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If you had an hour of school board time for Columbia Elementary, what would you bring up?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
601
Elementary
DISTRICT 594 · STATE 465
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·FRUITVALE ELEMENTARY·NCES 061470004514
Columbia Elementary
703 Mondavi Way, Bakersfield, CA 93312 · (661) 588-3540 · Kern County
GRADES KG–06ELEMENTARY11-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL601 STUDENTS
C+
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 42% of California public elementary schools
- B-Test scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- B-Beats expectations How far test scores land above or below what the share of low-income students predicts for a school in this state.
- DThree-year trend Change in reading and math proficiency over the last three test years.
Grades compare a school only with schools in the same state, because every state gives its own test. How grades work · Top-graded California public elementary schools
Student : Teacher
19.7:1
31 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 20.7:1 · STATE 22.3:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
70%
419 students
DISTRICT 71% · 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 | 113 | 19% |
| Grade 1 | 78 | 13% |
| Grade 2 | 69 | 11% |
| Grade 3 | 104 | 17% |
| Grade 4 | 73 | 12% |
| Grade 5 | 92 | 15% |
| Grade 6 | 72 | 12% |
This year's kindergarten class (113) is 57% larger than its 6th grade class (72).
Student demographics
61%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 61% · 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
School pathway
Students here typically continue to
Columbia Elementary→Fruitvale Junior High
Based on grade levels within Fruitvale Elementary. Attendance zones can vary; confirm enrollment with the district.
Test scores
CAASPP 2024-25 . % met or exceeded standardEnglish Language Arts
47.1%
CA avg 49.1% . +2.1pp since 2014
Math
34.2%
CA avg 37.7% . +0.2pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 47 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 34 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 2 points since 2014, while math scores have held steady.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 22.1% | 25.0% | 21.5% | 31.3% |
| Math | 14.6% | 19.6% | 30.4% | 35.4% |
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 | 47.1% | 34.2% |
| 2023-24 | 44.8% | 33.1% |
| 2022-23 | 42.2% | 37.9% |
| 2021-22 | 50.4% | 39.8% |
| 2018-19 | 52.4% | 48.2% |
| 2017-18 | 51.2% | 40.4% |
| 2016-17 | 45.8% | 37.9% |
| 2015-16 | 50.0% | 39.0% |
| 2014-15 | 45.0% | 34.0% |
% 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
40.0%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
38.7%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
+1.3pp
above demographic expectation
What this means: About 40% of students here test proficient in math and reading, compared with the roughly 39% 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 Columbia Elementary
Columbia Elementary's state test result (40.0% proficient) is higher than 3 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia Elementary this school | 601 | 69.7% | 40.0% |
| Callie Kirkpatrick Elementary Menifee | 664 | 70.6% | 36.7% |
| Walter M. Brown Elementary Turlock | 645 | 72.9% | 22.3% |
| Weldon Elementary Clovis | 538 | 73.6% | 40.8% |
| John Fremont Elementary Modesto | 625 | 66.1% | 35.9% |
| Benjamin Franklin Elementary Corona | 673 | 70.1% | 57.4% |
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 Columbia Elementary ranks
Among elementary schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Kern County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 40.0% | #2,498 of 5,151 | #40 of 148 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 34.2% | #2,819 of 5,172 ▼ 50 | #46 of 150 ▲ 3 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 47.1% | #2,261 of 5,172 ▲ 23 | #36 of 150 no change |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest drop first | -4.4pp | #658 of 5,116 | #13 of 147 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 601 | #1,391 of 5,915 | #77 of 163 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 19.7:1 | #784 of 5,352 | #27 of 145 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 61.3% | #1,695 of 5,354 | #27 of 145 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 69.7% | #2,974 of 5,625 | #120 of 153 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked fastest growth first | +7.5% | #623 of 1,139 | #23 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
601
+40 (+7%) vs 2020
+5% since 2000-01, when it was 572
Student : Teacher
19.7:1
was 21.6:1
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 | 601 | 30.6 | 19.7:1 | 70% (419) |
| 2023-24 | 594 | 28.5 | 20.8:1 | 69% (407) |
| 2022-23 | 607 | 31.1 | 19.5:1 | 54% (330) |
| 2020-21 | 561 | 26 | 21.6:1 | 61% (340) |
| 2017-18 | 559 | N/A | N/A | 47% (265) |
| 2015-16 | 524 | 18 | 29.1:1 | 45% (238) |
| 2010-11 | 537 | N/A | N/A | 38% (205) |
| 2000-01 | 572 | 31 | 18.4:1 | 20% (113) |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Columbia Elementary.
