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What's the best and worst thing about the food at Bessie E. Owens Elementary?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
867
Elementary
DISTRICT 619 · STATE 465
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·BAKERSFIELD CITY·NCES 060363000313
Bessie E. Owens Elementary
815 Potomac Ave., Bakersfield, CA 93307 · (661) 631-5420 · Kern County
GRADES KG–06ELEMENTARY11-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL867 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
21.7:1
40 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 19.7:1 · STATE 22.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
90%
776 students
DISTRICT 88% · STATE 65%
Community
6
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other elementary schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 126 | 15% |
| Grade 1 | 108 | 12% |
| Grade 2 | 99 | 11% |
| Grade 3 | 136 | 16% |
| Grade 4 | 135 | 16% |
| Grade 5 | 129 | 15% |
| Grade 6 | 134 | 15% |
This year's kindergarten class (126) is 6% smaller than its 6th grade class (134).
Student demographics
28%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 30% · STATE 62% · US 70%
Student head counts by race/ethnicity from federal NCES enrollment data. District, state, and US figures are each group's share of all public school students in that area (US excludes territories). Very small groups may be suppressed in the source, so categories do not always sum exactly to total enrollment.
Gender split
Test scores
CAASPP 2024-25 . % met or exceeded standardEnglish Language Arts
38.8%
CA avg 49.1% . +11.8pp since 2014
Math
30.5%
CA avg 37.7% . +7.5pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 39 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 30 of 100 do math at grade level. Across all California schools, those numbers are about 49 and 38. Reading and writing scores are up about 12 points since 2014, while math scores are up about 7 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 21.3% | 17.5% | 19.5% | 41.7% |
| Math | 16.8% | 13.7% | 22.9% | 46.7% |
Share of tested students at each CAASPP level. Each student counts in one level, so a row adds to about 100%.
CAASPP results by year
| School year | English Language Arts | Math |
|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 38.8% | 30.5% |
| 2023-24 | 32.9% | 26.3% |
| 2022-23 | 27.7% | 24.2% |
| 2021-22 | 20.6% | 19.0% |
| 2018-19 | 45.7% | 42.3% |
| 2017-18 | 41.9% | 37.5% |
| 2016-17 | 38.5% | 39.8% |
| 2015-16 | 34.0% | 28.0% |
| 2014-15 | 27.0% | 23.0% |
% met or exceeded standard, all students and all tested grades.
Source: CAASPP. All students, all grades. See all years and grades →
BeatsExpectations
Demographically-adjusted score · methodologyTier
AS EXPECTED
Performing as predicted given the school's student profile
Actual proficiency
32.0%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
27.1%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+4.9pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 32% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 27% typical for California schools with a similar share of low-income students. BeatsExpectations measures results against demographically similar schools rather than by raw scores, and this school falls within the typical range, neither among California's top nor bottom 10%.
BeatsExpectations runs a per-state regression of proficiency on free/reduced-lunch share, then scores each school by residual. How this is calculated →
Schools most like Bessie E. Owens Elementary
Bessie E. Owens Elementary's state test result (32.0% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bessie E. Owens Elementary this school | 867 | 89.5% | 32.0% |
| Sierra Vista Elementary Perris | 867 | 87.5% | 32.0% |
| Estudillo Elementary San Jacinto | 831 | 88.2% | 19.5% |
| Eucalyptus Elementary Hesperia | 737 | 86.8% | 19.1% |
| Megan Cope Elementary San Jacinto | 756 | 87.2% | 32.3% |
| Butterfield Language Academy Moreno Valley | 963 | 87.9% | 38.0% |
Matched among California elementary schools on enrollment, the share of students from low-income families (eligible for free or reduced-price lunch), and racial and ethnic makeup. Proficient is the average share of students meeting the state standard across all of the school's state tests in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the same combined score our test-score rankings use. Online schools and schools serving specialized populations are not matched.
Where Bessie E. Owens Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Kern County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 32.0% | #3,273 of 5,151 | #65 of 148 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 30.5% | #3,175 of 5,172 ▲ 287 | #57 of 150 ▲ 14 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 38.8% | #3,060 of 5,172 ▲ 398 | #62 of 150 ▲ 11 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +14.9pp | #178 of 5,116 | #7 of 147 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 867 | #218 of 5,915 | #16 of 163 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 21.7:1 | #1,943 of 5,352 | #77 of 145 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 28.1% | #4,031 of 5,354 | #93 of 145 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 89.5% | #1,157 of 5,625 | #64 of 153 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +24.6% | #173 of 1,139 | #6 of 42 |
Ranked against other public elementary schools. Online schools are left out of every list, and test-score lists leave out schools that serve specialized populations. Each rank links to the full list. Arrows under a test-score rank show places moved since the prior test year, among schools tested both years.
