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
591	Sutter Peak Charter Academy	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	3934 Broadway Rd.	Live Oak	95953	Sutter County	Sutter Peak Charter Academy District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(916) 468-4044	714	29	24.8	40.5%	445 (62.3%)	18 (2.5%)	159 (22.3%)	57 (8.0%)	18 (2.5%)	2 (0.3%)	15 (2.1%)	$11,513			$257			$11,256	74.6	78.6	517	74		060151213958
592	Ferndale Elementary	Public	K-8	164 Shaw Ave.	Ferndale	95536	Humboldt County	Ferndale Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(707) 786-5300	338	17	19.3	45.9%	246 (72.8%)	0 (0.0%)	64 (18.9%)	2 (0.6%)	14 (4.1%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (3.6%)	$10,891			$1,123			$9,768	74.5	66.7	752	160		060003701550
593	Monterey Bay Charter	Public, Charter	K-8	1004 David Ave.	Pacific Grove	93950	Monterey County	Monterey Bay Charter District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 655-4638	475	17	27.9	31.2%	260 (54.7%)	3 (0.6%)	128 (26.9%)	16 (3.4%)	3 (0.6%)	3 (0.6%)	62 (13.1%)	$14,176			$436			$13,740	74.4	73.8	615	22		060157011695
594	Pleasant Hill Middle	Public	6-8	1 Santa Barbara Rd.	Pleasant Hill	94523	Contra Costa County	Mt. Diablo Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(925) 256-0791	738	32	23.2	44.4%	291 (39.4%)	26 (3.5%)	240 (32.5%)	72 (9.8%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (0.7%)	104 (14.1%)	$1,569			$377			$1,192	74.3	67.4	729	135		062637007076
595	Millville Elementary	Public	K-8	8570 Brookdale Rd.	Millville	96062	Shasta County	Millville Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 547-4471	208	11	19.6	45.7%	162 (77.9%)	3 (1.4%)	15 (7.2%)	2 (1.0%)	9 (4.3%)	2 (1.0%)	15 (7.2%)	$17,515			$1,499			$16,016	74.3	73.4	622	27		062493003723
596	Westlake Charter	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	2680 Mabry Dr.	Sacramento	95835	Sacramento County	Natomas Unified	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(916) 567-5760	1,493	69	21.6	31.9%	233 (15.6%)	200 (13.4%)	437 (29.3%)	443 (29.7%)	6 (0.4%)	14 (0.9%)	160 (10.7%)	$19,150			$1,547			$17,603	74.3	74	610	14		060003611087
597	Plaza Elementary	Public	K-8	7322 County Road 24	Orland	95963	Glenn County	Plaza Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 865-1250	215	10	21.5	29.8%	123 (57.2%)	0 (0.0%)	80 (37.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	12 (5.6%)	$14,088			$1,760			$12,328	74.3	79.2	494	103		063087004790
598	Hill Creek Elementary	Public	K-8	9665 Jeremy St.	Santee	92071	San Diego County	Santee	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 956-5000	695	29	23.8	47.3%	364 (52.4%)	5 (0.7%)	219 (31.5%)	29 (4.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	78 (11.2%)	$15,815			$709			$15,106	74.3	65.8	771	173		063588006141
599	Mountain Home Charter (Alternative)	Public, Charter	K-8	41267 Highway 41	Oakhurst	93644	Madera County	Mountain Home Charter (Alternative) District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(559) 642-1422	213	8	26.6	42.7%	147 (69.0%)	0 (0.0%)	39 (18.3%)	7 (3.3%)	4 (1.9%)	1 (0.5%)	15 (7.0%)	$11,159			$00			$11,159	74.3	55.1	1012	413		060236510251
600	Alta Loma Junior High	Public	6-8	9000 Lemon Ave.	Alta Loma	91701	San Bernardino County	Alta Loma Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(909) 484-5100	831	33	24.9	33.2%	247 (29.7%)	39 (4.7%)	435 (52.3%)	69 (8.3%)	1 (0.1%)	1 (0.1%)	39 (4.7%)	$14,106			$986			$13,120	74.2	77.9	529	71		060216000094

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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:

Per-Pupil Spending: Understanding the Breakdown of Federal, State, and Local Funds

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.