Shirley Lane Elementary, Bakersfield CA

Original Research by School Decision on Shirley Lane Elementary

Shirley Lane Elementary serves students from kindergarten through sixth grade in a section of Bakersfield where the vast majority of families qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The school has a student body that is overwhelmingly Hispanic, with smaller populations of white, multiracial, Asian, and Black students, and one Native American student. The enrollment is modest for this grade span, distributed fairly evenly across grades.

On California's state assessments in 2024-25, proficiency rates are low across both English language arts and math. In ELA, students in third grade reached the state's proficiency standard at a rate below one-third, while fourth graders performed slightly better at just over one-third. Fifth and sixth graders showed somewhat higher proficiency, with a little under half and just under half of students respectively meeting the standard. Math results are comparable or slightly weaker: third grade is around one-fifth, fourth grade near one-third, fifth grade near one-third, and sixth grade near two-fifths. In science, fifth graders (the only grade tested) reached proficiency at just over one-fifth. Across tested subjects and grades, the school's overall proficiency index places it above the midpoint relative to other districts in Kern County, though readers should understand that this positioning reflects the local context; performance levels themselves remain substantially below state targets in all subjects.

The school sits in Bakersfield, a sprawling, car-dependent city in the southern San Joaquin Valley. It is among California's fastest-growing large cities, with active residential development including new subdivisions at the northern edges and redevelopment efforts downtown and in southeast Bakersfield. The housing market in the school's zip code is affordable relative to state and national benchmarks, with median home values and rental costs both modest; however, median rents have risen slightly over the past year. Employment in Bakersfield centers on health care, retail, and education, with significant activity in energy and agriculture. The Kern River Parkway provides a notable public amenity along the city's eastern edge with walking and cycling paths. Daily life depends on private vehicles for most errands, though downtown Bakersfield has a walkable core with restored storefronts and cultural landmarks.

The school is a regular public school, part of Fairfax Elementary, the largest elementary school district in California. Data on special education enrollment, English learner status, chronic absenteeism, and recent district priorities were not available to characterize in this profile. A parent may want to look into those details directly with the school.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 322%

School 22% · District 24% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Grade 435%

School 35% · District 27% · ▲ 8 pts above district

▼ 2 pts below state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

Grade 530%

School 30% · District 19% · ▲ 11 pts above district

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

Grade 640%

School 40% · District 23% · ▲ 16 pts above district

▲ 9 pts above state median · ▲ 18 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 326%

School 26% · District 32% · ▼ 6 pts below district

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

Grade 435%

School 35% · District 30% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▲ 2 pts above county median

Grade 546%

School 46% · District 32% · ▲ 14 pts above district

▲ 1 pts above state median · ▲ 10 pts above county median

Grade 648%

School 48% · District 32% · ▲ 16 pts above district

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

Science

Grade 520%

School 20% · District 15% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▼ 1 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.