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 Wednesday, October 18, 2023.

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School															Students/Teachers											Per Pupil Expenditures (2018)							Ranking (2023 vs 2022)
ID	Rank (of 2788)	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 (2023)	Average Standard Score (2022)	Rank (2022)	Rank Change from 2022	SchoolDigger Rating (2023)
062985012400	1491	Paramount Park Middle	Public	6-8	14608 Paramount Blvd.	Paramount	90723	Los Angeles County	Paramount Unified	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	(n/a)	(562) 602-8052	646	31	20.9	94.4%	14 (2.2%)	48 (7.4%)	564 (87.3%)	5 (0.8%)	0 (0.0%)	8 (1.2%)	7 (1.1%)	$3,877							39	29.1	1820	329
063801011302	1492	George W. Bush Elementary	Public	K-8	5420 Fred Russo Dr.	Stockton	95212	San Joaquin County	Stockton Unified	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	(n/a)	(209) 933-7350	814	31	26.2	79.0%	17 (2.1%)	61 (7.5%)	312 (38.3%)	361 (44.3%)	2 (0.2%)	12 (1.5%)	41 (5.0%)	$7,304							39	36.5	1569	77
060242012983	1493	Walden Academy	Public, Charter	K-8	1149 W. Wood St.	Willows	95988	Glenn County	Walden Academy District	Yes	(n/a)	(n/a)	(n/a)	(530) 361-6480	163	10	15.7	47.2%	77 (47.2%)	2 (1.2%)	59 (36.2%)	2 (1.2%)	3 (1.8%)	0 (0.0%)	20 (12.3%)								38.9	37.9	1532	39
062271003087	1494	Hollenbeck Middle	Public	6-8	2510 E. Sixth St.	Los Angeles	90023	Los Angeles County	Los Angeles Unified	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	(n/a)	(323) 780-3000	955	53	18	95.9%	29 (3.0%)	6 (0.6%)	915 (95.8%)	2 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	3 (0.3%)	$10,467							38.9	44.4	1323	171
060342000260	1495	Mitchell Intermediate	Public	7-8	1753 Fifth St.	Atwater	95301	Merced County	Atwater Elementary	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	(n/a)	(209) 357-6124	730	33	22.3	78.8%	123 (16.8%)	17 (2.3%)	545 (74.7%)	25 (3.4%)	3 (0.4%)	1 (0.1%)	16 (2.2%)	$3,796							38.9	39.6	1478	17
060558013869	1496	Jimenez Roberto and Dr. Francisco Elementary	Public	K-8	1970 S. Biscayne St.	Santa Maria	93458	Santa Barbara County	Santa Maria-Bonita	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	(n/a)	(805) 361-4340	1,020	39	26.4	72.5%	41 (4.0%)	2 (0.2%)	937 (91.9%)	32 (3.1%)	2 (0.2%)	0 (0.0%)	6 (0.6%)	$7,020							38.8	32	1705	209
063084010555	1497	Cesar E. Chavez Middle	Public	6-8	161 S. Plainsburg Rd.	Planada	95365	Merced County	Planada Elementary	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	(n/a)	(209) 382-0768	268	15	18	91.0%	5 (1.9%)	3 (1.1%)	257 (95.9%)	3 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	$24,927							38.8	29	1825	328
060001711747	1498	Sitting Bull Academy	Public	K-8	19445 Sitting Bull Rd.	Apple Valley	92308	San Bernardino County	Apple Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	(n/a)	(760) 961-8479	1,538	68	22.7	58.6%	542 (35.2%)	79 (5.1%)	811 (52.7%)	45 (2.9%)	4 (0.3%)	6 (0.4%)	51 (3.3%)	$5,647							38.7	33.8	1661	163
060249414413	1499	Peak Prep Pleasant Valley	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	550 Temple Ave.	Camarillo	93010	Ventura County	Peak Prep Pleasant Valley District	Yes	(n/a)	(n/a)	(n/a)	(855) 900-7325	323	17	19	62.8%	116 (35.9%)	77 (23.8%)	83 (25.7%)	11 (3.4%)	10 (3.1%)	0 (0.0%)	26 (8.0%)								38.7	14.7	2465	966
064119003968	1500	Madison Middle	Public	6-8	4930 Lake Blvd.	Oceanside	92056	San Diego County	Vista Unified	No	(n/a)	(n/a)	(n/a)	(760) 940-0176	975	47	20.9	64.1%	242 (24.8%)	18 (1.8%)	609 (62.5%)	40 (4.1%)	2 (0.2%)	13 (1.3%)	50 (5.1%)	$8,097							38.7	47.8	1235	265

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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 English Language Learner 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 18, 2023, 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:

A high school boy doing homework on a laptop

Virtual Schools: The Future of Online 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. School Attendance Areas provided by ATTOM.