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How has Fred L. Thompson Junior High changed in the last five years, for better or worse?
Community prompt from u/allk12. Replies below.
Enrollment
714
Middle
DISTRICT 831 · STATE 659
SCHOOL COMMUNITY·PANAMA-BUENA VISTA UNION·NCES 060639009328
Fred L. Thompson Junior High
4200 Planz Rd., Bakersfield, CA 93309 · (661) 832-8011 · Kern County
GRADES 07–08MIDDLE11-CITYTITLE IREGULAR SCHOOL714 STUDENTS
C-
allk12 Grade
Scored higher than 15% of California public middle schools
- DTest scores Share of students meeting the state standard in reading, math, and other tested subjects, 2023-24 and 2024-25.
- C+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 middle schools
Student : Teacher
17.0:1
42 FTE teachers
DISTRICT 18.6:1 · STATE 20.7:1
Free / Reduced Lunch
92%
654 students
DISTRICT 78% · STATE 65%
Community
6
0 members
Enrollment and student:teacher ratio compared against other middle schools. Free/Reduced Lunch and demographics compared against all schools.
Enrollment by grade, 2024-25
| Grade | Students | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Grade 7 | 345 | 48% |
| Grade 8 | 369 | 52% |
Student demographics
43%Diversity index
The chance that two students picked at random belong to different racial or ethnic groups.
DISTRICT 58% · 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
32.0%
CA avg 49.1% . +7.0pp since 2014
Math
9.8%
CA avg 37.7% . -5.2pp since 2014
What this means: On the CAASPP, California's statewide test, about 32 of every 100 students at this school read and write at grade level and about 10 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 7 points since 2014, while math scores are down about 5 points.
Performance levels, 2024-25
| Subject | Standard Exceeded | Standard Met | Standard Nearly Met | Standard Not Met |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language Arts | 6.8% | 25.3% | 24.1% | 43.9% |
| Math | 1.9% | 7.9% | 18.0% | 72.2% |
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 | 32.0% | 9.8% |
| 2023-24 | 28.4% | 9.2% |
| 2022-23 | 31.4% | 12.2% |
| 2021-22 | 37.1% | 9.6% |
| 2018-19 | 40.4% | 16.7% |
| 2017-18 | 42.1% | 15.4% |
| 2016-17 | 36.5% | 16.3% |
| 2015-16 | 31.0% | 15.0% |
| 2014-15 | 25.0% | 15.0% |
% 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
19.9%
composite math + reading, all grades
Predicted
25.9%
based on CA schools with similar FRL share
Beats by
-6.0pp
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 Fred L. Thompson Junior High
Fred L. Thompson Junior High's state test result (19.9% proficient) is higher than 4 of the 5 schools below with a result.
| School | Students | Low-income | Proficient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fred L. Thompson Junior High this school | 714 | 91.6% | 19.9% |
| Emerson Middle Bakersfield | 813 | 90.2% | 15.1% |
| Shandin Hills Middle San Bernardino | 709 | 94.9% | 16.3% |
| Cactus Medical Health and Technology Magnet Academy Palmdale | 822 | 89.3% | 17.8% |
| March Middle Moreno Valley | 686 | 87.2% | 22.5% |
| Riverview Middle Bay Point | 682 | 89.3% | 13.9% |
Matched among California middle 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 Fred L. Thompson Junior High ranks
Among middle schools| Measure | This school | In California | In Kern County |
|---|---|---|---|
| State test proficiency ranked highest first | 19.9% | #1,050 of 1,224 | #32 of 46 |
| Math proficiency ranked highest first | 9.8% | #1,145 of 1,227 ▼ 9 | #36 of 46 ▲ 3 |
| Reading proficiency ranked highest first | 32.0% | #940 of 1,227 ▲ 25 | #24 of 46 ▲ 6 |
| 3-year test score change ranked biggest drop first | -2.5pp | #170 of 1,214 | #7 of 46 |
| Enrollment ranked largest first | 714 | #575 of 1,377 | #18 of 48 |
| Students per teacher ranked fewest first | 17.0:1 | #108 of 1,279 | #3 of 46 |
| Diversity index ranked most diverse first | 43.2% | #773 of 1,278 | #21 of 46 |
| Free and reduced lunch ranked highest share first | 91.6% | #229 of 1,329 | #12 of 46 |
| Enrollment change since 2017-18 ranked steepest decline first | -6.7% | #773 of 930 | #20 of 28 |
Ranked against other public middle 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
714
-27 (-4%) vs 2020
+2% since 1990-91, when it was 699
Student : Teacher
17.0:1
was 19.5:1
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 | 714 | 41.9 | 17.0:1 | 92% (654) |
| 2023-24 | 762 | 41.3 | 18.4:1 | 92% (700) |
| 2022-23 | 728 | 41.1 | 17.7:1 | 93% (678) |
| 2020-21 | 741 | 38 | 19.5:1 | 92% (685) |
| 2017-18 | 765 | 35.8 | 21.4:1 | 87% (667) |
| 2015-16 | 679 | 35 | 19.4:1 | 86% (582) |
| 2010-11 | 768 | N/A | N/A | 82% (627) |
| 2000-01 | 775 | 37 | 20.9:1 | 45% (348) |
| 1990-91 | 699 | 34 | 20.6:1 | N/A |
Source: NCES Common Core of Data. Rows are the federal collections on file for Fred L. Thompson Junior High.