About Columbia Elementary
Columbia Elementary is a mid-sized elementary school with its address in Bakersfield, California. The school runs kindergarten through 6 and enrolls 601 students. That compares with an average of about 465 students for elementary schools in California.
Fruitvale Elementary (5 schools, 3,069 students) runs Columbia Elementary.
At Columbia Elementary, 53% of students are Hispanic. Other students are 31% White, 6% Asian, 4% multiracial, and 3% Black. Census estimates put Kern County at about 57% Hispanic, close to the school's figure. The diversity index for Columbia Elementary is 61%. For US public schools as a whole it is 70%.
The student-to-teacher ratio is 19.7:1. The school has 30.6 full-time-equivalent teachers. The school's 19.7:1 compares with an average of 22.3:1 for elementary schools in California. Federal data show 70% of students (419) are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch.
Columbia Elementary holds a C+ allk12 Grade, placing it above 42% of California public elementary schools.
In California, Columbia Elementary is in the middle band of BeatsExpectations: 40.0% actual against a predicted 38.7%.
In the wider Kern County area, the median household earns about $70,210 a year, about 19% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 15%. Columbia Elementary shares Kern County with 278 other public schools.
Among nearby public schools, American Elementary is closest at about 0.7 miles. Other public schools within five miles number at least 8. The school's 40.0% average proficiency ranks 8th among 8 nearby schools.
NCES describes the area around Columbia Elementary as City: Large, meaning inside a principal city with a population of 250,000 or more.
In 2024-25, the school enrolled 601, up from 561 in 2020-21. Over the same period, the student-to-teacher ratio dropped to 19.7:1, from 21.6:1.
This page is set up for the Columbia Elementary community to discuss special education services, counseling, and support programs. Current and former families are welcome to add their experience.
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 Fruitvale Elementary
- Endeavour ElementaryElementary · 724 students
- Discovery ElementaryElementary · 706 students
- Fruitvale Junior HighMiddle · 693 students
- Quailwood ElementaryElementary · 345 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
Other Columbia Elementary schools
24 other US public schools in 13 states are named Columbia Elementary. Columbia Elementary is the 5th largest of the 25.
- Columbia ElementaryEl Monte, CA · 706 students
- Columbia ElementaryPerris, CA · 704 students
- Columbia ElementaryLancaster, CA · 620 students
- Columbia ElementaryFresno, CA · 568 students
- Columbia ElementaryColumbia, CA · 464 students
Nearby schools
- American Elementary0.7 mi · 701
- Fruitvale Junior High1.0 mi · 693
- Quailwood Elementary1.3 mi · 345
- Liberty High1.3 mi · 2,369
- Stockdale Elementary1.4 mi · 587
- Ronald Reagan Elementary1.6 mi · 831
Frequently asked questions
About Columbia ElementaryHow large is Columbia Elementary?
Columbia Elementary enrolls approximately 601 students in grades KG-06.
What grades does Columbia Elementary serve?
Columbia Elementary serves grades KG-06.
How many students per teacher at Columbia Elementary?
Approximately 19.7:1 students per teacher at Columbia Elementary.
What is the racial breakdown of students at Columbia Elementary?
At Columbia Elementary, the student body is approximately 31% White, 53% Hispanic, 3% Black, 6% Asian, 4% Two or more.
What district is Columbia Elementary in?
Columbia Elementary is part of Fruitvale Elementary.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.