4-year change
SY 2020-21 vs SY 2024-25Enrollment
867
+256 (+42%) vs 2020
-23% since 1990-91, when it was 1,128
Student : Teacher
21.7:1
was 19.1:1
Source: NCES Common Core of Data
Enrollment and staffing by year
| School year | Students | Teachers (FTE) | Students per teacher | Free and reduced lunch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-25 | 867 | 40 | 21.7:1 | 90% (776) |
| 2023-24 | 900 | 43 | 20.9:1 | 93% (839) |
| 2022-23 | 889 | 40 | 22.2:1 | 92% (814) |
| 2020-21 | 611 | 32 | 19.1:1 | 95% (583) |
| 2017-18 | 696 | 37.5 | 18.6:1 | 94% (655) |
| 2015-16 | 690 | 35 | 19.7:1 | 93% (644) |
| 2010-11 | 611 | N/A | N/A | 96% (589) |
| 2000-01 | 663 | 40 | 16.6:1 | 92% (609) |
| 1990-91 | 1,128 | 49 | 23.0:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Bessie E. Owens Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students up 25% (696 to 867); teachers up 7% (37.5 to 40).
About Bessie E. Owens Elementary
Bessie E. Owens Elementary is a large elementary school in Bakersfield, California. The school reports 867 students in kindergarten through 6. The typical figure for elementary schools in California is about 465 students.
Bessie E. Owens Elementary is a school in Bakersfield City. The district has 44 schools and 28,365 students.
Hispanic students make up 84% of enrollment at Bessie E. Owens Elementary. The remaining shares are 9% Black and 6% White. Census estimates put the Hispanic share of Kern County's population at about 57%. Bessie E. Owens Elementary's diversity index is 28%, against a US figure of 70%.
A ratio of 21.7:1 comes from the school's 40 full-time-equivalent teachers. That matches the 22.3:1 average for elementary schools in California fairly closely. Free or reduced-price lunch eligibility was 90% in 2024-25. The 76% average for public schools in Kern County is 14 points lower.
Bessie E. Owens Elementary posts an average proficiency rate on state tests of 32.0%, compared with a predicted 27.1%. It is not in the top or bottom 10% of California schools on BeatsExpectations.
Census estimates describe Kern County this way: the median household income is $70,210, about 19% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 15%. In all, Kern County has 279 public schools and roughly 197,431 students.
The closest public school, Abraham Lincoln Jr. High, is about 0.3 miles from Bessie E. Owens Elementary. There are at least 8 other public schools within five miles. By average proficiency, Bessie E. Owens Elementary is 1st among 7 schools close by.
On the NCES locale scale, the school is City: Large.
Federal counts for Bessie E. Owens Elementary: 611 students in 2020-21, 867 in 2024-25. A gap this wide can follow a change in the grades offered. Federal data show the ratio rising from 19.1:1 to 21.7:1.
Threads on this page can be about sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater. Anyone with firsthand experience at this school can post or comment.
Kern County at a glance
View full county profilePopulation
915,075
Census ACS
Median income
$70,210
Household, ACS
Bachelor's+
19%
Adults 25+
Poverty rate
15%
Below federal line
Schools in county
279
197,431 students
Quick facts
Related schools
Other schools in Bakersfield City
- Curran MiddleMiddle · 973 students
- Colonel Howard Nichols ElementaryElementary · 960 students
- Voorhies ElementaryElementary · 915 students
- Walter Stiern MiddleMiddle · 891 students
- Horace Mann ElementaryElementary · 870 students
- Dr. Juliet Thorner ElementaryElementary · 813 students
Other schools in Bakersfield
- Bakersfield HighHigh · 3,069 students
- Ridgeview HighHigh · 2,575 students
- Highland HighHigh · 2,530 students
- Stockdale HighHigh · 2,398 students
- Liberty HighHigh · 2,369 students
- East Bakersfield HighHigh · 2,331 students
Nearby schools
- Abraham Lincoln Jr. High0.3 mi · 527
- Fremont Elementary0.6 mi · 707
- McKinley Elementary0.9 mi · 628
- Emerson Middle1.1 mi · 813
- Vista Continuation High1.1 mi · 221
- Rafer Johnson1.2 mi · 32
Frequently asked questions
About Bessie E. Owens ElementaryWhat is the total enrollment at Bessie E. Owens Elementary?
Bessie E. Owens Elementary enrolls approximately 867 students in grades KG-06.
What age range does Bessie E. Owens Elementary serve?
Bessie E. Owens Elementary serves students from grade KG through grade 06.
How many students per teacher at Bessie E. Owens Elementary?
Approximately 21.7:1 students per teacher at Bessie E. Owens Elementary.
How diverse is Bessie E. Owens Elementary?
Bessie E. Owens Elementary reports a student body of 6% White, 84% Hispanic, 9% Black, 1% Asian, 0% Two or more.
Who oversees Bessie E. Owens Elementary?
Bessie E. Owens Elementary is overseen by Bakersfield City in Kern County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.