Best Middle Schools in California

The top 50 middle schools (grades 6-8) in California, ranked by enrollment from NCES data with EDFacts proficiency rates where available. Average proficiency across this list is 62%.

#	School	City	Enrollment	Proficiency
1	Alfred B. Nobel Charter Middle	Northridge, CA	1,940	60%
2	George Ellery Hale Charter Academy	Woodland Hills, CA	1,887	64%
3	Thomas Starr King Middle School Film and Media Magnet	Los Angeles, CA	1,722	48%
4	Paul Revere Charter Middle	Los Angeles, CA	1,718	50%
5	Cal Aero Preserve Academy	Chino, CA	1,673	51%
6	Reyburn Intermediate	Clovis, CA	1,643	47%
7	Eleanor Murray Fallon	Dublin, CA	1,590	69%
8	John M. Horner Middle	Fremont, CA	1,562	63%
9	Classical Academy	Escondido, CA	1,531	61%
10	Oak Valley Middle	San Diego, CA	1,515	73%
11	San Elijo Middle	San Marcos, CA	1,463	68%
12	Porter Ranch Community	Porter Ranch, CA	1,363	67%
13	Marshall Middle	San Diego, CA	1,317	62%
14	Thornton Junior High	Fremont, CA	1,302	69%
15	Wilmington Mid Sci Tech Engr Arts Math (STEAM) Magnet	Wilmington, CA	1,268	31%
16	Design 39 Campus	San Diego, CA	1,226	77%
17	Arroyo Seco Junior High	Valencia, CA	1,217	70%
18	Sycamore Magnet Academy	Tustin, CA	1,211	34%
19	McCabe Elementary	El Centro, CA	1,209	63%
20	Manhattan Beach Middle	Manhattan Beach, CA	1,197	66%
21	Ladera Ranch Middle	Ladera Ranch, CA	1,196	67%
22	Giannini (A.P.) Middle	San Francisco, CA	1,192	64%
23	Griffith Middle	Los Angeles, CA	1,189	34%
24	Rocklin Academy Gateway	Rocklin, CA	1,176	72%
25	William B. Bristow Middle	Brentwood, CA	1,158	62%
26	Chaparral Middle	Diamond Bar, CA	1,133	64%
27	Black Mountain Middle	San Diego, CA	1,129	63%
28	Sierra Vista Middle	Irvine, CA	1,126	66%
29	Ralston Intermediate	Belmont, CA	1,117	78%
30	Twin Peaks Middle	Poway, CA	1,109	64%
31	Cupertino Middle	Sunnyvale, CA	1,099	73%
32	Harvest Park Middle	Pleasanton, CA	1,086	69%
33	South Pasadena Middle	South Pasadena, CA	1,084	65%
34	Joaquin Miller Middle	San Jose, CA	1,078	74%
35	Gale Ranch Middle	San Ramon, CA	1,075	69%
36	Woodbury Elementary	Irvine, CA	1,069	65%
37	M. H. Stanley Middle	Lafayette, CA	1,064	74%
38	Bullis Charter	Los Altos, CA	1,058	64%
39	Cypress Village Elementary	Irvine, CA	1,056	62%
40	Pleasanton Middle	Pleasanton, CA	1,050	74%
41	Parras (Nick G.) Middle	Redondo Beach, CA	1,049	70%
42	Rancho Santa Margarita Intermediate	Rancho Santa Margarita, CA	1,041	63%
43	Newhart Middle	Mission Viejo, CA	1,038	64%
44	Cottonwood Creek	Dublin, CA	1,037	63%
45	Zehnder Ranch Elementary	Elk Grove, CA	1,035	68%
46	Canyon Hills Junior High	Chino Hills, CA	1,030	62%
47	West Creek Academy	Valencia, CA	1,024	65%
48	David G. Millen Law and Government Magnet Academy	Palmdale, CA	1,023	32%
49	Burlingame Intermediate	Burlingame, CA	1,013	61%
50	Union Middle	San Jose, CA	1,012	62%

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best middle school in California?

The largest middle school in California is Alfred B. Nobel Charter Middle in Northridge with 1,940 students and a 60% proficiency rate. Rankings are based on NCES Common Core of Data enrollment and EDFacts proficiency results.

How many middle schools are in California?

This page shows the top 50 middle schools (grades 6-8) in California by enrollment. Browse the full state directory to see all schools.

What does the proficiency rate measure?

Proficiency rate is the percentage of students meeting grade-level standards on combined math and reading assessments, as reported by EDFacts. Data is district-level and applied to each school in the district.

Where does this data come from?

Enrollment and school characteristics come from the NCES Common Core of Data. Proficiency rates come from EDFacts assessment results. Both are official federal datasets published by the U.S. Department of Education.

The this entity category groups every U.S. K-12 school outcomes and enrollment entity sharing this attribute. The list above is the data; the paragraphs below explain what the grouping means against the broader NCES Common Core of Data and EDFacts distribution and how to read the relative rankings within the category.

For readers using this category as a starting point, the per-entity detail pages linked from the table above carry the underlying NCES Common Core of Data and EDFacts data in full. The category-level view is the filter; the per-entity pages are the actual answer.

Sources: NCES Common Core of Data, EDFacts

Last updated: June 2026

Schools are ranked by enrollment within the state. Proficiency rates come from EDFacts assessment results, district-level figures applied to each school in the district.

Source: NCES Common Core of Data, 2026.