Lakeside, Bakersfield CA - Test Scores & Data

Original Research by School Decision on Lakeside

Lakeside is a kindergarten-through-eighth-grade public school in southwest Bakersfield, part of the Lakeside Union School District. It sits on Old River Road in a part of the city that has been drawing families with first-time-buyer housing, and the district's enrollment has grown noticeably as a result. A facility-planning study with community forums is underway, which is worth knowing for a family thinking about the next several years.

The school's California state assessment results, from the most recent year reported, present a mixed picture that parents should look at carefully. In English language arts, proficiency climbs through the grades in a way that stands out: third grade scores are modest, fourth and fifth grade are in a similar range, sixth and seventh grade inch upward, and eighth grade reaches a substantially higher level, well above the lower grades. That arc in ELA is real and worth noting. Math tells a different story. Third grade is the strongest point, and then proficiency drops considerably across fourth through eighth grade, with seventh grade posting the lowest result of any tested grade in any subject. Science, tested in fifth and eighth grade, follows a similar split: eighth grade is markedly stronger than fifth. Social studies data in the file is from a much earlier testing cycle and reflects a different state assessment system, so it does not give a current read.

Across all tested subjects and grades combined, Lakeside sits above the midpoint relative to districts in Kern County, according to the comparison set for this area. That is a useful orientation, though the grade-by-grade variation in math is something a parent would want to discuss directly with the school, particularly for a child entering the upper elementary or middle grades. No trend data across multiple years was available, so it is not possible to say from this profile whether results have been moving in any direction.

Enrollment is mid-sized for a K-8 school. A large share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which reflects the economic profile of the southwest Bakersfield communities the school draws from. The student body is predominantly Hispanic, with White, Asian, and multiracial students making up most of the remainder, and smaller numbers of Black, American Indian, and Pacific Islander students. English learner and special education rates were not available in the data.

One district-level program worth knowing about: Lakeside Union is publicly reported to be the only district in Kern County offering a trilingual immersion experience, with Spanish and Mandarin immersion beginning as early as age four at other campuses. Lakeside itself is the main school of record for older grades and does not appear to be one of the dedicated immersion campuses, but a family interested in language immersion within the district should ask the district directly about pathways and how students move through that program.

The surrounding part of Bakersfield is car-dependent by any practical measure. The city as a whole is one of California's fastest-growing large cities, and southwest Bakersfield is part of that growth story. Home values near the school are meaningfully below the California state median, though above the national median, making the area relatively accessible by California standards. Rents have edged upward recently. The broader Bakersfield economy rests on oil and gas, agriculture, healthcare, and education employment.

No information on course offerings, staffing, attendance, or discipline was available for this profile.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 343%

School 43% · District 34% · ▲ 9 pts above district

even with state median · ▲ 12 pts above county median

Grade 414%

School 14% · District 19% · ▼ 4 pts below district

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

Grade 517%

School 17% · District 13% · ▲ 4 pts above district

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

Grade 614%

School 14% · District 14%

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

Grade 710%

School 10% · District 10%

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

Grade 818%

School 18% · District 18%

▼ 10 pts below state median · even with county median

English language arts

Grade 328%

School 28% · District 26% · ▲ 3 pts above district

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

Grade 430%

School 30% · District 29% · ▲ 2 pts above district

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

Grade 533%

School 33% · District 28% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Grade 634%

School 34% · District 34%

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

Grade 737%

School 37% · District 37%

▼ 8 pts below state median · even with county median

Grade 864%

School 64% · District 64%

▲ 20 pts above state median · ▲ 28 pts above county median

Science

Grade 515%

School 15% · District 14% · ▲ 1 pts above district

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

Grade 841%

School 41% · District 41%

▲ 15 pts above state median · ▲ 21 pts above county median

Social studies

Grade 866%

School 66% · District 66%

▲ 17 pts above state median · ▲ 29 pts above county median

This schoolLakeside 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-income38%Higher-income14%23 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income26%Higher-income39%13 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income26%Higher-income48%22 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income35%Higher-income31%4 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income32%Higher-income46%14 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income64%Higher-income64%0 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income55%Higher-income25%30 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income8%Higher-income28%20 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income9%Higher-income30%21 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income15%Higher-income13%2 pp gap

Grade 7Lower-income8%Higher-income13%5 pp gap

Grade 8Lower-income16%Higher-income21%5 pp gap