Kern Avenue Elementary, Mcfarland CA

Original Research by School Decision on Kern Avenue Elementary

Kern Avenue Elementary is a kindergarten through sixth-grade school in McFarland, a small agricultural city in the San Joaquin Valley. The school serves a tightly knit, predominantly Hispanic/Latino community in an economy centered on farm work and processing. McFarland itself is quiet and family-oriented, with shops and schools within walking distance of one another and civic life concentrated around Kern Avenue, close to where this school sits.

The student body is almost entirely Hispanic/Latino, and a substantial majority qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic reality of the area. Enrollment is small to moderate for an elementary school, with about a hundred students per grade level across the seven grades served. The demographics show little ethnic diversity beyond the dominant Hispanic/Latino population, and specific data on English learners or students with IEPs was not available.

Academic performance on California's standardized assessments is low across both English language arts and math. In math, proficiency rates across third through sixth grade range from low teens to the mid-twenties. In English language arts, results are somewhat stronger: third-grade proficiency is in the mid-twenties, fourth grade in the low twenties, fifth grade around thirty percent, and sixth grade at thirty-two percent. Science proficiency in fifth grade was in the upper teens. The school reports only one year of testing data, so no trend information is available. When compared against other districts in Kern County, Kern Avenue's overall proficiency sits below the midpoint. A parent may want to look into further detail with the school about how these results are being addressed and what support structures are in place for struggling learners.

The school is a regular public elementary school, not a charter or magnet school. It is not designated a Title I school according to the data provided, though the high poverty rate among students might suggest Title I eligibility; clarity on this point from the school would be worthwhile. Information about class sizes, staffing levels, specific programs, and special services was not available in the data.

Housing in the McFarland area is affordable relative to state benchmarks. Median home value is below both the California state average and the national average, and monthly mortgage estimates are modest. The local economy is dominated by agriculture rather than by any single large employer, and broader economic indicators such as unemployment and median household income sit close to national norms.

McFarland is growing slowly but deliberately. The city has invested in affordable housing, including a recent net-zero infill project with community supports, and maintains partnerships for economic development. Growth in enrollment at Kern Avenue would depend on household formation and migration patterns in the city itself. The school is located in a place where residents have deep roots, strong family ties, and long-standing connections to the agricultural sector, making it a stable if economically modest setting for a young elementary student.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 320%

School 20% · District 32% · ▼ 12 pts below district

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

Grade 415%

School 15% · District 26% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▼ 22 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

Grade 515%

School 15% · District 17% · ▼ 2 pts below district

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Grade 626%

School 26% · District 27%

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

English language arts

Grade 324%

School 24% · District 28% · ▼ 4 pts below district

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

Grade 420%

School 20% · District 29% · ▼ 8 pts below district

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

Grade 530%

School 30% · District 31%

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

Grade 632%

School 32% · District 38% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 12 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

Science

Grade 518%

School 18% · District 16% · ▲ 2 pts above district

▼ 10 pts below state median · ▼ 4 pts below county median

This schoolMcFarland Unified, 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-income32%Higher-income36%5 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 6Lower-income26%Higher-income27%1 pp gap