Olive Drive Elementary, Bakersfield CA

Original Research by School Decision on Olive Drive Elementary

Olive Drive Elementary is a kindergarten-through-sixth-grade school in Bakersfield serving a community where about one-third of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The enrollment is distributed fairly evenly across grades, with about equal numbers in each year level. The student body is roughly split between white and Hispanic students, with smaller shares of Asian, multiracial, and other backgrounds. Data on English learners and special education enrollment was not available.

On California's standardized assessments in 2024-25, the school's proficiency varied across grades and subjects. In English language arts, students performed stronger in the lower grades, with third grade reaching above average, while fifth grade sat lower. Sixth grade bounced back to a stronger performance level. Math results showed a steeper decline in the upper grades, with third and fourth graders at or just below the overall school average, but fifth grade notably weaker, before a partial rebound in sixth grade. Science was assessed only in fifth grade, where results were below the school's overall picture across subjects. Across all tested subjects and grades combined, the school's overall proficiency sits in the top quartile when compared to districts across Kern County, placing it among stronger performers in its region despite the individual grade-level variation.

The pattern suggests the school is managing foundational work in early elementary but facing challenges as students move into upper elementary, particularly in mathematics. A parent may want to discuss with the school what interventions or supports are being deployed for students not yet proficient, and how the school approaches the transition to middle school preparation in grade six.

Olive Drive sits in northwest Bakersfield in a ZIP code where typical home values are moderate for the state and monthly rents affordable relative to regional norms. Bakersfield itself is among California's fastest-growing cities, with substantial new housing development underway in the neighborhoods surrounding the school, in both Bakersfield proper and adjacent southeast Shafter. The school is part of Norris Elementary School District, which has seen enrollment rise steadily with the growth in housing. The district operates the sole middle school for the area and, beginning in 2023-24, added career and technical education electives at that level in partnership with the Kern High School District, creating a clearer pathway from elementary through high school for students interested in college and career pathways.

The city of Bakersfield is car-dependent overall, though neighborhoods vary; the school's immediate area is typical of Bakersfield's suburban character. Downtown Bakersfield, about a short drive away, offers arts and civic amenities, parks along the Kern River, and a library system serving the county. Major employers in the area span health care, retail, education, and energy, with cultural institutions and schools anchoring civic life. The area is actively developing, with families moving in as part of the city's broader growth, so the school population itself may continue to shift as new neighborhoods fill in.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 352%

School 52% · District 53% · ▼ 1 pts below district

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

Grade 450%

School 50% · District 45% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▲ 12 pts above state median · ▲ 23 pts above county median

Grade 535%

School 35% · District 42% · ▼ 7 pts below district

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

Grade 646%

School 46% · District 50% · ▼ 4 pts below district

▲ 15 pts above state median · ▲ 24 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 359%

School 59% · District 55% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▲ 18 pts above state median · ▲ 25 pts above county median

Grade 454%

School 54% · District 50% · ▲ 4 pts above district

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

Grade 550%

School 50% · District 60% · ▼ 10 pts below district

▲ 4 pts above state median · ▲ 14 pts above county median

Grade 659%

School 59% · District 59% · ▲ 1 pts above district

▲ 16 pts above state median · ▲ 23 pts above county median

Science

Grade 537%

School 37% · District 41% · ▼ 5 pts below district

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

This schoolNorris 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 3Lower-income56%Higher-income60%4 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income49%Higher-income59%10 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income33%Higher-income58%25 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income58%Higher-income60%2 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income42%Higher-income57%15 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income44%Higher-income54%9 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income17%Higher-income44%27 pp gap

Grade 6Lower-income34%Higher-income51%16 pp gap