,863			$1,168			$14,695	89.9	91.1	255	25		061336013081

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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:

State-Administered Standardized Tests: A Comprehensive Guide

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.