Hort Elementary, Bakersfield CA - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Hort Elementary

Hort Elementary serves students in kindergarten through fifth grade in Bakersfield, drawing families from a neighborhood where the vast majority qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The school's enrollment is small to modest, with a student body that is substantially Hispanic, with a smaller but meaningful white population and smaller numbers of Black, Asian, and Native Hawaiian students. About all students do not have recorded data on special education or English learner status, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about those populations and services.

The academic picture at Hort is one of substantial challenge across all tested subjects. On California's 2024-25 assessment, proficiency rates in English language arts hovered in the low to mid-20s across third, fourth, and fifth grades. Math performance was lower still, with third grade around half the ELA rate, fourth grade in the low 20s, and fifth grade proficiency in single digits. Science testing in fifth grade showed proficiency rates in the low teens. These results place the school below the midpoint when compared to other elementary schools in Kern County. A parent should understand that these are the core academic outcomes Hort is producing right now, and may want to discuss with school leadership what instruction, support, and resources are being deployed to move students toward stronger performance, especially in upper grades and math.

The school is located in Bakersfield, a rapidly growing city of mixed commercial and residential character shaped by agriculture, energy, and healthcare. The neighborhood around Hort is car-dependent, as is most of Bakersfield, though downtown is walkable and the Kern River Parkway offers a long ribbon of trails along the city's edge. Housing in the area is more affordable relative to California statewide, and the median rent is moderate. The district itself, Bakersfield City, is the largest elementary district in California and serves all the schools in the city.

The district has signaled recent policy shifts that will affect daily school life. Beginning fall 2026, students will follow a new policy limiting smartphone use during school hours under California's Phone-Free Schools Act. The board also approved curriculum work around ethnic studies that can be woven across subjects to connect students with their cultural and community backgrounds. In October 2025, the board revised its policy to allow parents to opt their children out of instruction that conflicts with religious beliefs, in response to a U.S. Supreme Court decision.

A parent considering Hort should weigh the school's current low proficiency rates against whatever information the school can share about how it is trying to improve them, and ask directly about what English learner and special education support is available.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 329%

School 29% · District 24% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Grade 421%

School 21% · District 18% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▼ 17 pts below state median · ▼ 6 pts below county median

Grade 58%

School 8% · District 13% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 22 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 325%

School 25% · District 27% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

Grade 427%

School 27% · District 27% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 16 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 525%

School 25% · District 29% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

Science

Grade 515%

School 15% · District 17% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 14 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

This schoolBakersfield City, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.