Enrollment
288
Elementary
STATE 465
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·BUTTONWILLOW UNION ELEMENTARY·NCES 060672000594
Buttonwillow Elementary
42600 Hwy 58, Buttonwillow, CA 93206 · (661) 764-5166 · Kern County
GRADES KG–08ELEMENTARY42-RURALTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL288 STUDENTS
Student : Teacher
12.5:1
23 FTE teachers
STATE 22.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
91%
261 students
STATE 65%
Community
0
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 | 40 | 14% |
| Grade 1 | 29 | 10% |
| Grade 2 | 30 | 10% |
| Grade 3 | 35 | 12% |
| Grade 4 | 30 | 10% |
| Grade 5 | 22 | 8% |
| Grade 6 | 34 | 12% |
| Grade 7 | 38 | 13% |
| Grade 8 | 30 | 10% |
This year's kindergarten class (40) is 33% larger than its 8th grade class (30).
Student demographics
12%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
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
25.6%
CA avg 49.1% . +10.6pp since 2014
Math
18.2%
CA avg 37.7% . +11.2pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 26 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 18 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 11 points since 2014, while math scores are up about 11 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 4.4% | 21.1% | 35.0% | 39.4% |
| Math | 4.4% | 13.8% | 27.6% | 54.1% |
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 | 25.6% | 18.2% |
| 2023-24 | 23.7% | 15.5% |
| 2022-23 | 19.1% | 11.4% |
| 2021-22 | 20.0% | 11.0% |
| 2018-19 | 24.1% | 27.4% |
| 2017-18 | 17.4% | 13.0% |
| 2016-17 | 22.0% | 13.3% |
| 2015-16 | 19.0% | 11.0% |
| 2014-15 | 15.0% | 7.0% |
% 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
20.2%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
26.4%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-6.2pp
below demographic expectation
What this means: About 20% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 26% 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 Buttonwillow Elementary
Buttonwillow Elementary's state test result (20.2% proficient) is higher than 0 of the 4 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buttonwillow Elementary this school | 288 | 90.6% | 20.2% |
| Aeolian Elementary Whittier | 283 | 91.2% | 31.0% |
| El Capitan Elementary Delhi | 289 | 91.0% | 30.5% |
| ISANA Cardinal Academy Sun Valley | 294 | 89.1% | N/A |
| Washington Elementary Reedley | 288 | 92.0% | 50.3% |
| Laurel Dell Elementary San Rafael | 287 | 93.7% | 43.1% |
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 Buttonwillow Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Kern County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 20.2% | #4,560 of 5,151 | #118 of 148 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 18.2% | #4,468 of 5,172 ▲ 163 | #108 of 150 ▲ 9 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 25.6% | #4,429 of 5,172 ▲ 2 | #117 of 150 ▼ 3 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest gain first | +6.4pp | #1,268 of 5,116 | #40 of 147 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 288 | #4,858 of 5,915 | #136 of 163 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 12.5:1 | #5 of 5,352 | #1 of 145 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 11.9% | #4,849 of 5,354 | #125 of 145 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 90.6% | #1,029 of 5,625 | #57 of 153 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -16.3% | #1,866 of 3,837 | #36 of 95 |
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
288
-20 (-6%) vs 2020
-31% since 1990-91, when it was 420
Student : Teacher
12.5:1
was 18.1:1
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 | 288 | 23.1 | 12.5:1 | 91% (261) |
| 2023-24 | 287 | 21.3 | 13.5:1 | 80% (230) |
| 2022-23 | 313 | 20.8 | 15.0:1 | 91% (286) |
| 2020-21 | 308 | 17 | 18.1:1 | 89% (275) |
| 2017-18 | 344 | 16 | 21.5:1 | 54% (186) |
| 2015-16 | 379 | 18 | 21.1:1 | 95% (359) |
| 2010-11 | 372 | N/A | N/A | 97% (362) |
| 2000-01 | 384 | 24 | 16.0:1 | 83% (318) |
| 1990-91 | 420 | 17 | 24.7:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Buttonwillow Elementary.
Since 2017-18: students down 16% (344 to 288); teachers up 44% (16 to 23.1).
About Buttonwillow Elementary
Buttonwillow Elementary is a small elementary school in California, located in Buttonwillow. The school's 288 students are in kindergarten through 8. Statewide, elementary schools in California average about 465 students each.
Buttonwillow Elementary is run by Buttonwillow Union Elementary.
About 94% of the student body at Buttonwillow Elementary is Hispanic. The remaining students are 5% White. Among people living in Kern County, the Hispanic share is about 57%. Pick two students at random and there is a 12% chance they belong to different racial or ethnic groups; that figure is the school's diversity index.
The count of teachers at Buttonwillow Elementary is 23.1 full-time equivalents, for a ratio of 12.5:1. That is lower than the 22.3:1 average for elementary schools in California. The school counts 261 students as eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, or 91%. For comparison, public schools in Kern County average 76%.
Based on student poverty, the model expects 26.4% at Buttonwillow Elementary; the school's average proficiency rate on state tests is 20.2%.
Kern County has these Census figures: the median household income is $70,210, roughly 19% of adults have a four-year degree or more, and about 15% of residents live below the federal poverty line. Kern County is home to 279 public schools and about 197,431 public school students.
Nearest public school: Elk Hills Elementary, about 9.8 miles away. Compared with its nearest neighbors, Buttonwillow Elementary ranks 8th of 8 on average proficiency.
The school is in rural territory some distance from an urban area, according to its NCES locale (Rural: Distant).
2024-25 enrollment was 288, a 6% decrease from 308 in 2020-21. The ratio of students to teachers went from 18.1:1 to 12.5:1 over the same years.
The allk12 site hosts a discussion page for Buttonwillow Elementary covering things like sports tryouts, band and choir, and theater. Reviews and ratings from people who know the school are welcome.
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
Nearby schools
- Elk Hills Elementary9.8 mi · 159
- McKittrick Elementary10.4 mi · 61
- Maple Elementary11.1 mi · 287
- Grow Academy Shafter12.3 mi · 80
- Rio Bravo Elementary12.5 mi · 589
- Rio Bravo-Greeley Elementary12.6 mi · 466
Frequently asked questions
About Buttonwillow ElementaryHow large is Buttonwillow Elementary?
Buttonwillow Elementary enrolls approximately 288 students in grades KG-08.
What age range does Buttonwillow Elementary serve?
Buttonwillow Elementary serves students from grade KG through grade 08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Buttonwillow Elementary?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Buttonwillow Elementary is approximately 12.5:1 (23 FTE teachers).
What is the racial breakdown of students at Buttonwillow Elementary?
At Buttonwillow Elementary, the student body is approximately 5% White, 94% Hispanic, 1% Black.
Is Buttonwillow Elementary public or private?
Buttonwillow Elementary is a public K-12 school, overseen by Buttonwillow Union Elementary.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.