Virginia Avenue Elementary, Bakersfield CA

Original Research by School Decision on Virginia Avenue Elementary

Virginia Avenue Elementary serves kindergarten through sixth grade in Bakersfield, a city experiencing rapid growth along California's southern San Joaquin Valley. The school sits within Fairfax Elementary district and draws families from a neighborhood where housing is affordable relative to California as a whole, with rental costs modest and home values below the state average.

The student body is predominantly Hispanic, and nearly all students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic circumstances of the families the school serves. The enrollment is stable across grade levels, with substantial cohorts at each grade from kindergarten through sixth. A parent may want to look into the school's specific programming around English learners and students with disabilities, as that data was not available in the records reviewed.

State test results show this school is below proficiency in both mathematics and English language arts. In math, proficiency ranges from roughly one in five students in third grade down to one in ten by fifth grade. English language arts performance is somewhat higher, ranging from around one in three third graders to approximately one in five by sixth grade. Science testing in fifth grade, which is the only grade tested, shows proficiency near one in ten. When looking at these numbers against other districts in Kern County, Virginia Avenue's overall proficiency index places it below the midpoint. These are real gaps that a parent should understand clearly. The school has only one year of recent testing data available, so trend information is limited.

The neighborhood where Virginia Avenue sits is car-dependent; most daily errands require driving, and the school serves a working and low-income community. Bakersfield itself is among California's fastest-growing cities, with new residential development concentrated downtown and in southeast neighborhoods, though growth has also extended to outlying areas. The city's economic base includes healthcare, retail, and education, alongside its historical roots in agriculture and energy. Downtown Bakersfield contains museums, theaters, and civic institutions, though it sits some distance from this school's residential zone. Public transit exists through Golden Empire Transit and connects to broader county service, but cars remain the primary transportation for most families.

This is a school where the majority of students enter with substantial economic need and where academic performance is currently low across tested grades and subjects. If your family is considering Virginia Avenue, you will want a clear conversation with the school about its instructional approach to mathematics and the supports in place for students who enter below grade level. The school's strength and purpose lie in serving a specific, stable community of working families; whether it is the right choice depends on what academic pathway and support level your child needs and what the school can offer you.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 325%

School 25% · District 24%

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

Grade 420%

School 20% · District 27% · ▼ 7 pts below district

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

Grade 511%

School 11% · District 19% · ▼ 8 pts below district

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

Grade 614%

School 14% · District 23% · ▼ 9 pts below district

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

English language arts

Grade 338%

School 38% · District 32% · ▲ 5 pts above district

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

Grade 432%

School 32% · District 30% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Grade 521%

School 21% · District 32% · ▼ 11 pts below district

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

Grade 622%

School 22% · District 32% · ▼ 10 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 510%

School 10% · District 15% · ▼ 5 pts below district

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

This schoolFairfax Elementary, 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.