Horizon Elementary, Bakersfield CA

Original Research by School Decision on Horizon Elementary

Horizon Elementary is a public school serving kindergarten through fifth grade in Bakersfield, located in the 93307 zip code. The school enrolls a small-to-moderate population, with roughly equal numbers across most grades. The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with smaller Asian, white, and Black populations. Nearly all students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a high-poverty school community.

On state assessments, Horizon's proficiency rates are low across the tested subjects and grades. In English language arts, third and fourth graders show somewhat higher performance than the broader school average, while fifth-grade ELA proficiency drops significantly. Math proficiency is the weaker area: fourth graders perform near the ELA rate, but third graders score notably lower, and fifth graders fall to less than one in five meeting proficiency. Science results, tested only in fifth grade, also show proficiency below one in five. The school sits above the midpoint relative to other districts in Kern County on an overall proficiency index, though this should be read in context: the county itself includes many low-performing districts, and Horizon's results remain quite low in absolute terms. A parent may want to look into what interventions or support systems the school has in place, particularly in math, where the pattern of declining proficiency across grade levels deserves attention.

Data on special education rates, English learner enrollment, attendance, discipline, and staffing were not available. The district brief did not yield documented recent changes or initiatives at Greenfield Union.

Bakersfield itself is growing rapidly, with new residential development both in outlying neighborhoods and downtown, and strong major employers in health care, energy, and agriculture. The city is largely car-dependent, though downtown offers a compact walkable grid. Housing costs are moderate by California standards, and rental housing is more affordable relative to home purchase. The Kern River Parkway offers parks and trails on the city's eastern edge, and the county library system operates across multiple branches. Horizon sits in a part of Bakersfield defined by its residential character and proximity to Monitor Street, in a zip code where housing remains relatively accessible.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 333%

School 33% · District 35% · ▼ 2 pts below district

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

Grade 430%

School 30% · District 31% · ▼ 1 pts below district

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

Grade 519%

School 19% · District 25% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 11 pts below state median · even with county median

English language arts

Grade 338%

School 38% · District 38% · ▲ 1 pts above district

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

Grade 443%

School 43% · District 41% · ▲ 2 pts above district

even with state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

Grade 533%

School 33% · District 41% · ▼ 8 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 519%

School 19% · District 24% · ▼ 5 pts below district

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

This schoolGreenfield 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.