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
691	Tierra Buena Elementary	Public	K-8	1794 Villa Ave.	Yuba City	95993	Sutter County	Yuba City Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 822-5280	607	34	17.9	67.1%	166 (27.3%)	5 (0.8%)	182 (30.0%)	195 (32.1%)	1 (0.2%)	1 (0.2%)	57 (9.4%)								69.2	65.9	768	77		064347007039
692	Magnolia Science Academy 5	Public, Charter	6-12	18238 Sherman Way	Reseda	91335	Los Angeles County	Magnolia Science Academy 5 District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(818) 705-5676	218	13	16.3	78.4%	13 (6.0%)	4 (1.8%)	183 (83.9%)	15 (6.9%)	2 (0.9%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.5%)	$21,457			$2,538			$18,919	69.2	34.4	1653	961		060188512347
693	Alpha: Cornerstone Academy Preparatory	Public, Charter	K-8	1598 Lucretia Ave.	San Jose	95122	Santa Clara County	Alpha: Cornerstone Academy Preparatory District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(408) 361-3876	554	24	23	55.2%	13 (2.3%)	11 (2.0%)	197 (35.6%)	315 (56.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	18 (3.2%)	$18,840			$1,215			$17,625	69.1	83.4	410	283		060167112639
694	Pacific Union Elementary	Public	K-8	3001 Janes Rd.	Arcata	95521	Humboldt County	Pacific Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(707) 822-4619	534	29	18.4	54.9%	261 (48.9%)	11 (2.1%)	146 (27.3%)	8 (1.5%)	35 (6.6%)	0 (0.0%)	71 (13.3%)	$14,783			$1,942			$12,841	69.1	73.2	627	67		062943004533
695	Trinidad Union	Public	K-8	300 Trinity St.	Trinidad	95570	Humboldt County	Trinidad Union Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(707) 677-3631	161	10	16.9	61.5%	105 (65.2%)	3 (1.9%)	19 (11.8%)	0 (0.0%)	16 (9.9%)	1 (0.6%)	16 (9.9%)	$17,712			$2,354			$15,358	69	66	765	70		063972006602
696	Jane Addams Middle	Public	6-8	4535 West 153rd Pl.	Lawndale	90260	Los Angeles County	Lawndale Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(310) 676-4806	644	33	19.3	84.6%	19 (3.0%)	32 (5.0%)	544 (84.5%)	15 (2.3%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (0.9%)	28 (4.3%)	$26,136			$1,523			$24,613	68.9	68.4	712	16		062121011612
697	Chula Vista Learning Community Charter	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	590 K St.	Chula Vista	91911	San Diego County	Chula Vista Learning Community Charter District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(619) 426-2885	1,397	70	20	68.9%	29 (2.1%)	3 (0.2%)	1,353 (96.9%)	2 (0.1%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.1%)	9 (0.6%)	$15,374			$1,351			$14,023	68.8	70.7	675	22		060207107649
698	Branciforte Middle	Public	6-8	315 Poplar St.	Santa Cruz	95062	Santa Cruz County	Santa Cruz City High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 429-3883	409	23	17.8	38.1%	175 (42.8%)	7 (1.7%)	192 (46.9%)	8 (2.0%)	2 (0.5%)	1 (0.2%)	24 (5.9%)	$20,291			$3,354			$16,937	68.8	58.8	912	214		063560006060
699	Harbor Springs Charter	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	27740 Jefferson Ave.	Temecula	92590	Riverside County	Harbor Springs Charter District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(951) 252-8800	299	17	17.6	60.5%	104 (34.8%)	23 (7.7%)	126 (42.1%)	22 (7.4%)	2 (0.7%)	1 (0.3%)	21 (7.0%)								68.8	54.7	1023	324		060151613715
700	Seven Hills Intermediate	Public	4-8	700 Hoover Ln.	Nevada City	95959	Nevada County	Nevada City Elementary	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 265-1840	432	21	21	33.8%	357 (82.6%)	3 (0.7%)	37 (8.6%)	4 (0.9%)	3 (0.7%)	1 (0.2%)	27 (6.3%)	$14,360			$1,682			$12,678	68.7	72	654	46		062682004062

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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:

Girl in a wheelchair raising her hand in a classroom setting

Understanding an IEP: The Ultimate Guide for Parents and Educators

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.