Since 2017-18: students down 7% (765 to 714); teachers up 17% (35.8 to 41.9).
About Fred L. Thompson Junior High
Fred L. Thompson Junior High is a medium-sized middle-grades school with an address in Bakersfield, California. The school enrolls 714 students, from grades 7 through 8.
Panama-Buena Vista Union, which runs Fred L. Thompson Junior High, has 25 schools and 19,366 students.
Hispanic students account for 74% of enrollment at Fred L. Thompson Junior High. Smaller groups are 13% Black, 7% White, 3% multiracial, and 2% Asian. For comparison, the population of Kern County is roughly 57% Hispanic. Fred L. Thompson Junior High has a diversity index of 43%, compared with 70% for all US public school students.
The teaching staff at Fred L. Thompson Junior High is 41.9 full-time-equivalent teachers, and the ratio is 17.0:1. The average ratio among middle schools in California is 20.7:1, higher than at this school. About 92% of students, or 654, qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The rate at public schools in Kern County averages 76%, lower than here.
The allk12 Grade for Fred L. Thompson Junior High is C-. Compared with California public middle schools, the school scored higher than 15% on a mix of test scores, poverty-adjusted results, and recent trend.
After adjusting for student poverty, Fred L. Thompson Junior High lands between the top and bottom 10% of California schools. Its average proficiency rate on state tests is 19.9%; the prediction is 25.9%.
In Kern County (population about 915,075), median household income is about $70,210, about 19% of adults have at least a bachelor's degree, and the poverty rate is about 15%. A total of 279 public schools operate in Kern County, serving about 197,431 students.
Louise Sandrini Elementary is the public school closest to Fred L. Thompson Junior High, about 0.4 miles away. Inside a five-mile radius, there are at least 8 other public schools. Ranked by average proficiency, Fred L. Thompson Junior High places 6th out of 9 schools in its immediate area.
Under the NCES locale system, Fred L. Thompson Junior High is City: Large.
Enrollment was 741 in 2020-21 and 714 in 2024-25, a decrease of 27 students. The student-to-teacher ratio fell from 19.5:1 in 2020-21 to 17.0:1 in 2024-25.
Families, students, and staff can use this page to discuss science fairs, picture day, and bus routes at Fred L. Thompson Junior High. Alumni can share how the school prepared them.
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 Panama-Buena Vista Union
- Dolores S. Whitley TK-8Elementary · 1,151 students
- Douglas J. Miller ElementaryElementary · 994 students
- Stonecreek Junior HighMiddle · 986 students
- Earl Warren Junior HighMiddle · 965 students
- Berkshire ElementaryElementary · 932 students
- Bill L. Williams ElementaryElementary · 926 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
- Louise Sandrini Elementary0.4 mi · 604
- Stine Elementary0.5 mi · 615
- O. J. Actis Junior High0.9 mi · 681
- Charles H. Castle Elementary0.9 mi · 832
- Amy B. Seibert Elementary1.0 mi · 628
- Curran Middle1.3 mi · 973
Frequently asked questions
About Fred L. Thompson Junior HighHow many students attend Fred L. Thompson Junior High?
Fred L. Thompson Junior High enrolls approximately 714 students in grades 07-08.
What age range does Fred L. Thompson Junior High serve?
Fred L. Thompson Junior High serves students from grade 07 through grade 08.
What is the student-teacher ratio at Fred L. Thompson Junior High?
The student-to-teacher ratio at Fred L. Thompson Junior High is approximately 17.0:1 (42 FTE teachers).
What is the student diversity at Fred L. Thompson Junior High?
Student demographics at Fred L. Thompson Junior High are roughly 7% White, 74% Hispanic, 13% Black, 2% Asian, 3% Two or more.
Who oversees Fred L. Thompson Junior High?
Fred L. Thompson Junior High is overseen by Panama-Buena Vista Union in Kern County.
Data sourceSchool profile facts are sourced from the NCES. Community content is posted by allk12 members.