Woodrow W. Wallace Elementary, Lake Isabella CA

Original Research by School Decision on Woodrow W. Wallace Elementary

Woodrow W. Wallace Elementary is a public school in Lake Isabella that serves children from kindergarten through fifth grade. The school has an enrollment of around four hundred students in a community where the housing market is affordable relative to much of California, with a median home value well below the state benchmark. The area's economy relies on healthcare, retail, construction, and recreation tied to the reservoir; the population includes a mix of white- and blue-collar workers and retirees, and tends toward conservative views.

Wallace's student body is predominantly white, with a substantial Hispanic enrollment and smaller populations of other races. A very large share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting economic pressures on local families. Data on English learners and students with individualized education plans were not available.

On California's latest state assessments, Wallace's proficiency rates are notably low across subjects and grades. In English language arts, proficiency ranges from around a quarter of students meeting standards in fourth and fifth grade down to lower rates in third grade. In mathematics, the picture is more concerning, with proficiency in single digits for third grade and fifth grade, and modestly higher but still very low rates in fourth grade. On the state science test given to fifth graders, around a fifth of students met proficiency. These results place the school in the bottom quartile of proficiency among districts in Kern County. Only one year of current testing data was available, so longer trends cannot be assessed.

A parent considering this school should understand that Wallace's students are achieving well below grade-level standards across foundational subjects. The school serves a highly economically disadvantaged population in a rural mountain town where employment options are limited and household incomes are modest. Whether the school is addressing these low proficiency rates through tutoring, curriculum changes, or other interventions was not documented in the available information, and a parent may want to look into this further with the school directly.

The school sits on Erskine Creek Road in the Lake Isabella area. The town itself is car-dependent and small, with commercial activity concentrated along Lake Isabella Boulevard. Recreation centers on the reservoir and outdoor access; civic anchors include the county library branch and Kern Transit, the regional bus system that connects the valley to Bakersfield and other communities.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 39%

School 9% · District 16% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▼ 34 pts below state median · ▼ 23 pts below county median

Grade 414%

School 14% · District 14% · ▲ 1 pts above district

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

Grade 57%

School 7% · District 11% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▼ 24 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 318%

School 18% · District 23% · ▼ 6 pts below district

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

Grade 427%

School 27% · District 27%

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

Grade 532%

School 32% · District 35% · ▼ 3 pts below district

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

Science

Grade 521%

School 21% · District 26% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 7 pts below state median · even with county median

Social studies

Grade 837%

School 37% · District 36% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▼ 12 pts below state median · even with county median

This schoolKernville Union 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.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 6Lower-income35%Higher-income62%27 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income44%Higher-income71%27 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income46%Higher-income61%15 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income29%Higher-income54%25 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income37%Higher-income54%17 pp gap