Roosevelt Elementary, Bakersfield CA

Original Research by School Decision on Roosevelt Elementary

Roosevelt Elementary serves kindergarten through fifth grade in Bakersfield, drawing from a neighborhood that is economically vulnerable and predominantly Hispanic. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, and the enrollment is small for its grade span. The school is part of Bakersfield City, the largest elementary school district in California.

In recent state testing, Roosevelt's proficiency rates are low across subjects and grades. In English language arts, students in third through fifth grade showed proficiency ranging from roughly a quarter to a third across tested grades. Math proficiency is notably weaker, running from roughly a sixth to a fifth across those same grades. In science, fifth-grade proficiency sits at around a tenth. These results place the school below the midpoint of proficiency among districts in Kern County when averaging across tested subjects and grades. A parent may want to look into further detail with the school about what's driving these outcomes and what reading, math, and science support looks like in the classroom.

The school sits in Bakersfield, a rapidly growing city shaped by agriculture, energy, and healthcare, with a walkable downtown anchored by parks, libraries, and transit. Most of the city is car-dependent, though the central core around the historic Fox Theater and Padre Hotel has restored streets and sidewalk life. The area around Roosevelt, in south-central Bakersfield, is predominantly residential and mixed-income, part of the city's ongoing expansion and development activity.

Within Bakersfield City, the district is moving in several directions relevant to families. The board has committed to developing ethnic studies coursework that can be woven across subjects to connect students with their cultural and community backgrounds. Starting with the fall 2026 school year, the district will enforce a policy limiting student smartphone use during school hours, implementing California's Phone-Free Schools Act. And in response to a recent Supreme Court ruling, the board revised its policy to allow parents to opt their children out of instruction that conflicts with their religious beliefs, giving families a new form of say over what their child encounters.

Roosevelt is a small, neighborhood school in a low-income community where a large majority of families qualify for subsidized meals. The academic data shows students are not yet meeting grade-level proficiency in math and science, though a meaningful share are meeting standard in English language arts. Whether this is the right fit depends on what a family is looking for in support and learning environment, and what additional resources may be available within the school or the district.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 321%

School 21% · District 24% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 22 pts below state median · ▼ 10 pts below county median

Grade 418%

School 18% · District 18%

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

Grade 517%

School 17% · District 13% · ▲ 4 pts above district

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

English language arts

Grade 334%

School 34% · District 27% · ▲ 7 pts above district

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▲ 1 pts above county median

Grade 433%

School 33% · District 27% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▼ 9 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 529%

School 29% · District 29%

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

Science

Grade 515%

School 15% · District 17% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 13 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.