Bill L. Williams Elementary, Bakersfield CA

Original Research by School Decision on Bill L. Williams Elementary

Bill L. Williams Elementary serves kindergarten through sixth grade in southwest Bakersfield as part of the Panama-Buena Vista Union School District. The school enrolls a student body that is predominantly Hispanic, with substantial shares of Asian American, white, and Black students. A large majority of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic profile of the surrounding neighborhood.

Academic performance at Williams is below proficiency benchmarks across subjects. In English language arts, students in grades four, five, and six show stronger results than the younger grades, with grade six reaching the upper range of the school's measured outcomes. In math, performance is notably weaker across all tested grades, with fifth grade showing particularly low proficiency. Science results from fifth grade are similarly limited in scope. The school has only one year of state assessment data available, so trend information is not yet established. In the county comparison of Kern County districts, Williams sits above the midpoint on overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades.

The school sits in a residential area of Bakersfield characterized by ongoing growth and development. Housing values in the surrounding zip code are moderate relative to California statewide benchmarks, though rents have risen in recent months. Bakersfield itself is among California's fastest-growing large cities, with new residential construction and redevelopment projects actively reshaping neighborhoods. The district recently opened a new school, Mountain View TK-8, for the 2025-26 school year and implemented boundary changes that families with students or prospective residents should verify directly with the district regarding attendance zones.

The district approved Measure I in 2022, a general obligation bond measure to address aging infrastructure, remove hazardous materials, upgrade safety and security systems, and construct new facilities to relieve overcrowding. That bond levy carries ongoing costs reflected in property taxes. Bill L. Williams, like other aging schools in the district, may directly benefit from these facility improvements in coming years.

A parent may want to look further into Williams' reading and math support programs, particularly for grades three through five, to understand what targeted intervention or enrichment the school offers. The gap between ELA and math proficiency also merits direct conversation with the school to learn what resources are being deployed to close it. For families considering this attendance area, confirming current and future boundary assignments with the district office is important given the new school opening and associated changes.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 335%

School 35% · District 41% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▲ 4 pts above county median

Grade 434%

School 34% · District 39% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 4 pts below state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

Grade 516%

School 16% · District 26% · ▼ 9 pts below district

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

Grade 628%

School 28% · District 32% · ▼ 4 pts below district

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

English language arts

Grade 329%

School 29% · District 42% · ▼ 13 pts below district

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▼ 5 pts below county median

Grade 445%

School 45% · District 45%

▲ 3 pts above state median · ▲ 12 pts above county median

Grade 544%

School 44% · District 45% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▼ 1 pts below state median · ▲ 8 pts above county median

Grade 649%

School 49% · District 50% · ▼ 1 pts below district

▲ 5 pts above state median · ▲ 13 pts above county median

Science

Grade 523%

School 23% · District 28% · ▼ 5 pts below district

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

This schoolPanama-Buena Vista Union, 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.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income26%Higher-income39%13 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income47%Higher-income35%12 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income40%Higher-income54%14 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income45%Higher-income66%21 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income34%Higher-income44%10 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income35%Higher-income30%5 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income14%Higher-income22%8 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income26%Higher-income33%7 pp gap